Publisher Jim MacNeill receives the 1987 Michener Honourable Mention award from Her Excellency Jeanne Sauvé on behalf of The Eastern Graphic.
The newspaper received Honourable Mention for publishing confidential information on the proposed fixed link between Prince Edward Island and the mainland. This provided PEI voters with data they would not otherwise have received before the plebiscite on the crossing scheduled for Jan 18, 1988. The Graphic was the only news medium to draw attention to a report on the ice floes in the Northumberland Strait, the proposed site of the crossing. Following the plebiscite – 59% voted in favour, and 41% were opposed to the idea of a fixed link to the mainland – the government announced a study of those ice floes.
The award was presented during a ceremony held at Rideau Hall on December 8th, 1988.
The first Michener award covered the calendar year 1970. Since then, a rich variety of news organizations have had their names inscribed on Michener trophies – print and broadcast, large and small, French and English, East and West. The Michener was also the first national journalism award open to both broadcast and print media. The award goes to the news organization itself, rather than the individual journalists involved in the story.