In 1970, the administration of the Michener Award was handled by the Federation of Press Clubs and later the National Press club but on September 2, 1983 the Michener Awards Foundation/La Fondation des Prix Michener officially came into being with Paul Deacon as President. The first annual meeting of the board of the re-named Foundation was held at the National Press Club in Ottawa on November 12th, 1983.
Paul Deacon was President of the Michener Awards Foundation from 1983 to 1991.
In recognition of his dedication and contribution to the journalism award-giving organization, the Foundation renamed its annual fellowship - The Michener-Deacon Fellowship.
The first Michener award covered the calendar year 1970. It was also the first national journalism award open to both broadcast and print media. The award goes to the news organization itself, rather than the individual journalists involved in the story.