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Toronto Star wins 2002 Michener Award for
reporting on race and crime.
Ottawa, April 10th, 2003. The Toronto Star was the winner
of the 2002 Michener Award for meritorious public service journalism.
The Star won the award for 'Investigation into Race and Crime',
a series of reports that showed the Toronto police department treated
blacks differently than whites in the world's most ethnically diverse
city.
The Toronto newspaper was among six finalists honoured in a ceremony
at Rideau Hall. Jim Rankin, representing the Star, accepted the
award from Her Excellency, Adrienne Clarkson during a ceremony held
at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. Citations of Merit were presented to five
other newspapers. The Governor General said that "all six finalists
have every right tonight to be nominated for the Michener Award.
They show how freedom of speech really matters to us and how that
freedom commits editors and publishers to public service".
(full text of her award night address)
Margaret Munro
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The Governor General presented the 2003 Michener-Deacon Fellowship
to Margaret Munro, science writer with The National Post.
Ms Munro will use her 4-month study leave to travel from her base
in Vancouver to other major cities across the country, contact research
companies and interview doctors, ethicists and patients. She will
examine, among other issues, potential conflicts of interest and
ethical challenges arising from the pharmaceutical industry’s funding
of medical research. (Click here for
more on her fellowship and her report)The Toronto Star
series began in 1999 with reporters questioning the collection by
Toronto police of race-based numbers. The paper reached a milestone
in May 2002 when the police released a database of 480,000 arrests
and tickets and a further 800,000 charges. Reporters and experts
used computer-assisted analysis of the data to document unequal
police treatment of blacks and whites in the world’s most culturally
diverse city. Reports were published in October and November 2002.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission announced an inquiry into racial
profiling. Former Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander convened
a summit meeting of community leaders. The Ontario Solicitor General
announced a review of the public complaints system. The Toronto
police chief announced a race relations outreach program. The effects
of the series continue.
The judges said all six finalists for the Michener Award (selected
from 41 entries), provided excellent examples of public benefit
that resulted from publication of the stories. The judges decided
against singling out any one entry for honorary mention as the runner-up.
Award Night Photo Gallery - April
10, 2003
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(click on photos for a larger image)
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Finalists
Michener Award 2002
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Gilles Toupin
La Presse
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Shelley Page
Ottawa Citizen
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Ron Wood
Edmonton Journal
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Daniel Leblanc
Globe & Mail
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Joe Ruscitti
London Free Press
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Citations of Merit were awarded to:
La Presse (Montreal), for a series of reports which
examined homeless issues in depth following an eviction of homeless
persons from their place of refuge on Notre Dame St. in Montreal.
The newspaper began by exploring how and why certain individuals
find themselves obliged to spend their winters on city streets.
The reports helped to elucidate clearly the reality which is both
as widespread as it is misunderstood. La Presse demonstrated that
existing resources are inadequate make a difference. At first the
issue was considered to be an inevitable result of de-institutionalization
as well as the character of those without shelter. These articles
helped mobilize Montreal’s political will to apply the necessary
funds and innovative programs which address homelessness effectively.
To address the subject in a more global way journalists analyzed
how Paris, London and Toronto deal with the problem.
The Ottawa Citizen, for Drug Habits: Behind Canada’s Giant
Rx Bill, a seven-part series that undertook to answer the question,
What is driving drug costs to record levels? Three reporters examined
the practice of prescribing new, aggressively marketed, expensive
drugs that are not necessarily more effective than cheaper options.
They showed that some popular and expensive drugs are not nearly
as effective as their manufacturers claim. The series looked at
Canada’s restrictive patent laws and the politics behind them. The
impact of direct-to-consumer advertising by drug companies was scrutinized.
After the series was published Health Minister Anne McLellan decided
against introducing direct-to-consumer advertising.
The Globe and Mail, for reporting on questionable government
spending and impropriety. In early January of 2002, the Globe and
Mail published charges that the Minister of Public Works and Government
Services Canada and staff members repeatedly tried to influence
the commercial dealings of Canada Lands Co. and obtain jobs for
friends. On March 11, the paper reported the government paid a favoured
advertising agency $550,000 to produce a report of which no trace
could be found. In October, a two-part series was published which
detailed how a cozy network of insiders squandered taxpayers’ money
on federal contracts following the 1995 Quebec referendum. The Auditor
General said federal bureaucrats who were involved broke “just about
every rule in the book.” She referred the matter to the RCMP whose
investigation is continuing.
The London Free Press, for solid and persistent city
hall reporting that exposed widespread abuses. These included secret
overtime payments and buyouts to senior staff, the failure of managers
to keep minutes of meetings, neglect of anti-sexual harassment policy,
and the wielding of power by unaccountable bureaucrats that rightly
belonged to elected councillors. Three reporters were assigned to
the stories and many other staff members participated with columns,
editorials, pictures and cartoons. The City Council has undertaken
a series of reforms. Unusually strong interest has been shown in
challenging the mayor and council in the next election.
The Edmonton Journal, for Lost Children of Hobbema,
a series that brought into stark focus the tragic circumstances
that led to the deaths of seven children in three years on the oil-rich
Samson First Nation Reserve. Three Journal reporters won the confidence
of residents on the reserve to get their stories. The results showed
the impact of federal, provincial, and band policy and practices
-- including trust-fund cheques for 18-year-olds --on the lives
of native children. The series demonstrated that serious problems
faced by band welfare agencies were not detected by the Alberta
Children’s Services department before it was too late. The department
has changed its policy and every agreement with band agencies is
scrutinized to ensure the department is aware of potential problems
before tragedy strikes.
Judges for the 2002 Michener Award:
David Humphreys (chair of judging, Michener Awards Foundation),
former managing editor, The Albertan and The Ottawa Journal; Arch
MacKenzie, former Ottawa Bureau Chief, The Canadian Press and The
Toronto Star; Dr. Catherine McKercher, former Washington correspondent,
The Canadian Press, associate professor of journalism and communications,
Carleton University; Duncan McMonagle, former editor-in-chief, Winnipeg
Free Press; René Roseberry, former news editor, Le Nouvelliste,
Trois Rivières and President of the Grands Prix des Hebdos du Quebec.
The Michener Award is unique because of its emphasis on the impact
of the journalism for the public good, plus recognition of the resources
available to the entrant in an effort to put smaller and larger
organization on a more equal footing.
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