Regulars of the ceremony, the student newspapers Montreal Campus And Freelance again distinguished themselves during the eleventh edition of the Duty of the student press. The evening, which took place at the Society for Arts and Technology, was an opportunity to discuss international journalism, with a tribute to René Lévesque and his journalistic career.
At the college level, Les Amis du Devoir and the public relations firm NATIONAL awarded ex-aequo the journalists of the Cégep de Jonquière, Galane Maréchal, and Amandine Rossato. The jury, made up of Louise-Maude Rioux-Soucy, Deputy Information Director of the Duty, as well as journalists Sébastien Tanguay and Stéphanie Marin, praised the “great maturity of Ms. Maréchal, allowing her to address difficult social issues with humanity, empathy and delicacy”. Regarding Ms. Rossato, it was her “rare curiosity” and her “great empathy in her writings” that seduced the jurors.
In its university component, the Duty of the student press was awarded to journalist Alice Fournier, from the Université du Québec à Montréal, who impressed the selection committee with her “constant concern to meet people affected by the realities to which she testifies, his great intelligence and sensitivity.
The duty and the René-Lévesque Foundation also awarded the René-Lévesque Student Press Prize, which recognizes people affiliated with the management of college and university-level student media who have demonstrated leadership in the performance of their duties. “We were very attentive to students who were not only engaged, but I would even dare to say, in some cases, combative”, declared the editor of the DutyMarie-Andrée Chouinard, who formed with the former journalist of the Duty now working at the René-Lévesque Foundation, Claude Lévesque, the jury of the Prize.
Noah Boisjoli-Jebali, editor of the newspaper The Hyphen du Collège de Maisonneuve was congratulated for his enthusiasm and motivation to relaunch his newspaper, which “like many other student media, has been battered by the pandemic”. The jury also praised his “professionalism” for the importance he attached to the distinction between reports and opinion pieces.
Emmy Lapointe, editor-in-chief ofImpact Campus, the Université Laval student newspaper, also won honours. The jury applauded “the investment and the resourcefulness that she demonstrated in facing the difficulties encountered by her medium. Ms. Lapointe “combines both exceptional leadership skills and an undeniable talent for journalism,” the jury noted.
The winners each received a scholarship of $1,500 at the college level and $2,500 at the university level.
Tribute to René Lévesque
The evening, which took place against the background of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of René Lévesque, opened with a tribute to the former Prime Minister. “Before being an icon, a builder of the Quebec nation, [il] was a great journalist”, recalled the director of the Duty, Brian Myles.
“To hear his reports again today, to reread his chronicles, is first of all to note that they are of a timeless quality”, abounded the chronicler of the Duty Jean-Francois Lisee. “A favorite journalist of the public, he became the favorite minister of journalists. »
Host of the news program Point de mire on Radio-Canada, film critic, René Lévesque began his journalistic career as a reporter during the Korean War.
In line with René Lévesque’s first impulses, the ceremony was also an opportunity to discuss the state of international journalism in the Quebec media.
During a discussion moderated by Brian Myles, journalists from the DutySarah Champagne and Clémence Pavic and Professor at UQAM’s School of Media, Patrick White shared their stories of reporting abroad and discussed the importance of going to the field.
The event was organized in collaboration with the Monville hotel.