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Manitoulin Expositor wins 1982 Michener Award
Ottawa, November 12, 1983. The weekly Manitoulin Expositor of Little
Current, Ontario was the recipient of the 1982 Michener Award for
public service journalism for its determined effort to reduce a
critical community suicide rate.
The Expositor, covering Manitoulin Island on the north shore of Lake
Huron, had been concerned for 10 years about a suicide rate it
estimated in 1981 was running at about 20 people per thousand or
twice the national rate. A constant stream of information and
opinion and finally, the concerted action it stirred up in the
community, led to a 24-hour telephone link to a Sudbury Telecare
system that resulted in the saving of two lives in the first few
weeks.
The Expositor was among six finalists honored in a ceremony at
Rideau Hall, Ottawa, presided over by His Excellency the Right
Honourable Ed Schreyer, Governor General of Canada.
Accepting the Michener Award on behalf of the weekly Manitoulin
Expositor was editor Peter Carter who said - “I guess we got
this award for community service in journalism. It’s not pleasurable
reporting suicide rates, but I think we did something by reporting
them, and that’s what journalism can do". Mr. Carter, a Sudbury native and
graduate from journalism at Ottawa’s Carleton University, worked in
the Espanola bureau of the Elliot Lake Standard before joining The
Expositor two years ago.
The newspaper’s publisher, Rick McCutcheon, said the paper simply,
“gave it (the suicide situation) the coverage we thought it
deserved” and added later that the entire Expositor Office staff,
together with its columnists, freelancers and community
correspondents, are able to share in this honour through their
unflagging efforts that enable the newspaper to publish each week.
Fraser MacDougall, Founding President and chair of the award jury,
cited The Expositor for, “proving that bigger isn’t necessarily
better and for tackling a critical suicide problem so effectively”.
Governor-General Schreyer spoke of the importance of a free press
and said that while the history of journalism has seen immense
changes in terms of technology, the responsibility of journalists
remains the same - "to present full, accurate, unbiased and truthful
information...and strive for the highest degree of professionalism".
(The full text)
He also thanked the Michener Foundation for
ensuring the awards are put on a solid footing that will ensure it
endures and occupies the place it really should on the nation’s
calendar.
This was the first Award ceremony held under the auspices of the
newly organized and newly titled ‘Michener Awards Foundation/La
Fondation des Prix Michener’. Paul Deacon, President of the
Foundation paid tribute to Roland Michener for recognizing and
fostering excellence in Canadian journalism. In a special
commemorative citation, Mr. Deacon honoured Clark Todd, CTV London
Bureau chief, who was killed in September covering the civil war in
Lebanon. A special award will be
presented next year to recognize his contribution to meritorious
public service journalism. (The full
text)
Michener Award founder, former Governor General
Roland Michener was present at Saturday’s ceremonies
and thanked both those who had nurtured both the award and, “the
sort of meritorious and socially-beneficial reporting the awards are
intended to recognize and encourage.”
Honourable Mention:
Michael Davie - The
Spectator
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The daily Hamilton Spectator, runner-up, received
honourable mention for sensitive reporting credited with helping to
ease the shortage of volunteers & money to benefit
the terminally ill in nearby North Halton municipality. Reporter Michael Davie developed
two telling stories and took the photos to illustrate them
while working as a one-man bureau for The Spectator in the local area. One feature story
described the efforts of a woman to win acceptance by the municipality of a system of
palliative care for the terminally ill and resulted in acceptance of and financial support
for the project from the regional local
government. More people volunteered and many more called for information about palliative care.
Citations of Merit ware awarded to:
Ed Struzik -
Edmonton Journal
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The Edmonton Journal, a previous winner, for a series of
86 articles it published on the impact and consequences of industrial pollution
at the Suncor oilsands plant in northern Alberta during the winter of 1982. Reporter Ed Struzik interviewed
company and government officials and people in the affected downstream com- munities, made a 10-day
canoe trip through the Athabaska Delta to see things at first hand, covered a pollution trial at
Fort McMurray, and obtained confidential documents from government sources. The
investigation forced provincial authorities into a number of remedial actions which
included laying pollution charges against the company and calling a major inquiry.
Michael Harris- The
Globe & Mail
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The Globe and Mail, for coverage about the plight of Donald
Marshall, the Nova Scotia Micmac Indian who spent 11 years in prison
for a slaying he did not commit. Sentenced to life in prison in
1971, Marshall asserted his innocence continuously in Dorchester
prison and eventually was released on day parole in March, 1982.
He remained silent until Globe and Mail reporter Michael Harris
persuaded him to go public. The story told about the prison ordeal
of a man sentenced to life at age 17 and of the RCMP's discovery of
new evidence that supported his claim of innocence. The Globe series stirred the criminal justice system into action - a Nova
Scotia Supreme Court hearing and eventual acquittal when Marshall
became a fully free man.
CBOFT (Radio-Canada) Ottawa for a TV production that illustrated the talent and
unsuspected skills of the handicapped and how they can benefit
society. The television play 'On est comme on est' was written,
interpreted, and produced by shut-in handicapped people and aimed at
increasing their self-confidence by showing their exceptional
courage and gifts. By presenting the play, CBOFT producer Line Robinson and her
crew helped give the Ottawa area Radio Canada audience a much deeper
understanding of what handicapped people can do if given an
opportunity.
CKTV Regina for one program in a series of documentaries entitled 'Decade
of the Family' dealing with the responsibilities of the family in
the 1980' decade. The particular program entered for the Award took
a searching, sensitive look at suicide, its alarming growth,
particularly among the young, and how it affects individuals and
families. The provincial minister of education said the film had a
significant impact on young people, making them aware that there are
other solutions for their problems than suicide.
Judges for the 1982 Michener Award:
Fraser MacDougall, Founding President and chair of the judging
committee; Charles Edwards, former General Manager of Broadcast
News (who died in the week following the final judging); Emery LeBlanc, former editor of L’Evangeline of Moncton, New
Brunswick; and Marcel Gingras, former editor with Ottawa’s daily Le Droit.
Judges for the Michener Award are guided by the criteria of
disinterested, meritorious public service. While those three
qualities remain paramount, the judges also take into account the
available resources of a news organization to let the smaller
players compete more equally with the larger.
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