OTTAWA, May 5, 2009 - Nominations are being sought for the 10th annual Justicia Awards for Excellence in Journalism.
The Justicia Awards celebrate outstanding broadcast and print journalism that foster public awareness and understanding of the Canadian justice system. The criteria for judging entries are accuracy, originality, effectiveness in explaining issues to the public, informational value and insight. The Awards are sponsored by the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and the Department of Justice Canada.
Two prize winners, one for excellence in broadcast and one for print, will be chosen by an independent judging panel selected by the CBA and the Department of Justice. The Awards will be presented at the annual meeting of the CBA in Ottawa in the fall.
Last year, reporter Madeleine Roy and producer Mireille Ledoux were the winners in the broadcast category for their report "Justice pour Anas" on Radio-Canada's Emission Enquete in March 2008. The program examined the circumstances surrounding the 2005 shooting death of a 25-year-old Montrealer, Mohammed-Anas Bennis, at the hands of a police officer. Don Butler of the Ottawa Citizen was the winner in the print category for his November 2007 stories which examined the persistence of public support for tough-on-crime policies advocated by elected officials.
The nomination deadline is June 12, 2009 for stories that were published or broadcast between May 16, 2008 and May 15th 2009.
Nomination forms and a full description of the judging criteria may be obtained online at http://www.cba.org/cba/awards/justicia/ or by contacting Rose Wilson, Canadian Bar Association, at 1-800-267-8860 ext. 155 or rosew@cba.org.
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Rose Wilson
Media Coordinator
Canadian Bar Association
613-237-2925 or 1-800-267-8860 ext. 155
Stephen Bindman
Special Advisor
Department of Justice Canada
613-957-4930
