2011 Canadian Hillman Prize Winner
Code Red combines a scientific approach to investigative journalism with crisp narrative writing. The series went beyond print, with a significant interactive web component, mapping the health of Hamilton down to the neighborhoods, showing the connections between poor health and poverty. Buist discovered there was a 21-year difference in life expectancy between Hamilton’s best and worst neighborhoods. The Hamilton Spectator showed leadership and courage to invest in this series, an unusual move given today’s newspaper environment.
Steve Buist is an award-winning investigative reporter and feature writer at The Hamilton Spectator. He has won two National Newspaper Awards in the Investigations category and he’s been nominated for four other NNAs. He’s been named Ontario’s journalist of the Year on two occasions and in 2009, he was named the country’s Investigative Journalist of the Year by the Canadian Association of journalists.
Steve has an academic background in science and he’s always been interested in science, medical and health issues through his career, which is why the Code Red series was so important to him. He’s currently completing his Master’s degree in journalism, exploring the issue of how Canadian newspapers report the financial relationships that exist between university researchers and pharmaceutical companies.