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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 Foundation President |
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.
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 |
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| Jeff Rud Reporter Victoria Times Colonist |
Louis Lalande General Manager, Regional Services Radio-Canada |
Philippe Cantin Vice-President La Presse |
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