Brian Stewart: Winner of the 2009 Ross Munro Media Award‏

News release (links added):

The Conference of Defence Associations (CDA), in concert with the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI), is pleased to announce that Brian Stewart, journalist for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), has been selected as the recipient of the 2009 Ross Munro Media Award. The selection committee was unanimous in its decision.

Brian Stewart has played a distinguished role in informing Canadians about their military and its actions at home and abroad, particularly the Afghan mission. A uniquely qualified multimedia professional noted for his personal courage, integrity and balanced insight, he has made issues of security and defence accessible to millions of Canadians and has contributed immensely to informed discussion of these vital subjects. He represents the best in the tradition of Canadian journalism, and is hence worthy of the Ross Munro Media Award.

The Ross Munro Media Award was initiated in 2002 to recognize Canadian journalists who have made a significant and extraordinary contribution to increasing public understanding of Canadian defence and security issues. Recipients of the award have produced outstanding work regarding the efforts of the Canadian Forces in preserving Canadian democratic values. The award consists of a replica of the Ross Munro statue and a cheque for $2,500.

Previous recipients of the award are Stephen Thorne, Garth Pritchard, Sharon Hobson, Bruce Campion-Smith, Christie Blatchford, Matthew Fisher and Alec Castonguay.

Brian Stewart was born in Montreal in 1942. He graduated from Ryerson's School of Journalism and began working for the CBC in 1971, as host for The Hourglass, a local evening newscast. Two years later he transferred to Ottawa as CBC's foreign affairs and military specialist and soon after became CBC's foreign correspondent in London. In 1987, Brian Stewart returned to Canada as senior reporter for CBC's flagship show The Journal. A leading reporter on The National since 1992, he also hosted the current affairs segment, The Magazine from 1998-2000. He was the anchor of CBC News
World View from 2002-2004 and went on to host the international affairs show CBC News: Our World. A veteran foreign affairs journalist, Brian Stewart has reported from ten war zones and most recently covered the conflict in Afghanistan on his regular feature "Inside the Mission" on The National.

The selection committee was chaired by Lieutenant-General (Ret'd) Richard J. Evraire, Chairman CDA. Members of the Selection Committee were Dr. J.L. Granatstein, Canadian Military Historian; Mr. Alec Castonguay, journalist for Le Devoir; Mr. Stuart Robertson, of O'Donnell, Robertson & Sanfilippo; and Colonel (Ret'd) Charles Keple, Vice-Chairman CDA (Public Affairs).

The Award will be presented at the CDA Institute's Vimy Award Dinner, which will be attended by the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada, on Friday, November 20, 2009 in the LeBreton Gallery of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario.

Inquiries may be directed to Captain (Ret'd) Peter Forsberg, Public Affairs Officer, at telephone (613) 236-9903, fax (613) 236-8191, or email
pao@cda-cdai.ca

Babbler's "WTF, Over?" Update:

All I can say about this award is that it is obviously now at the point where its sole purpose seems to be illustrating the spectacularly thin bench strength in Canadian defence reporting.

Brian Stewart? Really?

Stewart takes over with even more incomplete information, implication and insinuation, and spin. I use the term 'spin' advisedly here, because I can't think of how a paid journalist with decades in his craft could put something so lop-sided together and present it on air if he wasn't deliberately trying to guide his viewers to a predetermined conclusion.

...

If Stewart knew more about the military, he'd know that the line of command is crystal clear to those in the chain of command - it has to be. When he says it's "very unclear," what he's really saying is that it's unclear to him. And that makes him uncomfortable, since journalists are supposed to have clear access to everything. Just ask them, they'll tell you.

I like and respect the good folks at the CDA. All I can say to them is this: the award should have been put on the shelf for a year if Stewart is the best you could find to exemplify a journalist who "made a significant and extraordinary contribution to increasing public understanding of Canadian defence and security issues."

Significant and extraordinary, my pasty white arse.