The National NewsMedia Council of Canada today announced that its new Executive Chair will be John Fraser, the veteran journalist, author and educator who was the founding president and CEO of the three-year-old institution. He succeeds Shelley Chrest of British Columbia who now resumes her former role as vice chair (Western Canada). The other vice chairs are Joanne De Laurentiis (Central Canada) and Miller Ayre (Eastern Canada).

In the position of Executive Director is Pat Perkel who will continue as Complaints Co-ordinator in this reconfiguring of the pivotal role she has been playing at the NNC since its inception. Brent Jolly, who has also joined the NNC full-time as Communications Director, will report directly to Ms Perkel. Ms Perkel has the special responsibility of providing speedy, non-litigious redress to members of the public for mistakes and ethical concerns or lapses in the media.

The NNC was formed in the fall of 2015 out of the former provincial press councils in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Atlantic Canada. The Alberta Press Council members have recently elected to join the NNC in January 2019.

The NNC founding chair was the Hon. Frances Lankin, now in the Senate of Canada. The new executive chair will take up his new position effective immediately. His special responsibilities will be to continue recruitment in the innovative academic membership programme, to expand the digital news media base of the Council, to liaise with various government bodies, and generally to disseminate the council’s mandate to defend journalistic ethics and the notion of non-litigious resolution of errors and disputes.