Michelle Justine Lang (31 January 1975 – 30 December 2009) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

journalist. Lang was a ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...

'' reporter and the first Canadian journalist to die in the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

Biography

Born and raised in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Lang was an alumnus of

Magee Secondary School Magee Secondary School is a public secondary school on West 49th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is one of the first public high schools located in the Kerrisdale neighbourhood and is fed by the surrounding elementary schools in ...

and

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

. Her first job as a reporter was at the '' Prince George Free Press.'' She later moved on to ''Moose Jaw Times Herald'' and the ''

Regina Leader-Post The ''Regina Leader-Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Regina, Saskatchewan, owned by Postmedia Network. Founding The newspaper was first published as ''The Leader'' in 1883 by Nicholas Flood Davin, soon after Edgar Dewdney, Lieutenan ...

'', then moved to

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

to become a print journalist for the ''Calgary Herald''. She won a

National Newspaper Award 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 2008 for best

beat reporting Beat reporting, also known as specialized reporting, is a genre of journalism focused on a particular issue, sector, organization, or institution over time. Description Beat reporters build up a base of knowledge on and gain familiarity with t ...

, for her reporting on national and provincial health-care issues. Lang was on a six-week assignment to Afghanistan for the ''Herald'' and ''

Canwest News Service Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is an American-owned Canadian-based media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in Engl ...

'' when the armoured military vehicle she was riding in struck a roadside bomb. She died of her wounds and four Canadian soldiers were killed in the blast.

References

External links

Calgary Herald Afghanistan DispatchesFacebook memorial group for Michelle Lang
1975 births 2009 deaths Assassinated Canadian journalists Canadian newspaper reporters and correspondents Deaths by improvised explosive device in Afghanistan Journalists killed while covering the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Women in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Women war correspondents Journalists from Vancouver 20th-century Canadian journalists 21st-century Canadian journalists Canadian women non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian women journalists 21st-century Canadian women journalists {{Canada-journalist-stub

Biography

See also

References

External links