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Newspaper editor to receive honorary award
APN News and Media Group Executive Editor Peter Owen will become an honorary Senior Fellow of the University of the Sunshine Coast on Friday 18 May.
USC Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Thomas AM said the award, to be presented at the University’s graduation ceremony, was in recognition of Mr Owen’s contribution to journalism on the Sunshine Coast.
“From 1990 to 2005, Peter held the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Sunshine Coast Newspaper Company and was responsible for editorial content in, among other publications, the Sunshine Coast Daily,” he said.
“The Daily, at that stage, was valuably contributing to the debate about a Sunshine Coast region, a debate that was furthered with the creation of a regional university,” he said.
“Peter also served as a member of the University Foundation Board from 1997-2002, and has been an active participant in other community organisations.”
Mr Owen said he was looking forward to attending the USC graduation ceremony on Friday.
“The media is often the target of criticism for what is perceived as negative or sensational coverage of issues,” Mr Owen said. “Most of the criticism is unfair and unjustified.
“It is a delight, therefore, for a newspaper man like me to be recognised for the positive contribution that a newspaper can – and does – make to the development of a region like the Sunshine Coast.
“I’m particularly pleased to be honoured by the University of the Sunshine Coast, with which I have had a long association. This University, like the Sunshine Coast Daily, I think, has been a powerful focus for unity in this region.”
The graduation ceremony will be among the largest held in Queensland with about 500 graduands attending and nearly 1000 eligible.
For the first time, the annual ceremony will be video-streamed live on the internet from the University of the Sunshine Coast website at <www.usc.edu.au>.