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1992 Michener Award Winner (enlarge for details)

The Journal won the award for a series of stories generated by judicial reliance on psychiatric testimony. Reporter Tom Barrett had concluded that "serious flaws" exist in that reliance and cited examples of psychiatric gullibility, sharp differences in professional psychiatric conclusions, and overly-willing judicial tendencies to rely on such evidence on fundamental issues of innocence or guilt.

Tom Barrett accepted the award on behalf of the newspaper which was among 50 entries vying for the Michener trophy. The Winnipeg Free Press was honoured as runner-up and two other dailies were given citations of merit (see below).

Governor General Hnatyshyn praised the quality of this year's entries. He said that truth and account-ability were products of the journalistic profession and craft and represented the "very foundation stones of a free and democratic society". He also paid tribute to Bill MacPherson, former publisher of the Ottawa Citizen, who championed the establishment of the annual Michener Award by convincing Roland Michener to lend his name to the recognition of excellence in public service journalism. (Governor General's full text)

The President of the Michener Awards Foundation, Clark Davey, said that "just doing the job (reporting) isn't enough to win you a Michener. We need proof that your work has had the kind of impact that moves people's hearts and their minds - that stirs their sense of justice and changes the rules, and the laws, to make our society a better place. That's what we term 'meritorious and disinterested public service in the field of  journalism'...and that's the standard against which we measure the dozens of applications our judges consider each year". (complete text)

Each year, one or two fellowships have been awarded to mature journalists who wish to use four-month study-leaves to enhance their ability to pursue public service journalism. During the award ceremony, His Excellency Ramon Hnatyshyn presented 1993 Michener Fellowships to David Evans and Christian Rioux.

David Evans is on the staff of the Ottawa Citizen and worked previously for The Sault Ste. Marie Star, the Montreal Gazette and the now defunct Ottawa Journal. He is currently on scholarship at Stanford University. He plans to use the 4-month study-leave to attend a course in Ukrainian history to extend his education in Russian and eastern European affairs. (update: Evans fellowship report)

Christian Rioux is a reporter with L'Actualité magazine. He has specialized in economic, cultural, international and political affairs and has contributed to many Quebec publications. He intends to study the emerging global phenomenon of nationalism as exemplified by Scotland, Catalonia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Honourable Mention:

The Winnipeg Free Press, for a story about recent abuse-related children's deaths in Manitoba that were not investigated and the changes that resulted from the Free Press examination. A number of cases involved native youngsters. As the stories were published, criminal charges were laid in three of the deaths, a special review committee was established and the province promised better police work and better training for police and other professional involved in child-abuse cases. This is the third straight year that the Free Press is a finalist and the reporter on the child abuse story, Ruth Teichroeb was the recipient of last year's Michener Fellowship.

Citations of merit were awarded to:

1992 Michener Award Finalists [Click to Enlarge]

The Toronto Star, for a series on problems in the Ontario air ambulance service and changes caused by the Star's news stories. The service became the target of reporter Kevin Donovan after a tearful phone call from someone who said Ontario's air ambulance service was an accident waiting to happen. It sent him on a four-month investigation among tight-lipped provincial, government, and private sector sources. The stories disclosed that the $33 million-a-year air ambulance service was plagued by medical and aviation problems that jeopardize the lives of some of the 16,000 patients who fly with it each year. As a result of the stories, there has been one inquest established for a death, a senior official fired for conflict of interest and the launch of an internal government inquiry.

The Globe and Mail, for the Red Cross tainted blood controversy. Reporters Rod Mickleburgh and Andre Picard were asked to find out how and why the safety system failed for 1,000 Canadians who died from HIV-infected blood inflicted by operations and transfusions. From the murky record, often dimly recalled for assorted reasons, there continues to emerge evidence that demands an official reckoning from the federal government, Red Cross, and other private and public organizations responsible for lethal "tainted blood"

Arch MacKenzie, Chair of the judging panel; former Ottawa bureau chief of the Canadian Press and the Toronto Star; Jeannine Locke, former journalist with the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, the Ottawa Citizen and the Toronto Star; now-retired CBC film-maker; Marilyn MacDonald, former Atlantic provinces magazine and CBC journalist, now director of public relations at Dalhousie University, Halifax; Barry Mullin former ombudsman, Winnipeg Free Press, now journalism lecturer at the University of Winnipeg; Claudette Tougas, editorial writer, La Presse, Montreal.

Senator Finlay MacDonald, chair of the judging panel, Sandy Baird, former publisher of the Kitchener-Waterloo Record; Ottawa; Huguette Laprise, executive assistant with La Presse Canadienne, Montreal; and Guy Rondeau, retired chief of the Quebec Service of La Presse Canadienne, Montreal.

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