Today I said goodbye to my colleagues at The Vancouver Sun, more than seven years after I joined as Managing Editor. I start Monday as the new Ombudsman of the CBC, working for the next two months with Vince Carlin until his term expires at year's end, then succeeding him in the role.
My new position involves resolving complaints with the news and information content of the public broadcaster in radio, television and digital. I am grateful for the privilege to work again at CBC in serving the public and consider it a significant responsibility and honour to assume this role.
Twenty-five years ago this month I began managing in newsrooms. Apart from a small break as a host at CBC Newsworld (eventually I worked there and at The Canadian Press simultaneously) and a smaller one advising the publisher at the Toronto Star, I have spent 23 of those years intensely tracking and trying to advance developments locally, nationally and internationally.
The time at the Sun has been arguably the most exciting in my career because it has taken place during the transformation of the newsroom from one producing two editions of the newspaper to one producing every working hour digitally and augmenting some of that content for those papers. When I took my three office typewriters out of the newsroom today, I considered the digital transformation complete.
Our results have been tremendous --- the best in our chain of newsrooms, nice nominations for awards --- and it's a credit to the team that it has met the challenge and has the commitment and leadership to keep doing so. I thank them, just as I thank our friendly rivals at The Province and our longtime television partners at Global. I will miss the association. My new chapter now begins.
My new position involves resolving complaints with the news and information content of the public broadcaster in radio, television and digital. I am grateful for the privilege to work again at CBC in serving the public and consider it a significant responsibility and honour to assume this role.
Twenty-five years ago this month I began managing in newsrooms. Apart from a small break as a host at CBC Newsworld (eventually I worked there and at The Canadian Press simultaneously) and a smaller one advising the publisher at the Toronto Star, I have spent 23 of those years intensely tracking and trying to advance developments locally, nationally and internationally.
The time at the Sun has been arguably the most exciting in my career because it has taken place during the transformation of the newsroom from one producing two editions of the newspaper to one producing every working hour digitally and augmenting some of that content for those papers. When I took my three office typewriters out of the newsroom today, I considered the digital transformation complete.
Our results have been tremendous --- the best in our chain of newsrooms, nice nominations for awards --- and it's a credit to the team that it has met the challenge and has the commitment and leadership to keep doing so. I thank them, just as I thank our friendly rivals at The Province and our longtime television partners at Global. I will miss the association. My new chapter now begins.
