Judith-Jasmin and Antoine-Desilets Prize | La Presse stands out eight times

The photographers of The Press shone brightly on Saturday evening at the prestigious awards ceremony of the Professional Federation of Journalists of Quebec (FPJQ). For the quality of their writing, two journalists from our newsroom were also rewarded during the ceremony.

Six Antoine-Desilets prizes, which reward the best press photographs of the year, were won by photographers from The Press. During this ceremony, which traditionally takes place at the FPJQ annual conference, our colleagues Isabelle Dubé and Patrick Lagacé were also each awarded a Judith-Jasmin prize, in writing.

Winner of the Antoine-Desilets Grand Prix, our photographer Olivier Jean received top honors of the evening, thanks to his photo entitled “Housing Crisis”. Illustrating the paradoxical cohabitation between homelessness and society, the photo also won him the prize for best photo in the “Social Issues” category.

After the ceremony, Olivier Jean considered himself lucky. “Thank you to The Press to consider that the photo is important,” he said.

For the second year in a row, our photographer Martin Tremblay also won an Antoine-Desilets prize in two categories. The winner offered the best photo essay, thanks to his series of photos in the declining area of ​​Place Émilie-Gamelin and the Village, entitled “La Zone”.

He also excelled in the “Daily Life” category by capturing “Fire Monster”, at a time when Sept-Îles feared the blaze of forest fires, in June 2023.

François Cardinal, deputy editor and vice-president Information The Press, highlighted the remarkable images from our photographers this year. “We are very proud of these prizes which reward in-depth journalism, that which takes time, field work and rigor”, he reacted, after the announcement of the winners, all of whom he congratulated. “There is clearly very good journalism and photo reporting in Quebec! »

Two Judith-Jasmin prizes

Journalist Isabelle Dubé won a Judith-Jasmin prize in the “Business and economy” category for her report “Bogus offers to raise prices”. The jury was won over by his ability to tell and document the practice of bogus offers in real estate, although it is difficult to demonstrate.

“She produced a report that every journalist dreams of producing in their career,” argued one of the members of the jury, Rachelle McDuff, deputy director of information at Montreal Journal. When receiving his prize, our colleague wanted to thank his “courageous whistleblower sources”.

Also, our columnist Patrick Lagacé shined in the “Opinion” category, for his text “The brutal and solitary death of Manuela Valente”. Through the testimony of a family in mourning after the brutal death of their mother, the story addresses access to medical assistance in dying.

Other photographers in the spotlight

The Antoine-Desilets prize jury was also dazzled by the photograph “Expulsé” by Patrick Sanfaçon, elected winner in the “News” category, for his photo taken from the dismantling of a homeless encampment in Montreal.

The best portrait of the year was awarded to our colleague François Roy. His photo of Sarah-Maude Beauchesne, screenwriter of the film Slush heartplaces the author in the heart of her adolescence, at the Bromont water park.

The Judith-Jasmin Grand Prize was awarded to Dominique Cambron-Goulet and Annabelle Blais, from Montreal Journalfor their report on the “extravagant” spending of Montreal taxpayers at the Office de consultation publique de Montréal. Their file, published in November 2023, also earned them honors in the “Investigation” category.

A Career Award was specially given to Bill Haugland, journalist at CTV Montreal.

The winning reports and photos were published between 1^is January 2023 and March 31, 2024. No less than 196 journalists submitted their writings this year, for a total of 390 applications, while 40 photographers participated in the competition.