Governor General David Johnston with the editorial staff of the fifth estate, winner of the 2010 Michener Award. The photo was taken following the Michener Award ceremony at Rideau Hall on June 14, 2011.
L to R: Russell Mills, President, Michener Awards Foundation; Maria Caloz, producer/director; Lynette Fortune, associate producer; His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston; Hana Gartner, reporter/host; Her Excellency Mrs. Sharon Johnston; Jim Williamson, executive producer; David Studer, Director TV current Affairs.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s investigative program the fifth estate won the 2010 Michener Award for its reporting on the incarceration and death of Ashley Smith, a seriously troubled teenager who spent the last four years of her life behind bars for a minor offence.
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.