Michener Awards Foundation honours Honderich

Former Star editor recognized for his service to journalism

Former Toronto Star editor and publisher John Honderich will be posthumously awarded the 2022 Michener Awards Foundation’s Michener-Baxter Award.

The award, which acknowledges outstanding contributions to Canadian journalism, was also given to the late Norman Webster, former editor in chief of the Montreal Gazette and the Globe and Mail, and the international media development organization Journalists for Human Rights.

Coming from a legendary media family (his father Beland was appointed editor-in-chief of the Star in 1955), Honderich was considered a champion of journalism, reporters and progressive values. He died in February of a heart attack, leaving his family to accept and acknowledge the award on his behalf.

Honderich, who served as chair of Torstar Corp. until its sale to NordStar Capital in 2020, was involved in various aspects of the journalism world, often aiding behind the scenes. He was a member of the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario and received the 2019 Canadian Journalism Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in journalism in recognition of his devoted stewardship of the craft.

“When Canadian Press was floundering, he was there. When tiny J-Source was struggling, he was there. When the Michener Awards Foundation was in financial straits, he was there — rounding up donors and serving on the board for 26 years,” said the Michener Awards Foundation in a press release. “He was the force behind the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy, one of several vehicles he supported in pursuing a social justice agenda. He was an early patron of the Canadian Nieman Fellowship, joining as a trustee in 2001 and serving on the Selection Committee from 2005.”

Robin Honderich, his son and the director of editorial analytics and content monetization at the Star, felt that if his father was still alive he would have been over the moon to receive this award. He also mentioned that since Wednesday would have been his father’s birthday, it feels like a “really nice early birthday present.”

“In my dad’s upcoming book, he describes the Michener Awards as ‘indisputably the highest journalism prize in the country.’ He goes on to express the great pride he felt any time a Torstar property was nominated,” said Robin. “Accepting this honour almost certainly would have been one of his proudest moments. Our only regret is that he is no longer with us to enjoy it.”

“John was willing to roll up his sleeves and do the work. He represented journalism at its best, always invested in the public interest and never succumbing to fear,” said the foundation’s press release.

The award was established in 1983 and has only been awarded to eight Canadians since being created. This year’s awards were special as it was the first time that the Michener-Baxter Awards welcomed nominations from the public.

All three Michener-Baxter Awards will be presented at a ceremony taking place this fall, alongside the Michener Award and the Michener Fellowships.