Canadian Association of Journalists
The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) or L'Association Canadienne des Journalistes in French is one of several Canadian organizations of professional journalists. It was created to promote excellence in journalism and encourage investigative journalism. The CAJ claims to act as a national voice for Canadian journalists.
[edit] History
The CAJ was founded in 1978 as the Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ). A few senior Canadian journalists founded the CIJ to counteract the isolation of the one or two reporters in the average newsroom who did investigative work. One of CIJ's initiatives was the Canadian Committee to Protect Journalists, a press freedom group that later became Canadian Journalists for Free Expression(CJFE). In 1990, the organization changed its name to its current form to reflect a broader emphasis on all journalism and attract additional members. Promoting investigate journalism remains one of the CAJ's main goals.
[edit] Awards
The CAJ holds an annual conference during which it presents various awards including a Computer-Assisted Reporting award. In addition to awards for professional excellence, the CAJ presents a Code of Silence Award to celebrate "Canada's rich bureaucratic culture of secrecy."
At the 'Muck Rake 2004' conference in Vancouver in May, 2004, the federal government Health Canada department won its third Code of Silence award.
