Left to Right: Free Press reporter Jonathan Sher; Their Excellencies Michaëlle Jean and Jean-Daniel Lafond; Managing Editor, Joe Ruscitti.
The newspaper was awarded a 2007 Citation of Merit for its reporting on the elevated levels of lead in London’s drinking water. The paper discovered the city had been tolerating high levels of lead for at least 12 years because the province had no regulations to mandate water testing.
The photo taken following a ceremony at Rideau Hall on June 13, 2008.
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.