Ottawa – The winners of the 2006 Dalton Camp Award are both from Western Canada and freedom of the press is the theme common to both winning essays.
Jocelyn Gerke, of Calgary and Joe Goodwill of Vancouver have won the annual award for their original essays on the link between democratic values and the news media. Prizes are being presented this evening at the Congress of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences at York University.
"I'm honoured to receive this award, named after such an accomplished commentator and writer as Dalton Camp," said Joe Goodwill.
Joe Goodwill's winning essay compares life in South Africa during the apartheid years to life in Canada.
"Canada is one of the most democratic nations in the world, and this is due in no small part to the role that the media plays in keeping people informed about what is really going on. This is perhaps most evident to those who have experienced living in countries that are not democratic...South Africa now has democracy, and a free press. But our minds were imprisoned in ignorance for so many years, and I remember how that ignorance fostered intense racism and hatred in so many people, and how that threatened my daughters."
Joe Goodwill is a full-time writer, researcher and parent, and is also working on a Masters thesis in English Literature and Gender Studies. Born and raised in South Africa, Joe has lived for the past eight years in East Vancouver with three young daughters, two of whom were adopted in South Africa.
"I wrote about the choices made by Canadian media outlets in covering the publication of the cartoons about the prophet Muhammad," said Jocelyn Gerke.
Ms. Gerke's essay explores how Canadian media outlets covered an international controversy while maintaining balance between freedom of the press and individual rights.
Jocelyn Gerke placed on the Canadian Young Historians' National Award Honour Roll in 2003 for an essay on Canadian history. In the autumn of 2006 she will attend the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business combined with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations.
The Dalton Camp Award is given annually to as many as three Canadian writers of original essays on the link between democratic values and the quality of media in Canada. Each Award consists of a cash prize of $5,000 as well as a bronze cast medal by Canadian sculptress Dora de Pédèry-Hunt. Friends of Canadian Broadcasting announced the creation of The Dalton Camp Award in December 2002 to honour the memory of the late Dalton Camp, who passed away earlier that year.
The Dalton Camp Award Selection Committee is chaired by Jim Byrd; the other members are Knowlton Nash and Maggie Siggins.
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is an independent, Canada-wide, non- partisan voluntary organization supported by 100,000 Canadians whose mission is to defend and enhance the quality and quantity of Canadian programming in Canada's audio-visual system. FRIENDS is not affiliated with any broadcaster or political party.
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For information:
Jim Thompson
613-447-9592