A Carleton journalism professor and one of the journalism program’s graduates have been awarded the Michener – L. Richard O’Hagan Fellowship for Journalism Education for a proposal to probe how artificial intelligence is incorporated into journalism education in Canada.
Freelance journalist Jessica Patterson and Carleton journalism professor Kanina Holmes have been awarded the prestigious fellowship for their project “AI Literacy for Canadian Journalism Education.”
Freelance journalist Jessica Patterson (left) and journalism professor Kanina Holmes have been awarded the Michener – L. Richard O’Hagan Fellowship for Journalism Education
The project aims to develop, test, and disseminate educational modules that will prepare journalism students for the critical and ethical use of artificial intelligence in Canadian newsrooms.
At a time when many media organizations are establishing guidelines for AI use, the project seeks to strengthen public trust in journalism by ensuring future journalists are equipped to use these tools responsibly.
Patterson is a freelance journalist, researcher, and instructor with 20 years of experience across Canadian and international media and is a graduate of Carleton’s Master of Journalism program. Her independent research on AI adoption in Canadian newsrooms was published by J-Source in December 2025. She teaches Advanced Practices in Multimedia Storytelling at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies.
Holmes is a graduate of Carleton’s Bachelor of Journalism program and has been on the faculty since 2003. Before joining Carleton, she worked in daily journalism for 20 years, including stints in local and national radio with CBC Ottawa and CBC Whitehorse, local and national television (with CTV in Ottawa, Global News in Winnipeg and CBC Ottawa and CBC North), and as a senior correspondent for Reuters. She is currently editor-in-chief of the Yukon Magazine and recently spent three years on a leave from Carleton as executive producer with CBC North. She is also a candidate for a Doctorate of Education at Simon Fraser University.
“This is such a formative time for journalism and for journalism education,” Holmes said. “This award will give Jessica and I the chance to figure out ways to build media literacy, critical thinking, and productive and ethical uses of AI, both in the classroom and in the field of journalism for the next generation of reporters.”
Carleton’s journalism program will serve as the institutional partner for the project and will pilot AI literacy modules in some journalism courses, involve journalism students in module testing and evaluation and host an instructor training workshop.
“This project addresses head-on an urgent need identified across Canadian journalism programs,’’ said Allan Thompson, the head of Carleton’s journalism program. “As educators, we recognize the gap between newsroom expectations for AI literacy and current pedagogical resources. We urgently need tested, ready-to-use curriculum modules that balance practical AI tool training with critical ethical frameworks.”
The Michener Foundation also announced the winner of the Michener-Deacon Fellowship for Investigative Journalism, awarded to Jordan Michael Smith for his project, “The Hague Mothers.” Smith’s project will investigate a critical loophole in the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction that can result in children being returned to potentially abusive parents, even when risks are known. The work will centre on the case of Thuy Nguyen, a Canadian woman whose children were returned to their father in Poland despite his status on Interpol’s most- wanted list.
The Michener fellowship recipients will be honoured at the annual Michener Awards ceremony at Rideau Hall on Thursday, June 18. This event unveils the winners of the Michener Award for public service journalism in Canada. Finalists for the 2026 Michener Award will be announced next week.
The Michener Awards honour, celebrate, and promote excellence in Canadian public service journalism. Established in 1970 by the late Right Honourable Roland Michener, Governor General of Canada from 1967 to 1974, the Michener Awards are Canada’s premier journalism award. The Michener Awards Foundation’s voluntary Board of Directors administers the award, in partnership with the Rideau Hall Foundation and with sponsorship from BMO, Cision, and Power Corporation of Canada. Learn more at www.MichenerAwards.ca.
Thursday, April 23, 2026 in Faculty In The News, General, Journalism News, News, Research
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