Canwest Announces 2008 Broadcasters of the Future Awards.

Awards reflect Global's commitment to the growth of Canada's future broadcasters

TORONTO -- A Montrealer who relishes collaboration; a British Columbian who wants to use the media to inspire people and a Penelakut Tribe member who wants to tell the stories of Canada's voiceless have been named winners of Global Television's 2008 Broadcaster of the Future Awards.

The annual awards - that draw interest from young journalists throughout the country - are intended to encourage and assist talented and enthusiastic Canadians in establishing or furthering careers in Canadian broadcasting through a series of scholarships and internships. The awards reflect Global's commitment to fostering journalism and developing broadcasters to tell the important Canadian stories that need to be told.

"We commend all of this year's applicants for their hard work and interest in the broadcast industry," said Kathy Dore, President of Canwest Broadcasting. "This year's recipients demonstrate a vision, passion and dedication to the craft of journalism and story telling.

"In honouring them we're saying that the future of broadcasting in Canada looks bright."

Winner of the Scholarship-Internship award for a Student with a Disability is Alyce Lyn Pumphrey of Montreal, Quebec.

Alyce Lyn has demonstrated a wide diversity of talent in the media from writing and producing radio and television projects to editing and promoting multimedia projects. Comfortable leading or working behind the scenes, it is the collaborative nature of working in the media that interests Alyce Lyn most.

She believes that her physical disability is not an impediment to success and she believes that people only fail when they stop trying. It's a message that Alyce Lyn delivered in a video project that encouraged people with disabilities to pursue post secondary studies.

Having achieved a Bachelor of Arts in Communications (television and radio), Alyce Lyn will use the benefits of the Global scholarship award to complete her Masters of Arts and then use the internship to hone her media skills in the workplace.

Winner of the Canadian Visible Minority Scholarship Award is Anupreet Sandhu Bhamra of Surrey, British Columbia.

At a time when technology and demographics are challenging the media to carry out their craft differently, Sandhu Bhamra has demonstrated the ability to work across a number of platforms to reach consumers who are accessing information not only through traditional sources television and newspapers but also electronically through blackberries and personal computers. She also believes journalists need to be more in touch with Canada's diverse nature to provide the full context of events and issues taking place in our communities.

She is an award-winning journalist who has reported for a number of news organizations in Canada and India across major media platforms - print, television and web - for over a decade. She is currently a Master of Journalism candidate at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver.

Sandhu Bhamra has been an anchor and reporter for Vancouver-based channel m (Now Omni BC) and co-production credit on a magazine-length news documentary for USA-based Dan Rather Reports. She has also produced/edited special online reports and her most recent project involves a CBC-commissioned documentary on a team of medical students, who travelled to India to help a remote boarding school in the Himalayas set up a health centre. Sandhu Bhamra's work has also appeared in The Globe and Mail, and the Vancouver Sun and India's leading national newspapers, The Hindustan Times and The Indian Express.

Winner of the Aboriginal Peoples' Internship Award is Steve Sxwithul'txw of Vancouver, British Columbia.

A tribal police officer for more than eight years, Steve decided to pursue a career in journalism to tell the stories about those in Canada that are voiceless. A descendant from the Penelakut Tribe near Vancouver Island, Steve traveled between his home on the island and Vancouver for two years taking journalism courses part-time.

Through part-time work with CTV News in Vancouver and later with CBC radio, he learned the fundamentals of journalism and found the rhythm of a newsroom. With this experience he had the opportunity to work with the Aboriginal show First Story as a producer of a half-hour segment. This later turned into freelance work which he continues today. Steve believes the Broadcaster of the Future Award will enable him to obtain the skills in a nurturing environment that will enable him to become the best journalist he can be.

About Canwest Broadcasting:

Canwest Broadcasting operates two conventional television networks, Global Television and E!, and eighteen of the country's most popular specialty channels, including HGTV, Mystery TV, National Geographic Channel, Showcase, Slice(TM) and TVtropolis. Canwest Broadcasting is a division of Canwest Media Inc.

About Canwest Media Inc.

Canwest Media Inc is a subsidiary of Canwest Global Communications Corp. (www.canwest.com; TSX: CGS and CGS.A). An international media company, Canwest is Canada's largest publisher of paid English language daily newspapers and owns, operates and/or holds substantial interests in conventional television, out-of-home advertising, specialty cable channels, web sites and radio stations in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Turkey, Indonesia, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the United States.