User:Crseifert/Michel Auger

Michel Auger (1944 - ) is a Canadian journalist. He was a crime reporter with Le Journal de Montréal, and he spent 42 years in journalism, starting out as a freelancer before becoming well known for covering organized crime, including years of strife between rival motorcycle gangs in the province of Quebec. In 2000, he was shot six times in the back during an attack outside the newspaper office. In Canada and abroad, he is considered one of the best journalists regarding criminals in Canada.

Career
As a young reporter in his home province of Quebec, Auger started off freelancing stories, but gravitated towards crime reporting, where he made his mark on the journalism industry as a reporter who could communicate with both the police and the criminal element in the pursuit of stories. He began his career at Trois-Rivières Le Nouvelliste in 1964. From there he moved to the Métro-Express and radio station CKVL-FM. After moving to Montreal, he worked for the newspaper Montreal-Matin. From 1968 to 1979 he was a journalist with La Presse (Montreal). He then worked on The Fifth Estate (TV) programme for the CBC network from 1979 to 1984. Since 1984, he worked as a journalist for the Journal de Montreal. Over the years, he wrote on topics including the Mafia, criminal gangs and other topics, including the long and bloody conflict through the 1990s between rival Quebec motorcycle gangs, the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine. On August 28, 2006, Auger announced his retirement from daily reporting. He intends to continue to write columns, as well as work on television projects and more books.

Incident
Around 11 a.m. on 13 September 2000, Auger was in the Le Journal parking lot when an assailant came up behind him and shot him six times in the back. Despite his wounds, Auger was able to call 911 and summon help, and eventually recovered from the injuries, although doctors were unable to remove three of the bullets. Police have continued to investigate the shooting, but have not made any arrests.

Context
Rival motorcycle gangs in conflict ...

Investigation

 * Suspects Arrested in Connection with Auger Shooting:

Impact

 * Media Coverage of Organized Crime: Impact on Public Opinion:

Books
Auger has also written several books on crime and crime reporting, including his memoirs, The Biker Who Shot Me and The Encyclopedia of Canadian Organized Crime with Peter Edwards.

Awards
Michel Auger was a recipient of the Award of Free Expression in 2000 by the International Union of Francophone Press ( UPF ) for "in a difficult environment, maintained its independence despite the attacks on him."

Auger's work has been recognized with a number of awards, including one from the Canadian Association of Journalists, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, the National Newspaper Association, and the Quebec government.


 * Judith-Jasmin Hommage:

Drop bare urls here!

 * TVA Nouvelles:
 * IFEX.org:
 * Canadian Association of Journalists statement regarding the attack on Auger:
 * CUPE:
 * Ryerson Review of Journalism's article regarding the Auger shooting and its effect on editors assigning reporters to stories: