I can鈥檛 believe it鈥檚 been 50 years since I first walked in the door at CTV, a kid at 23, fresh out of university and thrilled to have talked my way into a job at CTV National News.
And talk about starting at the very bottom rung, in what was clearly a man鈥檚 world 鈥攚ith only a tiny handful of women in television news at the network level in North America. In 1973, all the executives, producers, and anchors were men.
Little did I know or even dream that seven years later, after starting as an assistant to Don Cameron, the director of News, I would be promoted to news anchor of Canada AM earning the distinction of becoming the first woman in Canada to anchor a daily network newscast.
Perhaps it was because when he hired me, I told him with the brashness of youth that one day I would be hosting the morning show 鈥攐r when he promoted me to the public affairs program W5 after I kept badgering him about an opportunity to do investigative work
Or perhaps it was because when I wanted to report, he assigned me to Canada AM to learn about the grind of daily news.
With every promotion Don threw in the caveat 鈥 鈥測ou鈥檙e going to have to prove yourself 鈥渁nd with that I was on three months鈥 probation.
Both former 麻豆影视 chief political correspondent Craig Oliver and I tell each other how grateful we are for his vision.
The crusty hard-nosed journalist demanded excellence from everyone he hired, but he also went against the grain and opened the doors to women.
And believe me, those were challenging years for women in journalism 鈥攕exual harassment, discrimination, stereotyping, and misrepresentation; certainly more pervasive and ugly south of the border, but female journalists in Canada were not immune.
I remember while reporting for CTV鈥檚 Toronto News Bureau, an incident where a gruff assignment editor asked one of the male reporters 鈥斺淲here鈥檚 the broad? I want her to file a consumer piece.鈥 I went to the editor and asked if what I鈥檇 heard was true. He told me not to be so serious 鈥攖o lighten up. Imagine that?
Like other women at the time, I had to push back against being stereotyped 鈥 push back against the perception women weren鈥檛 as tough as men, weren鈥檛 able to ask the difficult questions, or deliver the story under demanding circumstances.
I can tell you that no industry is perfect, and today there is still discrimination 鈥 more rampant in some circles than others. But the difference now is that women have created platforms to be heard and there is more safety in numbers.
Despite the challenge of working in a male dominated profession 鈥 or perhaps because of it, there were trailblazers 鈥 women like Barbara Frum, Wendy Mesley, and Adrienne Arsenault at the CBC 鈥 Carole Taylor, Helen Hutchinson and Lisa LaFlamme at CTV 鈥擠awna Friesen at Global 鈥攚ho stand as examples to generations of young journalists.
I remember thinking a few years ago, that I wish Don Cameron was alive to see the News division almost five decades after he hired me. A seismic shift鈥 with the executive producer, a woman, the two main national anchors 鈥 women, and the multitude of female reporters.
CTV National News Anchor Sandie Rinaldo
Today we can boast a strong group of both men and women of all races and backgrounds; a playing field where those with talent are recognized and encouraged.
Young journalists, men and women, come up to me now and tell me they grew up watching me on television. I smile and say, the door is open to you now. It鈥檚 your time to make a difference.
- In the hour-long special I鈥橫 SANDIE RINALDO, the longtime CTV anchor explores her family鈥檚 history, tracing her roots across Canada and around the world, airing at 9 p.m. EDT on Friday, May 12 on CTV, 麻豆影视 Channel, CTV.ca, CTVNews.ca, and the CTV and 麻豆影视 apps