New fellowship honours slain journalist Lang

A new journalism fellowship has been created in honour of Michelle Lang, the Calgary Herald reporter who died in Afghanistan Dec. 30.

Canwest Publishing announced on Friday the creation of the Michelle Lang Fellowship in Journalism which will award up to $10,000 to fund a "special news project that holds significance for a Canadian audience."

Canwest said the purpose of the fellowship was to fund the kind of projects that Lang herself pursued — stories of social significance that have gone unreported or unnoticed.

"She had a great passion and garnered professional recognition for challenging politicians, highlighting injustices and exploring solutions to health-care challenges," Canwest said in a statement Friday. "Most important were the stories Michelle told of ordinary Canadians in extraordinary circumstances."

The Vancouver-born Lang, 34, was planning to spend a few days with the provincial reconstruction team and write about development in Afghan villages in Kandahar province when she died. Four Canadian soldiers also died when the vehicle they were riding in was hit by a bomb.

A trust for the fellowship was started with an initial investment of $100,000, including a $20,000 contribution from David, Gail and Leonard Asper and $80,000 from Canwest Publishing.

Any Scotiabank branch in Canada will be accepting contributions starting on Monday.

The fellowship will be open to a recent Canadian university graduate of any discipline.

He or she will also have a full-year internship with six months at the Calgary Herald and six months at Canwest News Service in Ottawa.

The first recipient will be announced in the fall.