Arthur and Sandra Lang accept the Michener-Baxter Special Award from Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada. The award was presented posthumously to their daughter Michelle Lang, the Calgary Herald reporter who was killed while on assignment in Afghanistan last December. Photo was taken at a ceremony held in Rideau Hall, Ottawa, May 27, 2010.
In December of 2009, Michelle Lang arrived at the NATO military base at Kandahar Airfield to cover the war in Afghanistan for the Canwest newspaper group. On December 30th, she left the base to report on Canadian soldiers working with a reconstruction team in rural villages. She was in a light armoured vehicle with several soldiers conducting a patrol near Kandahar City when they were hit with an improvised explosive device. Ms Lang and four soldiers died in the attack.
The Special Award, established in 1983, is presented infrequently at the discretion of the Board of Directors to an individual whose achievement exemplifies the best in public service journalism. The award was renamed this year as the Michener-Baxter Special Award in honour of the late Clive Baxter. Mr. Baxter accepted the first Michener Award on behalf of the Financial Post. He and his family have been generous supporters of the Michener Awards Foundation..