Harvey Oberfeld

Harvey Oberfeld (born March 4, 1945 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a retired print and television journalist. He graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University) in Montreal. While attending university he was a reporter for The Georgian campus newspaper. His stories on the possible cancellation of the scheduled Youth Pavilion at Expo 67 for lack of adequate capital/operational funding led to wider media coverage and substantial new corporate contributions that saved the Pavilion; Oberfeld was appointed to the Youth Advisory Committee for Expo 67.

Print Journalism

After graduating, Oberfeld took his first daily newspaper job at the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, covering, among other stories, the early court appearances of David Milgaard, who was wrongfully convicted for the 1969 murder of Saskatoon nursing student Gail Miller. (Milgaard was granted a retrial (subsequently stayed by the Government of Saskatchewan) in 1992; in 1997 a DNA test confirmed that semen samples on the victim's clothing did not originate with Milgaard.) After moving to the Regina Leader-Post for two years, Oberfeld joined [http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/index.html The Vancouver Sun] in 1971, initially covering the Burnaby and then Vancouver city halls, and then becoming The Vancouver Sun's first Regional Affairs Reporter, inaugurating full-time coverage of the Greater Vancouver Regional District as it assumed a larger role in regional services, including its first Livable Region Plan for comprehensive planning/development in the Greater Vancouver area. Oberfeld was promoted to The Vancouver Sun's Victoria Bureau in 1974, covering the BC Legislature under the NDP government of Premier Dave Barrett and then the Social Credit government of Premier Bill Bennett.

Television Journalism

In 1979, Oberfeld joined BCTV's Legislative Bureau, making the switch to television during the station's "Golden Era" under News Director Cameron Bell and Assignment Editor Keith Bradbury. Their strategy of hiring accomplished newspaper reporters to bolster the flagship [http://www.canada.com/globaltv/bc/index.html News Hour] news program helped propel BCTV to the top of the ratings (according to the [http://www.bbm.ca/en/home.html Bureau of Broadcast Measurement] ), a position it still holds under new owners CanWest Global. Oberfeld was a key reporter in the station's coverage of British Columbia's " [http://www.leg.bc.ca/hansard/32nd4th/32p_04s_820709a.htm Dirty Tricks Scandal] ", which eventually saw eight B.C. government employees lose their jobs amidst allegations of election-boundary interference, phoney letters-to-the-editor and secret election-fund bank accounts. In 1981, BCTV moved Oberfeld to Ottawa, Ontario where he became the station's first full time Bureau Chief during Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau's final term in office. He also covered Parliament Hill under Prime Ministers John Turner and Brian Mulroney. Oberfeld returned to Vancouver in 1989, where he did political and investigative reporting for BCTV / Global until he retired in 2006.

Oberfeld currently writes a blog at [http://www.harveyoberfeld.ca www.harveyoberfeld.ca] .

Awards

During his career, Oberfeld won several regional and national journalism awards including:

* Canadian Association of Journalists' Award (1990) for Outstanding Investigative Reporting in Canada by a Regional Television station
* [http://www.jackwebster.com/awards/awinners.php Webster Award] for Best Reporting of the Year (1991-Television)
* [http://www.jackwebster.com/awards/awinners.php Webster Award] for Excellence In Legal Journalism (2004)
* Canadian Association of Broadcasters Gold Ribbon Award (1991) for a News Series
* Radio-Television News Directors Association of Canada Dan MacArthur Awards (1991- Regional and National)
* BC Association of Broadcasters Award (1996) for Best Reporting-Television

References

* [http://www.harveyoberfeld.ca http://www.harveyoberfeld.ca]
* [http://www.caj.ca/ Canadian Association of Journalists]
* [http://www.jackwebster.com/awards/1991.shtml Webster Awards, 1991]
* [http://www.jackwebster.com/awards/2004.shtml Webster Awards, 2004]
* [http://www.cab-acr.ca/english/about/awards/goldribbon/default.shtm Canadian Association of Broadcasters Gold Ribbon Awards]
* [http://www.rtndacanada.com/Content.asp?PageID=4.5.4 Radio-Television News Directors Association of Canada Dan MacArthur Awards]
* [http://www.bcab.ca/exc_award.html BC Association of Broadcasters Excellence Award]