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The Globe and Mail wins the 2005 Michener Award
for series on Breast Cancer
Ottawa, April 11, 2006. The Globe and Mail has won the 2005 Michener Award for
meritorious public service journalism, David Humphreys, President of the
Michener Foundation, announced today. It was the second time in a row that the newspaper has won the award
for excellence in journalism.
Mr. Humphreys said winners of the Award and Citations of Merit were selected
from 61 entries, representative of large and small news organizations from
across the country. He said the high quality of the entries was an indication
of the excellence of public service journalism being done in Canada.
The Globe and Mail won for two series of stories about breast cancer by
reporter Lisa Priest. One series about the breakthrough breast cancer drug Herceptin prompted provincial government to fast-track the drug approval
process and expand use of the drug. It had been restricted to women who were
dying of breast cancer. A second series about breast cancer screening machines
prompted provincial governments to impose tighter regulations on clinics and
compelled many clinic owners of screening machines to pass a national quality
test.
The Globe and Mail was among six finalists honored this evening in a ceremony at
Rideau Hall. Editor-in-chief Edward Greenspon accepted the award on behalf of The Globe, from Her Excellency,
the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean.
The Governor General also presented Citations of Merit to five news organizations (see entry descriptions
below). In accepting the award, Mr. Greenspon said that "freedom of the press is one of the foundations of
our society and with that freedom comes the responsibility to pursue the public interest".
In her address to the assembled guests
attending the Award night ceremony, the
Governor General said she recognized the
courage journalists and news organizations
needed to carry out their work in the
oppressed regions of the world. She noted
that in 2005, more journalists had lost
their lives than in each of the previous ten
years and said "I would like to pay tribute
to all of the women and men who have given
their lives in the pursuit of truth." (The
full text of Her Excellency's speech)
Stories by
Lisa Priest, the reporter on this year's winning entry, have twice before been nominated for the
Michener Award. In 1993, while working for the Toronto Star, her two-part
series on the difficulties of getting treatment for Ontario breast cancer patients was awarded a Citation of
Merit. In 1998, she was part of a Toronto Star reporting team investigation
into the troubled Ontario health care system. For this series, the newspaper was honoured with the Michener
Award for meritorious public service journalism.
The Governor General also presented the
2006 Michener-Deacon Fellowship to Montreal-based
freelance writer Julian Sher, who will
investigate the scourge of child
pornography. Mr. Sher is
a documentary film producer, author of three investigative books and creator of
JournalismNet. (full
story)
Judges for the Michener Award said they were
pleased to receive an entry from the
Nunatsiaq News based in Iqaluit. The story titled 'Why
Inuit men are falling behind' was written by reporter Sara Minogue. This is
the first time an entry has been received
from the far north. Nunatsiaq News is an
English-Inuktitut weekly newspaper that has
served Nunavut and the Nunavik region of
Arctic Quebec since 1973. Iqaluit, a town of
over 6,000 people, is located at the end of
Frobisher Bay on Baffin Island.
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David Humphreys
President
Michener Awards Foundation
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David Humphreys made his first
appearance at the ceremony as President of
the Michener Awards Foundation. He thanked
the Governor General for her encouragement
and support of the award program. He said it
was a pleasure to welcome her as she
presides for the first time at a Michener
Awards ceremony. He went on to say.....
"We count ourselves distinctly honoured, but
also – I should say – fortunate that you are
patron of the Michener Awards. We are well
aware of your distinguished contribution to
Canadian journalism and are delighted that
you have become the Governor General. We
thank you for the support your
office has given the Michener Foundation.
Your arrival coincides with a good year for
the Michener Awards. We have 61 entries for
the award itself. The numbers have continued
to rise in recent years. We were
particularly pleased to receive the first
entry from Nunavut and, indeed, from the
North.
Over the years, we have received a variety
of submissions from sea to sea and now we
have added a third - that of the northern
Arctic - among our candidates.
For 36 years, the Michener Awards have
honored arms-length journalism that serves
the public good….journalism that leads to
positive change for Canadians.
Today, when political spin has been elevated
to an art form, it is crucial that we not
only maintain, but strengthen the tradition
that The Right Honourable Roland Michener
established in 1970. For the last 19 years,
the Michener- Deacon Fellowship has been
part of that tradition".
Citations of Merit were award to:
Canadian Medical Association Journal: Two Canadian Medical Association
Journal news editors,
Laura Eggertson and Barbara Sibbald, investigated a
screening form developed by the Canadian Pharmacists’ Association to guide
pharmacists in counseling women seeking the emergency contraceptive drug Plan
B. The form asked highly personal questions and could have posed a barrier to
access the drug. Following publication of the story, the Ontario Pharmacists’
Association decided to drop the screening form and to stop asking women for
personal identity information.
La Presse: A series of stories by Sébastien Rodrigue and Nicolas Bérubé revealed serious problems in
security on Montreal’s subway system, including rising crime levels and a lack
of coordination between the métro system’s own security force and Montreal city
police. Following publication of the series, the city of Montreal announced
that responsibility for security would be taken over by Montreal city police.
Radio-Canada: An investigation of two Hydro-Quebec power
facilities in northern Quebec by reporter Christian Latreille revealed a
serious lack of security at the huge dams, including unlocked doors and the absence of surveillance cameras
and alarm systems. Following broadcasts showing the
reporting team wandering through the facilities unimpeded, Hydro-Quebec
announced a plan to spend $130 million to improve security, including the
hiring of 200 guards.
Toronto Star: Following a series of stories by reporter Harold
Levy about the sloppy and incompetent work of a pediatric pathologist, a Sault
Ste. Marie man who had served 12 years in prison was released on bail after
Justice Minister Irwin Cotler concluded that there had been a miscarriage of
justice in his case. Ontario Chief Coroner Barry McLellan also announced a
widespread review of autopsies involving homicides and suspicious deaths of
children.
Victoria Times Colonist and The Vancouver Sun: Two competing
newspapers, working independently, each produced a series of stories about
problems affecting child protection in British Columbia that resulted in
sweeping reviews of the system. The Times Colonist published more than 70
stories by journalists Lindsay Kines and Jeff Rud on child protection while Lori Culbert and Miro Cernetig of the
Vancouver Sun focused in great depth on the death
of three-year-old Savannah Hall.
Award Night Photo Gallery
Representatives accepting Citations of Merit on behalf of their respective news organizations
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Giles Gherson
Editor-in-Chief
Toronto Star |
Barbara Sibbald
News Editor
Canadian Medical Association Journal |
Kirk LaPointe
Managing Editor
The Vancouver Sun |
Judges for the 2005 Michener Award:
Russell Mills (chair), Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Media and Design,
Algonquin College, and former Publisher of the Ottawa Citizen; Arch MacKenzie,
former Ottawa Bureau Chief, The Canadian Press and The Toronto Star; Dr.
Catherine McKercher, Associate Professor of Journalism and Communications,
Carleton University, and former Washington correspondent, The Canadian Press;
Duncan McMonagle, journalism instructor at Red River College in Winnipeg and
former Senior Editor, The Globe and Mail, and former Editor-in-Chief, Winnipeg
Free Press; René Roseberry, former News Editor, Le Nouvelliste, Trois Rivieres
and President of the Grands Prix des Hebdos du Quebec.
The Michener Award is presented annually to news organizations whose work has a major effect on public policy
or the lives of Canadians. The Award is given to a news organization rather an individual. Print and
broadcast media of any size are eligible. Special consideration is given to the news resources available to the entry.
Web sites:
www.michenerawards.ca
www.prixmichener.ca
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