Her Excellency Adrienne Clarkson with finalists of the 2000 Michener Award – photo taken following a ceremony at Rideau Hall on May 24, 2001.
Seated left to right; David Studer, Executive Producer of CBC-TV’s the fifth estate; Governor General Adrienne Clarkson; His Excellency, John Ralston Saul; Martine Turenne, 2001 Michener-Deacon Fellowship recipient.
2nd row, left to right; Pierre Bergeron, President, Michener Awards Foundation; Leslie Papp, Toronto Star; Lindor Reynolds, Winnipeg Free Press; Jacquie McNish, The Globe and Mail; Russell Wangersky, St. John’s Telegram; Dan Gardner, The Ottawa Citizen.
The finalists were chosen from 44 entries and covered a wide range of subjects including: pedophiles using the Internet, misleading claims by remedies used in alternative medicine, abuse of Freedom of Information laws, stock market manipulation, unacceptable police tactics, and the war on drugs.
The first 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.