AB Press Council Chair appointment

For Immediate Release

The Directors of the Alberta Press Council are pleased to announce the selection of Dr. Joanna Harrington as the organization’s new chairman. Dr. Harrington begins her three-year term on September 1, 2011.

Joanna Harrington is a professor in the Faculty of Law and an Associate Dean in the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at the University of Alberta. She specializes in constitutional law and international law, including international human rights law. Before entering academia, she worked for well-known UK barrister, Anthony Lester QC, assisting with his work as a member of the British House of Lords during a period of significant constitutional reform. Called to the Bar of British Columbia as a barrister and solicitor in 1995, and the Bar of Ontario in 2002, she has also worked as a legal adviser with the Government of Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Her consultancy experience includes work with the British Council, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Judicial Studies Board of England and Wales. Dr. Harrington holds a B.A. from the University of British Columbia, a law degree (J.D.) from the University of Victoria, and a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Cambridge.

“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to contribute my knowledge and experience as a lawyer and law professor to the Alberta Press Council’s mission in promoting and publicizing our fundamental human rights to freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and access to public information,” Dr. Harrington said.

The Alberta Press Council was established in 1972, and was the first such body in Canada. Consisting of members from the public and the press, the Council’s mandate is:

to hear and mediate complaints brought against member newspapers
to defend the established freedoms of the press, and
to protect against limitations on access to public information

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For further information:
Colleen Wilson, Executive Secretary-Treasurer
Alberta Press Council
P O Box 2576, Medicine Hat, AB  T1A 8G8
Telephone:  1-888-580-4104 (Alberta) or 1-403-580-4104
E mail:  abpress@telus.net
www.albertapresscouncil.ca