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The 1974 Michener Award - The Montreal
Gazette
Governor General Jules
Léger presents the 1974 Michener Award to Montreal Gazette
reporter Donna Gabeline. |
Ottawa, June 6, 1975 - The Montreal Gazette was the
recipient of the 1974 Michener Award for a comprehensive examination
of real estate
development in Montreal. Governor General Jules Léger made
the presentation during a ceremony at Government House in Ottawa and
reporter Donna Gabeline accepted the award on behalf of the
newspaper. The Cape Breton Post and the London Free Press received
honourable mention. This is the 5th year of the award program since
its inception in 1970.
The winning series was entitled "Montreal at the Crossroads".
Award judges described the Gazette's 13 part series of articles as "a thorough, detailed account of the problems
relating to downtown development, ranging through every aspect of
the process of rebuilding...to enhance Montreal's reputation as a humane city. Visionary as well as realistic, it embraced all aspects
of society and of activities". There was evidence the series had an impact on the 1974 civic election in Montreal. The
articles were written by Donna Gabeline, Gordon Pape, and Dane Lanken and formed the basis for a book and a follow-up series in
The Gazette.
Honourable Mention:
Cape Breton Post, Sydney, N.S., for a campaign that combined
investigative reporting and editorial prodding to force an
environmental assessment of a Nova Scotia Power Corporation project.
The London Free Press, for a story on conditions at the
Dearness Home for the Aged in London which touched off a
province-wide investigation into senior citizen retirement
facilities.
Judges for the 1974 Michener Award:
Fraser MacDougall, chair of the judging panel, former Canadian Press
executive and now executive
secretary of the Ontario Press Council; Yves Jasmin, assistant
secretary general of Communications at the National Museum of
Canada; Bill Boss, director of public relations at the University of
Ottawa; and Sam Ross, retired radio news correspondent, Vancouver.
The distinction between this and other media awards is primarily the
emphasis on the degree of arms-length public benefit that is
generated. Journalistic excellence alone is not enough. Other
criteria include the resources available to the news organizations,
an effort to level the playing field for small, medium and large
applicants.
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