PRESS RELEASE (cliquez ici pour le français)

CHRISTINA MACLEAN
2015 ROSS MUNRO MEDIA AWARD WINNER

 
The CDA Institute, in partnership with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, is pleased to announce that, in a unanimous decision Christina (Chris) MacLean has been selected as the recipient of the CDA Institute Ross Munro Media Award for 2015.

Born and raised in Ottawa, Chris MacLean began her magazine career in 1976 as Art Director with Canadian Review magazine (then published by E. Graydon Carter, now the Editor of Vanity Fair). Chris' fascination with defence topics began with work on DND's in house public affairs Sentinel magazine. Ms. MacLean held management positions in private print and publishing companies in Ottawa before seizing an opportunity to return to the magazine world. As Managing Editor and then General Manager of Vanguard magazine, she steadily developed the business from 1998 until the untimely passing of the publisher (her mentor) in 2003. Not wanting to let such a talented pool of experts dissipate, Chris then took on the challenge of establishing Canada's FrontLine Defence magazine which quickly took the lead, informing and stimulating discussion within the defence and security sectors.
 
Ms. MacLean has a long connection with the military going back several generations, including her grandfather, father, uncle and brother who all served with the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa. She fondly remembers them dressed in their various generations of kilted uniforms. Her grandfather remained an active member of the CH of O Regimental Association until he passed, at the age of 101 – he celebrated his 96th birthday with a parachute jump! Ms. MacLean considers a week-long media deployment to Canadian Forces bases in Bosnia among her life-changing military travels.

The Ross Munro Media Award commemorates Ross Munro, the celebrated Canadian war correspondent who reported on the Second World War in Europe. The Award was initiated by the Conference of Defence Associations and the CDA Institute in 2002 to recognize Canadian journalists who have made a significant and extraordinary contribution to increasing public understanding of Canadian security and defence matters. Recipients of the award have produced outstanding work regarding the efforts of the Canadian Armed 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 (2002), Garth Pritchard (2003), Sharon Hobson (2004), Bruce Campion-Smith (2005), Christie Blatchford (2006), Matthew Fisher (2007), Alec Castonguay (2008), Brian Stewart (2009), Murray Brewster (2010), Rosie DiManno (2011), Adam Day (2012), and Louie Palu (2014). There was no recipient for 2013.
 
The Selection Committee was chaired by Lieutenant-General Richard Evraire (Ret'd), Chair Conference of Defence Associations (CDA). Members of the Selection Committee were Vice-Admiral Denis Rouleau (Ret'd), CDA Chair designate; Mr. Nicolas Laffont, Editor-in-Chief, 45eNord.ca; Mr. Stuart Robertson, of O'Donnell, Robertson & Sanfilippo; David Perry, Senior Analyst, CGAI; Ferry de Kerckhove, Executive Vice-President, CDA Institute; and Murray Brewster, correspondent, The Canadian Press.
 
The award will be presented on Thursday, 18 February 2016, during the jointly-organized CDA and CDA Institute's Conference on Security and Defence at the Fairmont Château Laurier, Ottawa.
 
Conference Registration is available at the following link: http://www.cdainstitute.ca/en/cda-and-cda-institute-2016-ottawa-conference-on-security-and-defence?view=Events&layout=register
 
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Tony Battista, Executive Director of the CDA and the CDA Institute
execdirector@cda-cdai.ca