RTNDA Canada announces recipient of the prestigious RTNDA Canada President's Award - Robert Hurst

TORONTO, March 3 /CNW/ - Robert Hurst, President of CTV News has been
named the recipient of the 2008 President's Award by RTNDA Canada - The
Association of Electronic Journalists. It is the highest honour awarded by
RTNDA Canada.
The award is presented annually to an individual with a record of
distinguished service to the broadcast news industry; a person who promotes
excellence in broadcast journalism. The award will be formally presented to
Hurst on Friday, June 20 at the 2008 RTNDA National Conference at the Westin
Hotel in Ottawa.
Hurst was nominated for the award and the nomination was unanimously
endorsed by the RTNDA Canada Board of Directors.
According to RTNDA President Bob McLaughlin, "Robert Hurst is the kind of
journalist our industry should honour and Canadians should know more about. He
has lived and breathed news all his professional life and has represented this
country and our profession with distinction during a long and very successful
career." McLaughlin adds that "Robert Hurst is a generous mentor, a wonderful
storyteller and a guy with the kind of keen appetite for news that makes a
great newsroom leader".
As President of CTV News, Hurst oversees all aspects of CTV's national,
international and local news operations including CTV Newsnet, BNN - Business
News Network, CP24 and Court TV. During his 35 years as a journalist, Hurst
has distinguished himself as an award-winning reporter, a foreign
correspondent, executive producer and author.
Hurst's investigative work on Parliament Hill led to the tainted tuna
scandal that rocked the Mulroney government. As a war correspondent, Hurst
covered the invasion of Panama as well as civil wars in Nicaragua and El
Salvador. As CTV's Asia Correspondent, Hurst reported on the downing of Korean
Airlines 007. He was also in Moscow to cover the collapse of the Soviet Union
in 1991.
Hurst has won numerous awards for journalistic excellence - notably a
Gold Medal at the New York Film Festival for his documentary about life in
China after Mao Tse Tung, and at the Cannes International News Awards for his
riveting coverage of the Canadian seal hunt.

RTNDA Canada is the voice of electronic journalists and news managers in
Canada. The members of RTNDA Canada recognize the responsibility of broadcast
journalists to promote and to protect the freedom to report independently
about matters of public interest and to present a wide range of expressions,
opinions and ideas. The RTNDA Canada Code of Ethics adopted by the Canadian
Broadcast Standards Council, is used to measure fairness and accuracy in our
profession. RTNDA Canada Awards are recognized as the most prestigious
broadcast journalism awards in the country.