The Honourable Wendy Cocchia, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, with support from the Government House Foundation and in partnership with the Jack Webster Foundation, is pleased to announce the two 2026 recipients of the Lieutenant Governor’s B.C. Journalism Fellowship: Amanda Follett Hosgood of The Tyee and Tchadas Leo of CHEK News.
This annual fellowship was established to support excellence in public-interest journalism by providing B.C. journalists the opportunity to pursue deeply researched, long-form reporting on issues of significance to British Columbians.
The program was doubled in 2026 under Cocchia’s leadership to include two fellowships of up to $20,000 each, the first expansion of the initiative since its inception. In another first, the United Nations Association in Canada will serve as an honorary Fellowship partner, to help amplify Fellows’ work nationally and globally.
“Journalism has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. I have a deep personal appreciation for the role journalists play in helping us better understand one another, our communities, and the issues shaping our province,” said Cocchia. “Amanda Follett Hosgood and Tchadas Leo exemplify the curiosity, integrity, and dedication that define this essential work. Their Fellowship proposals will bring important stories to light and amplify voices from communities across British Columbia, including remote and rural regions that are too often overlooked. I am especially proud to have expanded this program so that we can support more outstanding journalists, and I extend my warmest congratulations to this year’s Fellows.”
Follett Hosgood has been awarded funding to produce a multi-part story examining the effects of declining news media capacity in small-town British Columbia. Her reporting will focus on B.C.’s northeast, a region considered a “news desert” following the closure of several news outlets. It will also examine the pivotal role played by one local reporter in the wake of the tragic Tumbler Ridge shooting. In addition to considering the effects on communities, Follett Hosgood’s reporting will seek possible solutions for better informing the public amid a changing media landscape.
“During my 24 years in journalism, I’ve witnessed first-hand the declining capacity in small-town newsrooms,” said Follett Hosgood. “I’m excited to take a closer look at how the loss of several media outlets in northeast B.C. is affecting communities in the region and what possible solutions exist for ensuring residents remain informed.”
Leo will apply Fellowship funding to explore how aging infrastructure, climate vulnerability, and limited emergency access leave remote First Nations communities in British Columbia exposed to public safety risks despite ongoing government funding commitments. His reporting will explore how gaps between announced infrastructure investments and the lived realities in remote Indigenous communities reveal broader questions about accountability, climate resilience, reconciliation, and the long-term protection of vulnerable coastal and northern Nations.
“I am extremely grateful for this incredible opportunity,” says Leo. “Having the resources and time to work on an Indigenous story that I am passionate about is truly special. I am honoured that I will be able to feature remote Indigenous communities and their stories and struggles, which go often unheard. These communities often have struggles that persist year after year, where action never comes. Through this Fellowship, I will explore climate resilience and infrastructure challenges in a way that hopefully creates a conversation and tangible action for change.”
The Government House Foundation and Jack Webster Foundation initially committed to delivering the Lieutenant Governor’s B.C. Journalism Fellowship for three years, until 2024. Cocchia doubled the size of the program in 2026 and has committed to preserving it for at least five years.
“The Lieutenant Governor’s Fellowship is instrumental in enabling B.C. Journalists to do work that would otherwise be impossible,” said Shachi Kurl, Board Chair, Jack Webster Foundation. “International reporting. In depth investigations. Public interest journalism that takes weeks or months to research and report. This year’s recipients were chosen to embody the best of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and the Jack Webster Foundation’s ongoing commitment to excellence in journalism.”
Learn more about the Lieutenant Governor’s BC Journalism Fellowship here.