Hugh McCullum "risked all for a just cause"

If an obituary can be inspiring, the Globe and Mail's tribute to Hugh McCullum in today's paper certainly is. McCullum, who died in October of pancreatic cancer, was well-known as the crusading editor of The United Church Observer magazine and, before that the Canadian Churchman (Anglican Church). He was the first layperson to edit both and, notes the article, "was credited with infusing the outlets with a degree of editorial autonomy, prodding and issuing calls to arms in the battles against injustice, famine, disease and poverty." He won three National Magazine Awards for his work.

In addition to his magazine work, he was also an author, television host and all-round hell-raiser who disdained bogus "objectivity" and made no apologies for being an "evermore infuriated bystander".

As a peripatetic war correspondent covered some of the world's most grisly events, including the Biafra War, the Rwandan genocide and the war in Mozambique. His experiences made him a passionate critic of lame, hypocritical western journalism and governments and a passionate advocate on behalf of the disadvantaged. He spent most of recent years in Africa and returned to Canada in 2002.