Meet One of the Most Powerful Women in Canadian Television
Trina McQueen, Schulich’s Bell Media Professor in Media Management and Co-Director of the MBA Program in Arts, Media and Entertainment Management, was inducted into the CBC News Hall of Fame in a ceremony at CBC on June 15th.
McQueen spent 29 years at CBC beginning as an on-air reporter and host. She was Executive Producer of The National, and later Vice-President of News, Current Affairs and CBC’s News Channel.
Trina McQueen is the recipient of the CBC News Hall of Fame award.
“In her broad and storied career, Trina proved a true champion of Canadian programming and someone directly responsible for shaping Canada’s broadcast landscape,” said Wendy Freeman, CTV News president, during her speech at the induction ceremony. Freeman noted that McQueen was one of the first Canadian women to report for national television and the first to run a network news operation in North America. The induction was attended by numerous women in top media positions, and colleagues including Peter Mansbridge, Lloyd Robertson, Rick Mercer, Ann Medina, Denise Donlon, Barbara Williams, Lisa deWilde, Pam Dinsmore, and Heather Conway. McQueen’s Schulich colleagues, including Co-Director Joyce Zemans, also attended. The event was hosted by Jennifer McGuire, Editor in Chief of CBC news, and emceed by Adrienne Arseneault of The National.
During McQueen’s speech, she remembered a local television station manager who wanted her fired, asserting that “women do not have the authority to report news.” She spoke about the battles she fought against, government pressure on CBC, and about the achievement of launching Canada’s first news channel, now called CBC News Network.
After CBC, McQueen went on to be Founding President of Discovery Channel and President and COO of CTV Inc. Other honours include: Officer of the Order of Canada; Canadian Journalism Foundation Lifetime Achievement, Academy Achievement award, and three honorary degrees.
Photo are courtesy of CBC News.