The Michener Awards Foundation has announced the recipients of the 2025 Michener-L. Richard O’Hagan Fellowship for Journalism Education and the Michener-Deacon Fellowship for Investigative Journalism.
The fellowships support Canadian journalists in pursuing projects that advance the public interest through investigative and educational journalism.
Chris Arsenault and Josette Lafleur are being recognized in the Journalism Education category for their project “How They Did It,” a multimedia initiative – spanning podcasts and videos – providing aspiring journalists with an insider’s view into the craft of investigative reporting in Canada.
Arsenault is an experienced journalist and chair of the Master of Media in Journalism and Communication program at Western University. Lafleur is a multimedia journalist, newsreader, and producer with CBC Kitchener-Waterloo.
Katrine Desautels is being award the Michener-Deacon Fellowship for Investigative Journalism for her project “The Impacts of Limited Access to Running Water on Healthcare Delivery in Nunavik’s Indigenous Communities and the Consequences on Public Health.”
Desautels’ project offers a rare opportunity for in-depth reporting from Nunavik, investigating the devastating effects of limited access to running water in northern Indigenous communities. Desautels is a journalist with La Presse Canadienne, specializing in covering health issues affecting vulnerable populations.
The Michener fellowship recipients will be honoured at the annual Michener Awards ceremony at Rideau Hall on Thursday, June 5, hosted by Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada. The Michener Award for public service journalism in Canada will also be unveiled at the event.
