TORONTO, June 12, 2024 /CNW/ - The Winnipeg Free Press is this year's recipient of the CJF Jackman Award for Excellence in Journalism in the large-media category, open to media with more than 50 newsroom employees. The Free Press received the award tonight at the annual Canadian Journalism Foundation Awards.

Named in honour of CJF founder Dr. Eric Jackman, this annual excellence award since 1996 recognizes news organizations, large and small, that embrace ideals of journalistic excellence – originality, courage, independence, accuracy, social responsibility, accountability and diversity—with a resulting positive impact on the communities they serve.

The CJF honoured The Winnipeg Free Press for The Inquest Files, which reported on two decades of inquests into fatal shootings involving several Manitoba police forces. This series examined the barriers and delays faced by one Anishnaabe family to participate in an inquest, exposing how expert witness testimony favours law enforcement and revealing judges' unwillingness to make tangible recommendations. It is the second time the independent newspaper received the Jackman Excellence award

In the small-media category, The Montreal Gazette won for a series highlighting the preventable nature of six deaths at the Lakeshore General Hospital emergency room and exposing how the West Island Health Authority covered up the circumstances surrounding these deaths: Staff haunted by suicide at the Lakeshore Hospital ER; Whistleblowers flagged deaths at Lakeshore ER multiple times and Premier "shielded" from harsh realities of Lakeshore ER, sources say. It is the first time the Gazette has received a Jackman award.

Held at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto, the CJF Awards brought together more than 500 journalists, media executives and business leaders from across Canada to celebrate journalistic achievements of the past year.

Among the evening's other honourees:

• CJF Award for Climate Solutions Reporting: This $10,000 award, sponsored by Intact Financial Corporation, celebrates a journalist or journalistic team whose work shines a spotlight on the climate crisis and related innovative solutions. This year's honour went to Tobie Lebel of CBC/Radio-Canada's Découverte team, consisting of director Sylvie Mallard and project team members Nicholas Chentrier, François Genest and François Dubuc, for Hydrogène : révolution ou mirage?, exploring the role that hydrogen might play in the energy transition.
• The Landsberg Award, celebrating exceptional coverage of women's equality issues, went to Lindsay Jones for articles in The Walrus, WIRED and The Globe and Mail that examined sexual violence against women and exposed systemic bias in policing and the courts. The award is presented in association with the Canadian Women's Foundation, which provides the $5,000 prize.
• The William Southam Journalism Fellowships, which reward mid-career journalists with an academic year to audit courses and participate fully in life at Massey College, are awarded annually by the University of Toronto and Massey College. This year's winners are:
  • Jonathan Goldsbie, an editor at Canadaland, as the Webster McConnell Fellow. Since 2007, Goldsbie has written and spoken about politics, media, power, elected leaders and the intersections among those forces; 
  • Shree Paradkar, a Toronto Star columnist, racial justice and equity advocate, who received the William Southam Journalism Fellowship. Paradkar, who has reported around the world, is the previous recipient of two Amnesty Awards for Human Rights reporting and the Racial Justice in Media award by the Urban Alliance of Race Relations;
  • Freelancer Ashley Fitzpatrick, recipient of the St Clair Balfour Fellowship, has more than 15 years' experience reporting local news in Newfoundland and Labrador with a focus on construction megaprojects and the ongoing energy transition; 
  • Award-winning broadcaster Beatrice Senadju of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation receives the Gordon N. Fisher/Journalists for Human Rights Fellowship; and
  • Mostafa Al-a'sar, an Egyptian multidisciplinary, researcher, human rights defender and former political prisoner who spent nearly four years behind bars in Egypt for his journalistic work, is the recipient of the CJFE/Massey College Fellowship.

Additionally, the following previously announced bursary, fellowship and other award recipients were recognized at the event.

• The CJF Bursary for BIPOC Student Journalists, designed to support students who have demonstrated strong engagement with the BIPOC community and a commitment to high journalistic standards, went to Jacob Aron Leung. The bursary is supported by MediaProfile.
• The inaugural CJF-Narcity New Creator Fellowships are to provide aspiring news creators with comprehensive training and mentorship from Narcity Media's editors and journalists during a six-week paid internship. These fellowships are supported by YouTube Canada and the Google News Initiative.
  
  The inaugural CJF-Narcity News Creator Fellows are:

• • Jessica Barile, Montreal;
  • Corinne Boyer, Montreal;
  • Rachel Ruth Pablona Guanlao, Toronto;
  • Brahim Ait Ouzineb, Ottawa;
  • Tharsha Ravichakaravarthy, Toronto; and
  • Amber Sandhu, Vancouver.
• The CJF Black Journalism Fellowship Program, established to amplify Black voices, improve coverage of Black issues and cultivate future Black media leaders, provides a unique opportunity for early-career Black journalists to be hosted for six months at a newsroom with award partners The Globe and Mail, CBC/Radio-Canada, CTV News and the Investigative Journalism Bureau (IJB). The 2024 fellowship recipients are:

• • Dominique Gené, the inaugural CJF-Globe and Mail Black Business Journalism Fellowship, with thanks to sponsor Canada Life;
  • Démar Grant, the CJF-IJB Black Investigative Journalism Fellowship, with thanks to sponsors North Horizon and Unifor;
  • Aajah Sauter, the CJF-CBC/Radio-Canada Black Journalism Fellowship, with thanks to sponsors lululemon and Justice Fund;
  • Zuhra Jibril, the CJF-CTV News Black Journalism Fellowship, with thanks to sponsor BMO Financial Group; and
  • Daysha Loppie, the CJF-CBC/Radio-Canada Black Women's Journalism Fellowship, with thanks to sponsor Aritzia.

• The CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowships, established to foster better comprehension of Indigenous issues, were awarded to Odette Auger, an award-winning freelance Sagamok Anishnawbek journalist currently living on the West Coast in toq qaymɩxʷ (Klahoose) territory; Jaclyn Hall, a self-taught journalist born and raised in the community of Akwesasne; and Savannah Ridley, a student journalist currently studying at Toronto Metropolitan University. CBC Indigenous will host the three recipients for one month in either Winnipeg or Montreal. With thanks to award sponsor Sobeys Inc.
• The Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award, which provides an early-career photojournalist with the opportunity to spend six weeks at The Canadian Press head office in Toronto, went to Paige Taylor White, a Vancouver-based photojournalist and videographer. The award is co-presented by The Canadian Press and supported by Sony.
• The CJF-Edward Burtynsky Award for Climate Photojournalism, which celebrates provocative, impactful and inspirational climate photography from around the world was awarded to Jesse Winter. This award is generously supported by Marci McDonald and Clair Balfour, Lisa Balfour Bowen and Sony.

Special CJF honorees included Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Phillip Crawley, in recognition of his inspiring leadership at the helm of one of Canada's flagship newspapers. David Thomson, Chairman of Thomson Reuters and The Woodbridge Company, presented the Award to Crawley, who steered the Globe and Mail to new heights of excellence during his 25-year tenure as its CEO and publisher. During this time, the newspaper became synonymous with groundbreaking journalism, investigative reporting and fearless coverage of critical issues shaping the nation and the world.

In addition, media icon Kara Swisher was honoured with the CJF Tribute, presented by award-winning business journalist and author Jacquie McNish, in recognition of Swisher's trailblazing journalism career, fearlessly speaking truth to power within the technology industry.

The evening also featured the CJF's annual In Memoriam tribute to journalists who have passed over the preceding year

Omar Sachedina, Chief News Anchor and Senior Editor for CTV NATIONAL NEWS, hosted the awards ceremony.

The CJF also launched its book documenting its own history at the awards. Entitled, As Journalism Goes, So goes Democracy, A History of the Canadian Journalism Foundation, this book documents the history of the foundation since its 1990 launch and tells the story of the evolution of Canadian journalism over the past three decades. The CJF thanks its founder, Dr.Eric Jackman, for his generous support of this book.

The CJF is grateful for the generous support of presenting sponsor CIBC for its awards evening.

The CJF also thanks sponsors Google News Initiative, Rogers, Labatt Breweries of Canada, MobSquad, Canadian Medical Association, McCain Foods, Sobeys Inc., Canadian Bankers Association, FGS Longview, Aritzia, BMO Financial Group, KPMG Canada, RBC, CTV News, Canada Life, Scotiabank, Accenture, TD Securities, Davies, Apple Canada News, The Balsillie Family Foundation, Maple Leaf Foods, Loblaw Companies Ltd., CDPQ, Woodbridge Company, Aga Khan Development Network, Tom's Place, Ontario Schools Cricket Association, Bennett Jones LLP, Canadian Women's Foundation, Blakes, Sunnybrook Foundation, Desjardins, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Power Corporation, Jackman Foundation, Zai Mamdani-Mamdani Family Trust and Rishi Nolan Strategies, Massey College.

Thanks also to Porter Airlines, The Globe and Mail, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, The Canadian Press, Bespoke Audio Visual and CISION for their in-kind contributions.

Cision is the exclusive distribution partner of the CJF.

About the Canadian Journalism Foundation
Founded in 1990, The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) fosters excellence in journalism through the support and recognition of emerging and experienced journalists and their organizations and enhances the public's understanding of fact-based journalism. The CJF facilitates dialogue about the role of journalism in Canadian society and the ongoing challenges for journalism in the digital era through its J-Talks public speakers series, which are hosted at venues across Canada and online. The Foundation recognizes excellence in journalism through its prestigious awards programs, which are showcased at the CJF's annual gala. Through its fellowships programs, the Foundation provides opportunities for journalism education, training and research to encourage a diverse Canadian media. #CJFawards

SOURCE The Canadian Journalism Foundation