HANA GARTNER. Born 1948 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Educated at Loyola College (now Concordia University), Montreal, Quebec, Canada, B.A. in Communications, 1970. Married Bruce Griffin, 1987; two children. Began career as radio show host at CJAD, Montreal, 1970; began television career at CBC, Montreal, 1974; host, interviewer, reporter, various television and radio programs. Recipient: Gordon Sinclair Awaard, 1985, three Geminis.

TELEVISION SERIES

1977-82 Take 30 (Toronto, host)
1978     This Half Hour (summer)
1982-95 The Fifth Estate (CBC, host)
1995-     Prime Time News (CBC, co-host)
1995-     The National

TELEVISION SPECIAL

1994 Contact with Hana Gartner (host)

RADIO

1970 CJAD Montreal (interviewer)
1976 This Country in the Morning (CBC)

Hana Gartner is co-host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) major evening newscast, Prime Time News. Her long broadcasting career has made her one of the most visible journalists in Canada.

In 1970, Gartner worked for Montreal radio station CJAD as both an interviewer and a features reporter. She subsequently joined Standard Broadcast News, a syndicated radio news service, as parliamentary correspondent in Ottawa, the federal capital. In 1974, Gartner made her first switch to television. She returned to Montreal as co-host of The City At Six, CBC Montreal's local daily news hour. The following year, she relocated to Toronto for a position as host of In Good Company on CBC Toronto television. In 1976, however, Gartner returned briefly to radio to host the CBC's signature network radio program, This Country In The Morning.

The movement between radio and television, and amongst various cities, is typical of CBC journalists. Not only does it contribute to their training and but it also allows the CBC to use its various radio and television stations as "farm teams" for network programming. This system has also helped launch many Canadian journalists on successful international careers.

In 1977, Gartner made her second and decisive switch to television when she joined CBC Toronto's local news hour, 24 Hours, as co-host and interviewer. She also became host of a CBC television network daytime interview program, Take 30.

In 1982, Gartner was selected to co-host CBC television's flagship public affairs news and investigation program, The Fifth Estate, which is best known for breaking new stories and for presenting complex issues in compelling narrative style. In this capacity, she has reported from around the world on a huge range of topics. In 1978, she was given her own summer series, This Half Hour.

Gartner's interview style combines toughness, honesty, and sympathy. She is capable of uncomfortable directness, and even irony, in her questioning of subjects; however, she does not stray into gratuity or nastiness. She is additionally capable of revealing a personal attitude or orientation towards an issue without betraying journalistic objectivity. On the contrary, these qualities win the sympathy of viewers who identify with her. As is characteristic of Canadian news and information programming generally, the overall tone of Gartner's work is sober with a focus on issues and their intricacies rather than personality or glamour.

In 1985, Gartner won the Gordon Sinclair Award for excellence in broadcast journalism. In 1994, she was given a CBC series of special interviews, Contact with Hana Gartner. In 1995, she was named co-host of Prime Time News, the most visible journalistic position in Canada.

-Paul Attallah