PETER MANSBRIDGE. Born in London, England, 1948. Educated in Ottawa. Married: Wendy Mesley (divorced). Served two years in the Royal Canadian Navy. Joined the CBC Radio in Churchill as disc jockey and newscaster, 1968; reporter, CBC Radio in Winnipeg, 1971; reporter, CBC Television News, 1972; reporter, for The National, Saskatchewan, 1975; assigned to the Parliamentary Bureau in Ottawa, 1976-80; co-anchor, Quarterly Report, and anchor, Sunday Report from 1985; anchor, The National, 1988-1992; continuing anchor of news segment, The National, anchor of CBC's Prime Time News, from 1992. Recipient: four Gemini Awards including the Gordon Sinclair Award, 1988-90, 1992.

TELEVISION

1972-85 CBC News (reporter)
1985-88 Quarterly Report (co-anchor)
1985-88 Sunday Report (anchor)
1988-92 The National (anchor)
1992- Prime Time News (anchor)

 

See also Canadian Programming in English; National/The Journal

 

 

   

As anchor of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) flagship nightly newscast Prime Time News, Peter Mansbridge holds a critical position within Canada's most influential broadcast news organization. His three-decade-long career within the CBC has made him one of Canadian media's most familiar figures, and synonymous with "the corporation". The prominence to which Mansbridge has risen, however, began in a somewhat unorthodox fashion.

In what is now Canadian news media folklore, Mansbridge was "discovered" by a local CBC radio producer as he was making an airport public address announcement while working as freight manager for a small airline in Churchill, Manitoba. Mansbridge turned the resulting position as a disc jockey into one as a newscaster, simultaneously transforming himself into a journalist, despite his lack of formal training or apprenticeship. From this unlikely beginning, Mansbridge moved quickly through the ranks of CBC television news, beginning with a one year stint in 1972 with the CBC Winnipeg station as a local reporter, followed by another one year position as the Saskatchewan-based reporter for the CBC national newscast. From 1976 to 1980, Mansbridge held a spot on the prestigious parliamentary bureau in the nation's capital. Anchor status commenced with the Quarterly Report (co-anchored by Barbara Frum), a series of special reports concerning issues of an urgent, national nature that aired four times a year. Beginning in 1985, Mansbridge anchored the newly formed national weekly Sunday Report.

Mansbridge's nation-wide prominence was secured in 1988 when he accepted the enviable position of chief correspondent and anchor of the flagship CBC broadcast The National, a weekday 10:00 P.M. newscast (22 minutes) that was followed by the highly respected current affairs and documentary broadcast, The Journal (38 minutes). The status attributed to this anchor position was reflected in the public interest created by the events which preceded Mansbridge's assumption of the position. Amid much press speculation, Mansbridge was offered a co-anchor position in the United States, opposite Kathleen Sullivan on CBS This Morning, (1987) for a salary reputed to be five to six times his earnings. It was expected that Mansbridge would follow the familiar exodus of Canadian broadcast journalists to the United States, where the level of national and international experience of many Canadian journalists is highly valued. This emigration has included journalists such as Don Miller (CNN), Don McNeill (CBS) Robert MacNeill (PBS), Morley Safer (60 Minutes) and Peter Jennings (ABC). In a last-minute, much-publicized effort to stop Mansbridge from leaving Canada, the current chief anchor Knowlton Nash stepped down early to offer his position to Mansbridge. Nash and Mansbridge were consequently heralded as patriots and moreover, managed to promote the turnover of anchors.

Despite the respectable audience numbers drawn under Mansbridge's leadership, The National was moved in 1992 to CBC's all-news network Newsworld. Mansbridge assumed the role of anchor (originally co-anchored by Pamela Wallin) on CBC's Prime Time News. This new broadcast was part of a controversial (and since reversed) decision to move the national evening news from the l0:00 P.M. to the 9:00 P.M. time slot.

During his tenure as CBC's star anchor, Mansbridge has covered many of the key events which have attracted public attention in Canada, including federal elections and leadership campaigns, the Gulf War, the Charlottetown Referendum, and the events of Tiananmen Square. Coverage of these and other stories has garnered Mansbridge four Gemini awards (Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television) in 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1993. Mansbridge's style of presentation is understated and sober, but sufficiently amiable to attract viewers in the increasingly entertainment-oriented news media. This understated delivery, in combination with his appearance--once described as "bland good looks"--makes Mansbridge's presentation and persona consistent with the standard among Canadian broadcast journalists.

Although the CBC has historically placed a great deal of emphasis on news and current affairs programming, this was particularly evident during the years of Mansbridge's rise within the corporation in the 1980s. The reduced resources made available to the broadcaster, in addition to the challenges of broadcasting in the increasingly multichannel media system, demanded a renewed focus on this traditionally strong area. The subsequent commitment to news is evident in the continuing production of quality news programming and has assisted Mansbridge in developing a particularly strong profile within the industry.

-Keith Hampson