Peter Mansbridge

Peter Mansbridge, television news anchor, journalist, columnist (b at London, England 6 July 1948). A widely respected news journalist, Peter Mansbridge's rise to prominence is a story of skill, good fortune, and dedication to the CBC. Arriving in Canada at age seven by way of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mansbridge was raised in Ottawa where he attended Glebe Collegiate. He then served two years in the Royal Canadian Navy. In 1968, while working for the airline Transair in CHURCHILL, Manitoba, he was overheard on the airport's PA system by regional CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION (CBC) radio producer Gaston Charpentier, who was so impressed with his voice that Mansbridge was offered a job as a disc jockey in Churchill. There, and without any prior experience as a journalist, Mansbridge created, produced and hosted CBC Churchill's first local radio newscast, and his reports on northern affairs aired regularly on CBC national newscasts.

From Churchill, Mansbridge joined CBC Radio and TV in Winnipeg and by 1975 he was Saskatchewan reporter for CBC's flagship nightly news program The National. In 1976, Mansbridge moved to Ottawa to become a parliamentary news reporter for CBC-TV, a position he held until 1980. By 1981 he hosted weekend editions of The National and filled in as Washington and London correspondent.

In 1987, Harold Stringer, president of CBS News in the United States, offered Mansbridge a lucrative contract to co-host the morning program CBS This Morning. It was Knowlton NASH, however, who, on 10 November 1987, convinced Mansbridge to stay by proposing to step down as chief correspondent of CBC News and lead anchor of The National. Mansbridge accepted and officially assumed those titles on 2 May 1988. When it was revealed how Mansbridge had rejected the CBS offer in favour of Canadian broadcasting, both he and Nash were regarded by the Canadian public as national heroes.

Despite being a powerful media figure, Mansbridge shies away from the media spotlight. He carefully guards his image, knowing that he is closely linked to the branding of CBC as a whole. Mansbridge said in an interview: "I am a journalist - that's the way I want to be seen, not as a TV celebrity."

Peter Mansbridge's talents as a news reader and journalist have been recognized many times by national and international peers. Since 1988, he has won 11 Gemini Awards for broadcast excellence, including the Gordon Sinclair Award for best overall broadcast journalist in 1990, 1993, and every year from 1995 to 1998. He also won the New York Festivals award for best news anchor in 2001. Between 2002 and 2005 he wrote weekly columns for Maclean's and since 1999 he has hosted Mansbridge One-On-One, a weekly interview program on CBC Newsworld.

Author KIP JACKSON

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