Marcel Desjardins (28 April 194110 February 2003) was a Canadian journalist, news editor and director. He was a political correspondent for ''

Le Droit ''Le Droit'' is a Canadian French-language daily newspaper, published in Gatineau, Quebec. Initially established and owned by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the paper was published by Martin Cauchon and his company, Capitales Médias ...

'' and '' La Presse'', before becoming an editor at

Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

. He later returned to ''La Presse'' as the news director, then as the vice-president and assistant editor. He also covered ice hockey and was recognized with the

Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award The Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award is an accolade presented annually to a print newspaper columnist or reporter in recognition of their achievements covering the game of ice hockey. The award is "to recognize distinguished members of the newspaper ...

by the

Professional Hockey Writers' Association The Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) is a North American professional association for ice hockey sports journalism, journalists writing for newspapers, magazines and websites. The PHWA was founded in 1967 and has approximately 180 vot ...

Career

Desjardins was born on 28 April 1941, in

Grenville, Quebec Grenville is a village municipality in the Argenteuil Regional County Municipality of the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada. It is located opposite Hawkesbury, Ontario, on the Ottawa River. History Although Grenville was already shown on t ...

. He began his career in journalism at age 17, writing for ''Le Carillon'' in

Hawkesbury, Ontario Hawkesbury is a Franco-Ontarian city in United Counties of Prescott and Russell, Prescott-Russell county in Eastern Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Canada. The vast majority of its 10,550 inhabitants are Francophone Canadians, francophone. The Long-Sa ...

. He moved to Ottawa in 1962, then worked part-time for ''

'' and attended the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

. He married Micheline Danis in 1963, with whom he had three children. Desjardins later attended the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, then became the political correspondent for ''Le Droit'' in 1967, covering the events in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

. Desjardins joined '' La Presse'' in 1970, then became the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

. Desjardins was made an honorary member of the

in February 1971. He became the director of information for ''

Montréal-Matin ''Montréal-Matin'' ("Montreal-Morning") was a Quebec daily newspaper based in Montreal. It was published from 1930 to 1978. It was politically associated to the Conservative Party of Quebec and, afterwards, its successor the Union Nationale. ...

'' in 1976, then worked for

from 1979 to 1988, as the editor-in-chief of televised news broadcasts and as director of the political news program ''

Le Point ''Le Point'' () is a French weekly political and news magazine published in Paris. History and profile ''Le Point'' was founded in September 1972 by a group of journalists who had, one year earlier, left the editorial team of '' L'Express'', w ...

''. He was also responsible for the current affairs program ''Impact''. He received the

in 1984, in recognition of his hockey journalism. He was one of the founding governors of an organization established to oversee the

National Newspaper Awards The National Newspaper Awards (french: link=no, Concours canadien de journalisme) are prizes awarded annually for the best work in Canadian newspapers. Synopsis The awards were first given in 1949 by the Toronto Press Club, which ran the awards u ...

in 1989. He returned to ''La Presse'' as the news director in 1988, then became its vice-president and assistant editor in 1999.

Death and legacy

Desjardins died on 10 February 2003, and was interred at St-Alphonse Cemetery in Hawkesbury. Fellow Quebec television journalist Pierre Nadeau described Desjardins by saying, "The man was as solid as a rock, physically and mentally. He had an unerring sense of news judgment. He also had a fabulous sense of humour. He had a way of handling difficult egos with charm, tact, refinement and strength".

Jean Chretien Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

, then the

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

, knew Desjardins from his coverage at the House of Commons and remembered him for "his dynamic personality and his extraordinary talent".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desjardins, Marcel 1941 births 2003 deaths 20th-century Canadian journalists 21st-century Canadian journalists Canadian male journalists Canadian newspaper executives Canadian political journalists Canadian sportswriters Elmer Ferguson Award winners Franco-Ontarian people News editors People from Laurentides University of Ottawa alumni University of Toronto alumni