Speech by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne
Clarkson, on the occasion of the presentation of the Michener Awards
for Journalism
Rideau Hall, Thursday, April 14, 2005
I welcome all of you to Rideau Hall for the Michener Awards for
Journalism. First given in 1970, they were instituted by Roland and
Norah Michener to honour the memory of their daughter Wendy, a
superb journalist who died too young. This ceremony gives the
highest recognition to news organizations that offer disinterested
service to the public good, and who live up to the heraldic motto of
the Michener Foundation: "Veritas Ancilla Liberatis" –
"Truth in the Service of Freedom".
Its selection committee has cited six finalists for their
outstanding work, and I am sure it was not an easy or simple choice.
Consider this wonderful line from the Foundation's criteria,
something the jury must keep in mind: "Journalistic excellence
alone is not enough." It is not sufficient to have the facts,
to find the story, to show the drama. The organizations that have
been selected have done more than demonstrate teamwork, tenacity and
professional skill. They have tried to meet the standard expressed
by Joseph Howe in the 19th century: "The only questions I ask
myself are, What is right? What is just? What is for the public
good?"
When we speak of journalism and public benefit, we are talking about
stories that leave something substantial behind, not simply by
giving insight or evoking empathy but in actually improving the
social condition. In 2004, our finalists were able to thoughtfully
challenge accepted ideas and practices in a way that has produced
civic engagement and change.
The Michener Foundation recognizes that this vital work takes place
everywhere in Canada, and that these stories can be of national,
regional or local significance. Of course, there are organizations
here tonight that come from our major cities, with audiences and
resources that stretch across Canada. But one of the most remarkable
and valuable aspects of this Award is that its criteria also make it
possible for a weekly newspaper in Newfoundland to be recognized for
its contribution to the social good. Look at the list of previous
winners. It includes The Manitoulin Expositor and The Elmira
Independent, two Ontario weeklies, and CKNW in New Westminster,
British Columbia.
So we ask ourselves, what does real journalism give to a society?
It's easy to point out examples of the media catering to
embarrassingly base interests or cravenly pursuing triviality for
the sake of sales, in the name of news. Such a compromise of
standards can put our civic awareness to sleep. But while attending
to what the public seems to want, a really responsible press will
awaken us to our true situation; it will prod us into thinking; it
will give us a chance to assess ourselves as citizens. As we see in
the work of our finalists, journalism can create a kind of societal
itch, one which it then becomes our duty to scratch.
Journalists do this by asking questions to which they do not know
the answer, even if they have their hunches. Allen Abel writes,
"There [are] three qualities essential to a journalist's craft:
curiosity, compassion, and serendipity, the ability to find what you
are not seeking." I love his mention of compassion which, no
matter how devastating or difficult stories might be, is the soul of
all the best ones. This compassion extends not only to victims but
to the general concern for honest, hardworking people and the groups
to which they belong. As for serendipity, those apparently
"lucky" moments in the life of a good journalist lead to
the most important parts of any story: the ones that the public
didn't realize it needed to know.
Barbara Frum once said that this is what your audience implicitly
asks of you: "Just tell me something I don't already know about
something that matters to me – or should." In a society where
we often have more information than we know what to do with, we must
have context. We must have understanding, and we need to be taught
how to pose the right questions. By the questions that journalists
ask, individuals and groups within society can learn to pay
attention. Such vigilance is the price for remaining free.
I firmly believe that our society's artists, among many other
things, help the rest of us to truly see, and on a pragmatic level,
so do our journalists. Your work can point out to us that there is a
crack in one of our societal walls. Do we reach for the plaster? Do
we need to rebuild the wall? Or do we see that we first have to dig
deeply and strengthen the foundation? It's the observations and
insights of a good press that alert us to what we most need to do.
Having spent much of my life in journalism, I also deeply appreciate
the wisdom of the Micheners in directing this Award to
organizations. It is the backing of the entire team which makes it
possible for reporters to investigate with a broad scope and real
depth. The lone wolf does not hunt well. I admire and congratulate
you on your work as "ensemble actors", and I know that
there is a larger journalistic community standing behind what you
write and what you air. I also salute Jenny Manzer on receiving the
Michener-Deacon Fellowship, which will allow her to further
investigate one of the fundamental questions of health in this
country.
The Michener Foundation, its committees and juries are to be
commended for assessing the work of Canada's finest journalistic
organizations. Your work makes a difference to our country, and I'm
pleased to honour it and you.
Thank you. Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson
Governor General of Canada
Rideau Hall
April 14, 2005
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