|
The 2000 Michener Award Winner
Ottawa, May 24, 2001. CBC Television's fifth estate, was winner of the 2000 Michener Award
for meritorious public service journalism for a series of six
investigative reports on the police and the justice system. CBC was
among six finalists selected from 44 entries.
The six fifth estate programs provided revealing details about how
police and justice officials approach their jobs, the techniques
they use, and the way they respond to mistakes.
One program described how an aggressive, politicized Toronto police
union threatened to target political enemies and carried out the
threats. Two programs were devoted to errors by the police and
prosecutors in the 40-year-old Stephen Truscott murder conviction.
Another described how police forces paid one criminal as a secret
informant and another as a witness in prosecutions; and the
Saskatchewan justice system came under scrutiny for allowing
preposterous charges ranging from sexual abuse to murder to proceed,
knowing they were false.Governor General Clarkson said the
finalists for the 2000 Award "have put their resources - human and
financial - into stories that were disinterested and in the public
service. Ultimately, these awards are about the public's benefit
from excellent journalism. (Full text of
Her Excellency's Award night address)
Martine Turenne |
The Governor General also presented the 2001 Michener-Deacon Fellowship
to Martine Turenne, a reporter with L’actualité magazine. The
Fellowship provides $20,000 to support a four-month study leave. Ms.
Turenne will use the Fellowship to report on the impact of the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on an underdeveloped region of
Mexico by studying at a Mexican university and living in the heart
of the region. Her proposal was selected out of 10 entries for the
Fellowship.
The Michener Award is open to both print and
broadcast media of any size, and it goes to a news organization
rather than an individual. Special consideration is given to the
resources available to the organization. There were 30 entries from
dailies, six from radio, five from television, two from news
services, and one from a monthly publication.
Honourable Mention:
The Globe and Mail received a certificate of Honourable
Mention, which goes to the runner-up in the Michener Awards, for two
entries that disclosed unethical practices in the securities
business.
One series described how Yorkton Securities Ltd. acted simultaneously as investor, investment adviser and corporate insider for
companies it was promoting. It resulted in a change of practices and an Ontario Securities Commission investigation. The second
series uncovered evidence of systemic "juicing" or "high closing" of prices on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Canadians investing in
mutual funds and pension funds could be paying too much due to artificially inflated prices as a result of these practices.
Citations of Merit went to:
Winnipeg Free Press for Innocents-On-Line, a series that led to a commitment by the federal government to amend the
Criminal Code to try to prevent pedophiles from stalking children on the internet. Starting with a tip from a reader, the series
documented cases of stalking but no police action was possible because no law had been broken. The Manitoba Justice Minister began a
campaign for an amendment to the Criminal Code which spread across the country.
The Toronto Star, for Blind Trust, an investigation into alternative medicine, demonstrated lax quality control and
misleading claims in the herbal remedy sector in Canada. Independent tests for The Star showed that what’s on the label often bears
no resemblance to what’s in the bottle. As a result of the series, the Ontario Coroner’s office established a means of tracking
deaths involving alternative medicine, a move that will give doctors a better understanding of the link between loss of lives and use
of unproven cures.
The Ottawa Citizen, for Losing the War on Drugs. This 16 part series drew the connection between illicit drugs and the
tough related social issues of organized crime, overdose deaths, addiction, smuggling, civil liberties, corruption and violence. The
thoroughly documented and researched series concluded the benefits of outlawing drugs don’t outweigh the harms they cause.
Alternatives to prohibition were outlined. The stories also had a broad impact on stakeholder groups and was a significant
contribution to the public policy debate.
The Telegram (St. John’s) for Access Denied, a successful challenge to the Newfoundland Freedom of Information Act.
Noticing an increasing tendency to withhold documents or deny requests, the paper assigned three reporters and an editor who worked
over seven months to test the act. They filed a range of 69 requests, tracked them through the system, and reported the results.
Following the project, the Newfoundland government announced a commission to review the issues raised.
Judges for the 2000 Michener Award:
Senator Joan Fraser, former editor, The Gazette, Montreal; David
Humphreys (chair) former managing editor, The Ottawa Journal and
European Correspondent for FP Publications; René Roseberry, former
news editor, Le Nouvelliste, Trois Rivueres and President of the
Grands Pix des Hebdos du Quebec; Arch MacKenzie, former Ottawa
Bureau Chief, The Canadian Press and The Toronto Star; Duncan
McMonagle, former editor-in-chief, Winnipeg Free Press.
The first award covered the calendar year 1970. Since then, a
rich variety of news organizations have had their names inscribed on
Michener trophies — print and broadcast, large and small, French and
English, East and West. The Michener was also the first national
journalism award open to both broadcast and print media.
|
