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Nominations open for 2020 CCWPF Press Freedom Award

By February 19, 2020 March 4th, 2020 No Comments

Do you know a journalist or media employee whose work has been frustrated by a cloak of secrecy over the public’s right to know, or by legal manoeuvres or political intimidation? Do you know of a reporter who has risked his or her safety or reputation for the sake of free speech? If so, why not nominate him or her for the annual Press Freedom Award from the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom?

This annual award goes to a journalist or media worker in Canadian print, digital or broadcasting who has made a significant contribution to freedom of expression, often by standing up to government or private interests that would thwart the reporting of events or stories of significant public interest, or by advancing press freedom through the subjects he or she reports on. Institutions that work towards the same objectives may also apply or be nominated.

Nominations based on work related to press freedom in 2019 are now open. The application deadline is March 15, 2020. The winner receives a $2,000 prize and a certificate from the Canadian Commission for UNESCO at the annual World Press Freedom Day Luncheon in Ottawa on May 5, 2020.

The CCWPF is among many organizations that seeks to raise awareness about the journalists who face hardship, including imprisonment, or even risk their lives to inform the public.

The CCWPF 2019 press freedom award winner was Michael Robinson, a journalist with The Telegraph-Journal in Saint John, N.B., whose tenacious investigation—in the face of opposition from the provincial government—exposed a critical shortage of paramedics that put peoples’ lives in danger.

Other winners in the award’s 22-year history have included: The Independent, an online publication and Newfoundland and Labrador; Ben Makuch (Vice News); Patrick Lagacé (La Presse); Paul Dornstauder and Geoff Leo, (CBC Saskatchewan); Mohammed Fahmy (Al Jazeera English); Katherine Gannon (Associated Press); Michelle Lang, posthumously (Calgary Herald); Stephen Maher and Glen McGregor (Postmedia); Daniel Leblanc (Globe and Mail); John Hoey and Anne Marie Todkill (Canadian Medical Association Journal); Gilles Toupin and Joel-Denis Bellevance (La Presse); Tarek Fatah (author and columnist); Juliet O’Neill (Ottawa Citizen), Andrew McIntosh (National Post); Haroon Siddiqui (Toronto Star); and Kim Bolan (Vancouver Sun).

To apply for the award or to nominate a deserving Canadian journalist or media worker, please fill out our nomination form.

For further information: Shawn McCarthy, CCWPF president, smccarthy@globeandmail.com; Janice Tibbetts, award coordinator, janice.tibbetts@carleton.ca