On June 12, the annual CJF Awards brought together more than 500 journalists, media executives and business leaders from across Canada for a sold-out celebration of journalistic achievements of the past year. Omar Sachedina, Chief News Anchor and Senior Editor for CTV NATIONAL NEWS, hosted the awards ceremony at which the Winnipeg Free Press received this year’s CJF Jackman Award for Excellence in Journalism (large media category) for The Inquest Files
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.
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.
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.
