Writers' Trust of Canada
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Stephen J.A. Ward

Stephen J.A. Ward is professor emeritus and distinguished lecturer in ethics at the University of British Columbia where he co-founded its school of journalism. His research focuses on the ethics of global digital media, the rise of extreme media, and the impact of these trends on democracy. He has written and edited 13 books including Radical Media Ethics, which won the 2015 Tankard Award, and The Invention of Journalism Ethics, which won the 2005 Harold Innis Prize. Ward was previously a war correspondent, foreign reporter, and newsroom manager for 14 years and covered conflicts in Yugoslavia, Bosnia, and Northern Ireland, among others. He is founding chair of the ethics committee of the Canadian Association of Journalists, which recognized him with a lifetime service award to Canadian journalism. He lives in Fredericton. 

Writers & Books

Award History

2025 - Finalist

Balsillie Prize for Public Policy

for

Irrational Publics and the Fate of Democracy

Jury Citation

“In Irrational Publics and the Fate of Democracy, Stephen J.A. Ward walks us through how we collectively interact as citizens in our political process and our political environment. Does it feel like world politics have become more passionate yet less rational? You are not alone. But how did we get here? As many of us would like to believe, we don’t just bring our “logic” or our “reason” to this process. Instead, we come with the totality of our human traits: passions, prejudices, instinct, hope, and fear. Ward’s insightful exploration of the interaction between populations and environments, provides readers an understanding of how we got here, where we are going, and how to make things better before they get worse.”—2025 Balsillie Prize jury (Samantha Nutt, Taki Sarantakis, and Scott Young)

Works Recognized by WT

Irrational Publics and the Fate of Democracy

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