Before moving to Canada Nick Russell was a cub reporter on a British weekly. Subsequently, he worked in radio, TV, magazines, and for the Canadian Press. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) English from McGill; Master of Arts (Medieval English) from the University of London; and a Ph.D. (Journalism Ethics) from the University of Cardiff.
In 1968 he took over the journalism program at Vancouver Community College, which he built into a thriving career program. In 1983, he moved to Regina where he taught journalism for 15 years at the School of Journalism at the University of Regina. He is well known for conducting ethics and editing workshops for working journalists and is the winner of numerous heritage awards.
Russell is interested in heritage development and the restoration of historic homes throughout the Canadian West. He is president of the Hallmark Society, speaking for heritage in Victoria's Capital Regional District where he currently lives.
Nick Russell has written Morals and the Media, Canada's first study of journalism ethics (1994; revised edition 2006); in 1999 he co-authored Page 1, an anthology of fine Canadian newspaper writing. He has also co-edited a unique collection of archeological essays with photographs, Victoria Underfoot: Excavating a City’s Secrets, and is co-editor of a four-volume study of Victoria heritage homes, This Old House.
John Sawatsky was born in Winkler, Manitoba in 1948. A graduate of Simon Fraser University, he has taught and lectured on journalism at various universities. These include Carleton University and the University of Regina.
A former parliamentary correspondent with the Vancouver Sun, Sawatsky left daily journalism in 1979 to embark on a career as the author of several acclaimed books. His works include Men in the Shadows: The RCMP Security Service (1980), For Services Rendered: Leslie James Bennett and the RCMP Security Service (1982), Gouzenko: The Untold Story (1984), The Insiders: Government, Business, and the Lobbyists (1987), and Mulroney: The Politics of Ambition (1991).
In 1976 Sawatsky received the Michener Award for meritorious public service in the field of journalism. He has received various other professional honours and awards including the Ottawa Citizen Book of the Year for The Insiders and the Ottawa-Carleton Book Award for Mulroney: The Politics of Ambition.
John Sawatsky now lives in the United States.