Ted Koppel to pay tribute to Peter Jennings at The Canadian Journalism Foundation's 15th Annual Awards Gala

TORONTO, March 29, 2012 /CNW/ - Former ABC Nightline anchor Ted Koppel will present this year's Canadian Journalism Foundation Honorary Tribute posthumously to Peter Jennings, Canadian-born anchor and senior editor of ABC's World News Tonight, at the 15^th Annual Awards Gala on June 7 at The Fairmont Royal York in Toronto.

The CJF Honorary Tribute recognizes a Canadian media luminary who has made an impact on the international stage. Past honourees include Robert MacNeil, news anchor and co-creator of The MacNeil/Lehrer Report; Morley Safer, CBS News correspondent and Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair.

The award recognizes the former anchor and senior editor of ABC's World News Tonight for his broadcast career covering many pivotal events around the world. Born in Toronto, Jennings worked in radio and at CTV before moving to the U.S. and joining ABC News in 1964, where he would go on to set up the first American television news bureau in the Arab world and cover major events such as the building and fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of apartheid in South Africa and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"Peter, the Canadian, would be mortified by all the fuss," says Koppel, of the tribute. "Peter, the naturalized American, would be delighted."

Koppel was the anchor and managing editor of ABC's Nightline for 26 years, making him the longest-serving news anchor in broadcast network history. After leaving ABC, he served as managing editor of the Discovery Channel and as contributing news analyst and commentator for BBC America. Today he is special correspondent for NBC's prime time newsmagazine, Rock Center with Brian Williams, commentator for NPR and contributing columnist for The New York Times and The Washington Post.

The CJF's Annual Awards Gala is the night when Canada's top newsmakers meet Canada's top news people. More than 400 of the country's business and media luminaries will celebrate excellence in journalism and honour those who have made significant contributions to journalism throughout their careers. Barrie Dunsmore, a former ABC foreign correspondent who worked with Jennings at CTV and ABC, will be among those attending the gala to celebrate Jennings' legacy.

This year's Gala will be hosted by CTV National News correspondent, Seamus O'Regan. Previously co-host at CTV's Canada AM, O'Regan has also reported for W5 and CTV National News, and hosted programs on Bravo!

At the gala, the CJF will present the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Excellence in Journalism Award - awarded in two categories, large media and small media - the Greg Clark Award, the Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award, the Canadian Journalism Fellowships, and the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy.

For more information, visit http://cjf-fjc.ca/gala-2012.

The Canadian Journalism Foundation thanks the following organizations for their support of the awards gala: Accenture; Labatt; Waste Management Canada; Barrick; BMO Financial Group; Thomson Reuters; Medtronic of Canada. Thank you also to The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, CNW Group and CBC News for their in-kind donations.

About the Canadian Journalism Foundation
The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) is a not-for-profit organization that promotes excellence in journalism by celebrating outstanding journalistic achievement through an annual awards program; by operating journalism websites, J-Source.ca (English) and ProjetJ.ca (French), in cooperation with the country's leading journalism schools; and by organizing events that facilitate dialogue among journalists, business people, government officials, academics and students about the role of the media in Canadian society; and by fostering opportunities for journalism education, training and research.

Media requests should be directed to:
Wendy Kan, Program Manager
Phone: [phone] e-mail: [email protected]

To purchase a gala table or tickets, please contact:
Phone: [phone] e-mail: [email protected]
The Canadian Journalism Foundation
59 Adelaide St. E Suite 500, Toronto, ON M5C 1K6