One of the world's most innovative television pioneers, Moses Znaimer, has been selected as the recipient of the 2008 Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award recognizing an outstanding individual who has contributed to the growth and advancement of the Canadian music industry. Znaimer will be presented with the honour during the JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards on Saturday, April 5th, 2008 in Calgary, Alberta and further feted during a special segment in The 2008 JUNO Awards, Sunday, April 6 on CTV.

"Moses Znaimer is truly an inspiration and a unique force in broadcasting; his contribution and role in the Canadian music industry has been invaluable" says Melanie Berry, President of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) which presents the annual award.

"It's very sporting of CARAS to confer this honour upon me," says Moses Znaimer. "I was there in the early days when Walt and Stan first launched the awards that have become the JUNO Awards. I'm looking forward to being in Calgary in April and renewing old acquaintances and meeting new faces in the music trade."

Znaimer's extensive and influential history in Canadian television includes co- founding and running Toronto's avant-garde and independent television station, Citytv in 1972. Over the next 30 years, Znaimer developed more than a dozen more stations including Bravo! Canada's NewStyleArtsChannel, Fashion Television, MuchMusic, MuchMoreMusic, MuchLoud, MuchVibe, MusiMax, Musique Plus, SPACE: The Imagination Station, Star! - The Entertainment Information Station and SexTV.

He also made television Canadian history by participating in the historic bid to privatize Alberta's public educational television station, ACCESS, transforming CKVR Barrie from a CBC network affiliate into The New VR and leading the creative transformation of other stations across Ontario. Znaimer also built The New VI from scratch in Victoria, B.C.

Internationally, Znaimer licensed MuchaMusica, a Spanish language pop music joint venture seen in South America; "Jyrki" in Finland; Citytv Bogota in Colombia; and Citytv Barcelona in Catalunia, Spain.

Currently, Znaimer owns Classical 96.3FM in Toronto and 103.1FM in Cobourg, Ontario. He is the President/Executive Producer of MZTV P&D, a boutique independent television production and distribution company, and the Producer and Presenter of the annual ideaCity Conference.

Znaimer has received many honours for promoting multiculturalism, race relations and tolerance including: The Urban Alliance on Race Relations Diversity Award; The Human Rights Centre Gold Medal; the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews Human Relations Award; and the Advancement of Minorities in the Entertainment Industry Achievement Award from the Black Film and Video Networks.

Canadian Association of Broadcasters presented Znaimer with the 1998 CAB Gold Ribbon – Canadian private broadcasting's highest award to an individual - and the Hakone Impact Award for pioneering and championing Interactivity and NewMedia by Apple Computer. Znaimer received Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and was awarded the Chevalier De L'Ordre des Arts et Letters by the Republic of France in 2003. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame in 2004; is the only Television Content Creator and Operator to receive the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for lifetime achievement (2005); and joined the Order of Ontario in December of 2006.

Znaimer, who was born in Tajikistan, has an Honours B.A. from McGill and a M.A. from Harvard. He holds a Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) from Athabasca University "for leadership and vision in the use of communication technologies to enhance the quality of social, cultural and educational life in Canada". Additionally, Znaimer holds Honourary Doctoral Degrees from York University (2001) and the University of Windsor (2003). "

Introduction

This prestigious award, named after Walt Grealis in recognition of his extraordinary accomplishments, recognizes individuals who have contributed to the growth and development of the Canadian music industry.

Big or small, Walt was a champion of Canadian artists. He was instrumental in cultivating Canada's music industry as we know it today.

"Walt Grealis dedicated his life to creating the Canadian music explosion...the sound heard 'round the world," said long-time friend and business partner Stan Klees. "His goal was to open the door for all artists and build a star system in Canada."

Affectionately known as 'Canada's Music Man', Grealis was a leading figure in the Canadian recording industry. In the early 1960's when American acts dominated the Canadian radio waves and Canadian talent was turning to the South, Walter recognized the need to promote Canada's own 'star system'. In 1964, Grealis pioneered Canada's first national recording industry trade publication, RPM Magazine. Grealis used the magazine as a vehicle to promote Canadian acts to radio stations and the record business. RPM Magazine also charted a new course for developing the Canadian music industry by connecting key industry figures across the country. RPM Magazine was published for almost 40 years with the last issue in 2000.

Walter Grealis was also a key figure in establishing today's Juno Awards. In 1964, he and business partner Stan Klees created RPM Magazine's Gold Leaf Awards, which started out as simply a readers' poll of favourite artists. By the mid-1970s the awards evolved into a broadcast ceremony that took Canadian talent to the national stage. In 1970, Gold Leaf was substituted for the nickname 'Juno' after the then CRTC chairman Pierre Juneau. The Juno Awards have been a fixture in the Canadian music industry ever since.

More recently, Grealis was made an Officer in the Order of Canada, the second highest honour that can be bestowed on a Canadian. He received the distinction in 1993.

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Following is a complete list of past recipients

WALTER GREALIS O.C (1929 - 2004) - Biography
Walt Grealis was born in Toronto on February 18th, 1929. His father was a fire captain and the family was a mixture of Irish, Spanish and Cree. Walt attended Central Commerce High School in Toronto and dropped out after grade ten to join the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In 1952, he joined the Toronto City Police.

In 1957, Walt became the Social Host and Sports Director for the St. George Hotel in Bermuda. This was followed by a stint with the O'Keefe and Labatt's breweries. In 1960, Walt entered the record business in a promotions role. Walt began with Apex Records and later moved to London Records.

The move that would shape Walt's influence on the Canadian music industry was his decision to start a small weekly tip sheet (confidential newsletter) designed for record companies and radio stations -- this was RPM Magazine. One of the first things the magazine did was to launch a music poll to pick top Canadian recording artists. The music poll was a precursor to the JUNO Awards as we know them today. They went on to become an award presentation in 1970 and the awards were nicknamed The Juno Awards after then Chairman of the CRTC, Pierre Juneau.

In 1964 when Walt formed RPM Magazine there was very little recording done in Canada and radio stations played very little Canadian content or Cancon. The mandate of the magazine became Cancon and Walt campaigned to bring about Canadian content on radio. Walt's efforts led to the 1970 CRTC ruling that radio stations must incorporate 30% Canadian content into their programming.

RPM Magazine also adopted the MAPL symbol to identify Canadian content on records created by Stan Klees. This was a milestone in developing the Cancon industry and the symbol is still used today to identify Canadian content.

For his efforts in establishing the JUNO Awards, the Canadian charts and the MAPL logo, Walt was named an Officer in the Order of Canada in 1976, the second highest award that can be bestowed on a Canadian. In 1984,The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), organizers of the JUNO Awards, established the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award to honour Walt's accomplishments. The annual award is given to an individual who has contributed to the advancement of the Canadian music industry.

In November of 2000, Walt Grealis closed the doors of RPM Magazine after 37 years of weekly publication, including over 7000 charts and countless stories on the music industry in Canada.

On January 20th, 2004 Walt passed away peacefully after secretly fighting lung cancer for three years. He never smoked. He said near the end, "I've lived a good life. What I did for a living, most people would like to do for fun."

Walt Grealis fuelled the beginning of the Canadian music explosion. Affectionately known as Canada's 'Music Man' Walt was indeed a hero to Canadian recording artists.