Toronto Star publisher John Honderich accepts the 1994 Michener-Deacon Fellowship from Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn on behalf of his newspaper’s foreign correspondent Bob Hepburn who is currently on assignment in the Middle East and unable to attend the ceremony.
Mr. Hepburn has also served as bureau chief in Ottawa and Washington for the Star.
He will use his 4-month study leave to examine the movement towards human rights – especially women’s and children’s rights – and democracy in the developing world in southeast Asia. Mr. Hepburn will focus on the impact of human and civil rights on trade and political relations between China, Hong Kong and Taiwan and how Canada is responding to such local concerns at the same time it is trying to increase trade with these emerging nations.
Mr. Hepburn’s proposal comes at a time when the Canadian government is being criticized for appearing to put trade ahead of concerns about human rights. (Hepburn Fellowship report)
The fellowship was presented during a ceremony held at Government House, Ottawa, May 9, 1994.
The fellowship of the Michener Awards Foundation, introduced in 1987, is known today as the Michener-Deacon Fellowship (named after the late Roland Michener and the late Paul Deacon, a senior media executive and Michener Awards Foundation president). The fellowship is to encourage excellence in investigative print and broadcast journalism that serves the public interest through values that benefit the community. Mature journalists are invited to submit written outlines for studies over four months that will strengthen their competence.