Alex Shprintsen has been a journalist for more than 15 years, first with the BBC and the Los Angeles Times, then the last 12 years with The National. During that time, he has been covering elections — democratic and and non-democratic — and shooting documentaries around the world.

Last night, he accepted the 2007 Peter Gzowski Literary Award of Merit.

The award, named in honour of the late veteran broadcaster and journalist Peter Gzowski, recognizes Mr. Shprintsen for his documentary series Canada’s Shame, which revealed the wide-ranging problem of low literacy among Canadian adults and profiled people who have been challenged with low literacy, including Jacques Demers, former coach of the Montreal Canadiens.

Alison Gzowski, daughter of Peter Gzowski, presented the award.

Despite widespread media and critical acclaim (not to mention strong viewership numbers), Little Mosque on the Prairie will not win a Gemini for Best Comedy this year. In fact, it’s not even in the running. (The show was, though, nominated in the comedy writing and directing categories.)

Instead, the Royal Canadian Air Farce and This Hour Has 22 Minutes will be up against CTV’s Corner Gas, Showcase’s Rent-A-Goalie and Comedy Network’s Odd Job Jack for the Best Comedy award.

Kirstine Layfield, head of CBC TV’s network programming, told The Globe and Mail she’s not bothered by the nomination lineup. “Geminis are great to have and it’s nice to have that industry recognition, but to us, the recognition we’ve gotten from the Canadian people, that’s a real measure of success.”

Little Mosque is currently the subject of a bidding war between two American television networks.

What do you think? If you were deciding the nomination list for the Gemini’s Best Comedy award, what five Canadian shows would you list?