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 1984 Michener Award goes to
The Kingston-Whig Standard
November 16, 1985. Governor General Jeanne Sauvé
presented the 1984 Michener Award for excellence in journalism to
the Kingston Whig-Standard for a series of stories on reform of the federal tax
system. The newspaper was chosen from among five finalists.
Accepting the Michener award on behalf of the newspaper was its
editor Neil Reynolds. Radio Canada was judged to be runner-up and was given honourable
mention. Three other news organizations received citations of
merit (see below)
The awards were presented during a formal dinner
at Government House where Her Excellency congratulated the
recipients for their outstanding work and added - "In your
conscientious pursuit of truth and fact amidst all other detail, you
have accomplished much, and set a standard worthy of the emulation
and respect of your journalistic colleagues". (full
text)
The Kingston-Whig provided an illuminating 21-part series on tax reform. The judges said the newspaper "devoted editorial time and
news space unstintingly to its tax series and didn't hesitate to incur costs involved in getting the information". Reporters Peter
Miller and Ian Hamilton spent 9 months researching and writing the
study and produced 26 separate stories, totalling 48,000 words.
The stories were published on 22 consecutive publishing days from November 24 to December 19. Newspaper editor Neil Reynolds said the
greatest challenge in preparing the series was to present the failures of Canada's tax system in an interesting way "that the
ordinary person could enjoy after a long day at work". The information is now available in book form.
Present at the Rideau Hall ceremony was the founder and original patron of the Award, the Right Honourable Roland Michener. There
were a record 54 entries in the judging for the 1984 Award.
Honourable Mention: Radio Canada, for an investigation
into disturbing conditions at the Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine Hospital in
Montreal. The series touched off wide concerns in Quebec over conditions at the hospital which cares for 2,200 patients with an
average age of over 55. The program, broadcast on four consecutive days in April, followed up on a confidential report on the
hospital prepared by the Quebec order of nurses. It offered severe judgements on the hospital's organization and on the quality of
service. The broadcast resulted in a provincial inquiry and added impact to the story by capturing the attention of Quebec's English
and French language newspapers.
Citations of Merit ware awarded to:
The Ottawa Citizen, for stories investigating the 1981
takeover of Petrofina Canada by PetroCanada, revealing previously undisclosed costs as a result of the way the deal had been
structured. It ended up costing Canadian taxpayers up to 200 million dollars more than was reported at the time of the takeover. The
stories also became the catalyst which focussed public attention on the dispute between Auditor General Kenneth Dye and the Prime
Minister's office.
The Winnipeg Free Press, for a campaign to end parking law
violations by revealing that 85,000 violators owed the city $1.13
million in delinquent fines. The newspaper had to get a court order instructing police to issue names of delinquents with amounts of
the fines before launching its campaign in earnest. The initiative brought the city $300,000.00 in unpaid fines, speeded up fine
payments and encouraged more respect for parking laws. It also led to action in other major municipalities in Manitoba and queries
from cities across Canada.
The Globe and Mail for a campaign to change drug laws that
would permit doctors to prescribe heroin for the treatment of pain suffered by terminally ill cancer patients. The Globe published
the columns of W. Gifford-Jones, who is really Dr. Kenneth Walker, a long-time advocate of using heroin to ease the suffering of
cancer patients. The newspaper also supported the campaign with persuasive reasoned editorials and ran a compelling feature story on
the entire issue.
Judges for the 1984 Michener Award:
Fraser MacDougall, former Canadian Press executive and now executive secretary of the Ontario Press
Council; Bill Boss, retired director of public relations at the
University of Ottawa; Emery LeBlanc, former editor of L'Evangeline
and now director of public relations for Via Rail of Montreal; Robert Nielson, of Perth-Andover, N.B., retired veteran Toronto Star
staffer; and Jack Fleming of Calgary, retired newspaper and public relations executive.
The Michener Award has been presented annually since 1970 when it
was created under the auspices of then Governor General, Roland
Michener.
Websites:
www.michenerawards.ca
www.prixmichener.ca
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