Catherine Cano is the recipient of the 2000 Michener-Deacon Fellowship. She accepted the fellowship from Governor General Adrienne Clarkson during the Michener Award night ceremony held at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, April 10, 2000.
The Fellowship is intended to allow the journalist four months of studies that promote the public interest and benefit the community while at the same time enhancing the journalist’s own competence. The fellowship is awarded annually, depending on merit.
Ms Cano is an executive producer with Radio-Canada Television in Montreal. She earned a degree in political science from the University Ottawa. Under her guidance as director/coordinator, the program Le Téléjournal / Le Point won a Gemini Award for Best News Program in 2000 and was named a finalist in 1999.
In her project outline, Ms Cano notes that television news programs are in transition due to the increasing globalization and competition in the communications field. The revolution in production and transmission technology seems to favour speed and efficiency with which news is treated at the cost of originality and diversity which distinguish one news program from another.
Several key issues have emerged: Has publicly-funded television sufficiently adapted to technological change? How has competition from the private sector affected public broadcasting? Should public television strive for diversity in its handling of daily news coverage and presentation? Is being ‘different’ from commercial broadcasters important to its survival?.
To answer some of these questions Ms Cano will review the role of the CBC in terms of its “raison d’être”, public acceptance, ratings, and the rules and conditions under which it operates. She will also examine the ultimate question: Is there in fact any need for publicly funded television? (Cano Fellowship Report)
Judges for the 2000 Michener-Deacon Fellowship:
Jodi White, Managing Director of Sydney House, Ottawa (chair of the judging panel); Shirley Sharzer, former journalist at the Toronto Telegram, Toronto Star and Globe and Mail, former member of the University of Western Ontario journalism faculty; Claire Helman, former film-maker and public affairs broadcaster, Montreal; Clinton Archibald, Professor of Public Policy and Management, University of Ottawa; and Bruce Wark, professor of journalism at University of King’s College, Halifax and former senior editor at CBC Radio.
Each year the Governor General has honoured Michener Award and Fellowship winners at a Government House ceremony. Each of Roland Michener’s successors has graciously adopted and maintained a personal interest in the Michener Awards Foundation and its commitment to Canadian journalism excellence.