Ryan Thorpe’s editor at the Winnipeg Free Press told him not to go into the rundown apartment complex near the corner of William Avenue and Isabel Street in that city’s Centennial neighbourhood.
But Thorpe, an investigative reporter who covers crime for the daily newspaper, didn’t listen. It was easy to get in despite the boarded-up facade to keep people out.
Over the next couple of weeks, as he chipped away at a story about drug use and gang violence in the area, and residents fighting for their neighbourhood, that old red brick walkup used by intruders as a place to get high became the central character in reporting that would earn Thorpe one of the highest journalism honours in Canada.
Thorpe, who graduated from Niagara College’s Journalism program in 2017, was nominated last month for a National Newspaper Award (NNA) in the long feature category for his story ‘Traces of hope under the ‘hood,’ which documents the challenges of a central Winnipeg neighbourhood. He’s nominated in the category alongside reporters from the Calgary Herald and Ottawa Citizen.
“Ultimately, I was very humbled and honoured,” Thorpe said of his nomination. “It was very cool to get that recognition. To be up against work of that quality, it was very humbling. It was just a nice surprise.”
Thorpe has taken on career assignments since arriving at the Free Press two years ago. He’s gone undercover to infiltrate a neo-Nazi group intent on starting a violent race war, a series for which he’s been nominated for a Canadian Association of Journalism Award in the open media category. The Winnipeg Free Press has also been nominated for a CJF Jackman Award of Excellence in Journalism from the Canadian Journalism Federation for the series. And he’s covered the unravelling of Canadian fashion tycoon Peter Nygard amid disturbing sex crime allegations.
But it was his deep dive into a challenged neighbourhood that would ultimately get the nod from NNA judges. The story encapsulates the day-to-day work Thorpe does at the Free Press, including covering a record number of murders in Winnipeg in 2019.
“I was reporting on a lot of murders,” Thorpe said. “We also had a lot of liquor thefts. It was daily and they were increasingly violent and brazen. And we also have a meth crisis on hand.”
Thorpe was inspired by the book The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood to use a geographic location — that apartment complex he was advised not to enter — as the main character in his 3,600-word story that included interviews with residents, social organizations and a former gang member.
The non-fiction work was written by Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon and homicide detective Ed Burns. It focuses on the people who lived at a corner that was the epicentre of Baltimore’s inner-city drug market.
“I really liked that framing,” Thorpe said. “I pitched it to the editor saying ‘Let’s look at this two-block radius where we have all this crime going on.’ ”
Thorpe, who showed he had a nose for hard news while attending Niagara College, credits the teaching he received, including from Susan Pedler and Charles Kopun, for setting him up for career success.
“The professors, they’re amazing,” Thorpe said. “The professors are all fantastic and all good journalists in their own right, and good teachers.”
Neither Kopun nor Pedler were surprised to hear of Thorpe’s nomination and his success so early in his journalism career.
Kopun joked with Thorpe when he was a student that he slept with his reporter’s notebook at night.
“His great depth and great ability to do these kinds of stories, he showed that at the College as well — those investigative stories and talking to people,” Kopun said. “He does those stories very, very well because he has that empathy, he has that knowledge and he’s not afraid to go in and ask people those questions.”
Pedler, who still keeps in touch with Thorpe, “jumped up and down” at news of his nomination. Like Kopun, she said Thorpe’s caring nature sets him apart in as a journalist.
“Ryan cares so deeply about his world and community, and rights and wrongs and finding the truth,” Pedler said. “He’s also an exceptionally nice guy. People trust him and open up to him. Even the bad guys — they open up to him because he is so nice and trustworthy.”
Winners of this year’s National Newspaper Awards will be announced in late April.
