Governor General David Johnston with the staff of the Edmonton Journal and Calgary Herald, co-winners 2013 Michener Citation of Merit.
Seated L-R: Karen Kleiss, Reporter, Edmonton Journal; His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston; Her Excellency Mrs. Sharon Johnston; Margo Goodhand, Editor-in-Chief, Edmonton Journal.
Standing L-R: Lorne Motley, Editor-in-Chief, Calgary Herald; Stephanie Coombs, Managing Editor, Edmonton Journal; Herald Reporter Darcy Henton; Monica Zurowski, Managing Editor, Calgary Herald; Russ Mills, President, Michener Awards Foundation.
The two newspapers were honoured for an investigation that revealed 145 children had died in foster care in Alberta over a 4-year period – almost three times more than the province had previously reported. The government was pressured to open death records for public scrutiny.
The photo was taken following the Michener Award ceremony held at Rideau Hall on June 11, 2014.
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.