Award winners, honorees take the stage at 13th Annual Gala

TORONTO, June 17 /CNW/ - Lise Bissonnette, RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis and the editors of Toronto Star and Metroland Durham Region were among the award winners and honorees at the Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) 13th Annual Awards Gala on June 10 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto.

Peter Mansbridge hosted the gala dinner, where close to 500 guests -- comprised of media luminaries, prominent journalists, business executives and academic leaders -- gathered to celebrate the CJF's 20th anniversary of fostering excellence in journalism.

The Toronto Star won the Excellence in Journalism Award in the large or national media category. "Editors, publishers and even owners are only as good as their reporters, and this country has some great reporters -- I'd like to say mostly at the Toronto Star, but also at the Globe and Mail and the National Post, and the Sun papers," said editor Michael Cooke during his acceptance speech. "It's the journalism of pursuit, the journalism of energy. We're blessed to be working with this kind of competition. It keeps us fit, and keeps us honest. But we need to back our reporters up with good salaries, and benefits, and legal protection... and not look so closely at their expense accounts."

Metroland Durham Region won the Excellence in Journalism Award in the small, medium or local market category. Joanne Burghardt, editor-in-chief of Metroland Durham Region publications, accepted the award on behalf of her staff. "Anyone who runs a newsroom should enter in the morning and just listen. If you hear your staff laughing, chatting or discussing their kid's soccer game, you have the ingredients for great journalism," she said. "If there's silence, you know there's a problem: there's no community, an important part of a solid newsroom. It's important to remember that great journalism happens in even the smallest newsrooms."

Other awards that were handed out during the evening include the Greg Clark Award, the Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award, the Canadian Journalism Fellowships and the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy.

For a full list of winners and links to photos and videos, visit the CJF GALA page (http://cjf-fjc.ca/gala.htm).

Thank you to our gala sponsors:

    
    Sun Life Financial
    Labatt
    Walton Group of Companies
    Waste Management of Canada
    Thomson Reuters
    Manulife Financial
    CIBC
    

CJF FORUMS 2010/2011 SNEAK PREVIEW

Stay tuned for details on our 2010/2011 CJF Forums season in the next newsletter and save the dates for these confirmed events:

    
         September 27:
         STATE OF JOURNALISM lecture, featuring David Frum

         October 12:
         DEMOCRACY AND JOURNALISM lecture, featuring David Miller
    

Thank you to CJF Forums Exclusive Series Sponsor, returning for the 2010/2011 season: BMO FINANCIAL GROUP

DID YOU MISS ANY 2009/2010 EVENTS? Reports, pictures and videos of the entire 2009/2010 CJF Forums season are available at our PAST PROGRAMS page (http://cjf-fjc.ca/programs_past.htm).

WE'RE MOVING TO 59 ADELAIDE ST. EAST

As of Friday, June 18, the Canadian Journalism Foundation will have a new home: 59 Adelaide St. East, Suite 500, Toronto ON, M5C 1K6. Changes to other contact info may be made upon arrival, however we anticipate e-mail addresses and our main phone number to remain the same.

IN THE NEXT NEWSLETTER:

    
    -  Details about the 2010/2011 CJF Forums season
    -  Speakers announced for Rotman Media Management Executive Education
       Program Oct. 15-17
    -  J-Source prize giveaway
    

/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/

For further information: The Canadian Journalism Foundation, 59 Adelaide Street East, Suite 500, Toronto, ON, M5C 1K6, Tel: [phone], E-mail: [email protected], http://cjf-fjc.ca