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 digital weekly 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, Capital ...

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

Radio-Canada Radio-Canada may refer to: * CBC/Radio-Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation *Ici Radio-Canada Télé, the CBC's main French-language television network *Ici Radio-Canada Première Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) i ...

. 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 by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association.

Career

Desjardins was born on 28 April 1941, in Grenville, Quebec. He began his career in journalism at age 17, writing for ''Le Carillon'' in Hawkesbury, Ontario. He moved to Ottawa in 1962, then worked part-time for ''

'' and attended the

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

. 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 university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, 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 () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

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

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

. Desjardins was made an honorary member of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association 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 (historical), Conservative Party of Quebec and, afterwa ...

'' 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 conservative news magazine published in Paris. It is one of the three major French news magazines. ''Le Point'' was founded in 1972 by former journalists of ''L'Express'' and quickly rose to be ...

''. He was also responsible for the current affairs program ''Impact''. He received the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award 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 () 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 until 1989. They are now given by an independent ...

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 Pierre Nadeau (; 19 December 1936 – 3 September 2019) was a Canadian journalist, television presenter and producer. He began in journalism as a radio reporter in 1956, inspired by his father's work with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Rad ...

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, then the

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...

, 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 Memorial Award recipients Franco-Ontarian people News editors People from Laurentides University of Ottawa alumni University of Toronto alumni