Earl Cameron (June 12, 1915 – January 13, 2005) was a Canadian broadcaster and was anchor of
CBC CBC may refer to:
Media
* Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico
* Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster
** CBC Television
** CBC Radio One
** CBC Music
** ...
's ''
The National'' from 1959 to 1966.
Biography
Cameron was born in
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Moose Jaw is the List of cities in Saskatchewan, fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Re ...
in 1915, and, as a student, found a summer job at a local radio station,
CHAB
François Chabloz, known profesionally as Chab, is a Swiss trance music record producer and remixer . Known for his progressive trance style, Chabloz has an extensive history as a remixer and he has also released original material under the mon ...
. He established a career in broadcasting before joining the main
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
network in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
in 1944 where he was assigned as reader of the daily ''CBC National News Bulletin'' following
Lorne Greene
Lorne Hyman Greene (born Lyon Himan Green; February 12, 1915 – September 11, 1987) was a Canadian actor, singer, and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western ''Bonanza'' and Commander Adama in ...
's departure from the CBC as the "Voice of doom". It was Cameron who announced the
D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
invasion of Normandy
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...
to Canadian listeners. As an announcer his other duties included reading commercials, station identifications and hosting various programs.
During this period CBC followed the example of the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
in giving responsibility for reading the news to announcers rather than to journalists, an approach that became entrenched by union regulations.
In 1959, Cameron succeeded
Larry Henderson as the anchor of the ''CBC Television National News'' (today known as ''
The National''). During the 1960s, managers at CBC News moved towards a philosophy of regarding news announcers as journalists rather than performers. As part of this shift, the news service management put pressure on the announcers union to accept an agreement prohibiting news readers from commercials or accepting outside contracts with ad agencies. Cameron was personally pressured to terminate his outside announcing contracts reading commercials for products such as Crest toothpaste and Rambler automobiles and agreed in 1965 to give up his lucrative ad contracts. However, the next year, Cameron was dropped as the anchor of the ''National News'', due to management's desire to have a professional journalist in the position of news anchor. Cameron was replaced by broadcast journalist
Stanley Burke
Stanley Burke Jr. (February 8, 1923 – May 28, 2016) was a Canadian television journalist.
Early years
Born February 8, 1923, Burke's father was businessman Stanley Burke, founder of Pemberton Securities, a stockbrokerage firm in Western Canada. ...
, although he continued as an announcer on CBC radio and television until his retirement in 1976. One of his duties was as the host of ''Viewpoint'', a nightly five-minute programme which followed ''The National'' in which Cameron read letters from viewers.
Eugene Levy
Eugene Levy (born December 17, 1946) is a Canadian actor and comedian. Known for portraying flustered and unconventional figures, Levy has won multiple accolades throughout his career including four Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and ...
's
Earl Camembert character on ''
SCTV'' was named after Earl Cameron, but otherwise bore no resemblance to Cameron — the name was merely an offhand joke designed to get a laugh from Canadian viewers. (The same is true of Camembert's coanchor
Floyd Robertson
Floyd Robertson is a fictional news anchor and reporter, portrayed by Joe Flaherty on the Canadian sketch comedy series '' SCTV'' in the 1970s and 1980s. He was a co-anchor, with Earl Camembert (another fictional newscaster, played by Eugene Lev ...
, played by
Joe Flaherty
Joseph Flaherty (born Joseph O'Flaherty, June 21, 1941 – April 1, 2024) was an American actor, writer, and comedian. He is best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy '' SCTV'' from 1976 to 1984 (on which he also served as a write ...
, who otherwise has no connection with or resemblance to Canadian news anchor
Lloyd Robertson
Lloyd Robertson (born January 19, 1934) is a Canadian journalist and former news anchor who is special correspondent on CTV's weekly magazine series, '' W5''. Robertson served as the chief anchor and senior editor of CTV's national evening ne ...
.)
Cameron died in
Barrie
Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, on January 13, 2005.
Former CBC anchor Earl Cameron dies
cbc.ca, January 14, 2005.
References
External links
Earl Cameron biography
from the Museum of Broadcast Communications
The Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC) is an American museum that showcases historic and contemporary radio and television content. It is headquartered in Chicago.
Museum locations (1987–present)
The Museum of Broadcast Communications wa ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Earl
Canadian radio news anchors
Canadian television news anchors
1915 births
2005 deaths
People from Moose Jaw
20th-century Canadian journalists