Eric Malling (September 4, 1946 – September 28, 1998) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

television

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. Malling was born in

Swift Current Swift Current is the sixth-largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is situated along the Trans-Canada Highway west of Moose Jaw, and east of Medicine Hat, Alberta. As of 2024, Swift Current has an estimated population of ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. He was the only son of Danish immigrant John Malling Sorensen, a butcher. He graduated from the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

with a BA degree in English literature, then continued his studies at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

's School of Journalism in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Career

Eric Malling was a hard-hitting investigative journalist. Malling initially worked for the provincial government. He then worked as a journalist for the

Regina Leader-Post The ''Regina Leader-Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Regina, Saskatchewan, owned by Postmedia Network. Founding The newspaper was first published as ''The Leader'' in 1883 by Nicholas Flood Davin, soon after Edgar Dewdney, Lieutenan ...

, Swift Current Sun, and

The Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands division. The newspaper was establis ...

beginning in 1968. From 1976 to 1990, he was the host of the

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 fifth estate''. In 1978, his one-hour documentary on

Gerald Bull Gerald Vincent Bull (March 9, 1928 – March 22, 1990) was a Canadian engineer who developed long-range artillery. He moved from project to project in his quest to economically launch a satellite using a space gun, huge artillery piece, to which ...

and his role in the illegal export of artillery shells from Canada to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

during

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

brought wide acclaim. In another of many sensational stories, the Federal Minister responsible for Fisheries, John Fraser, resigned after Malling revealed he had overruled his own health inspectors and allowed the sale of tainted ''

StarKist StarKist Tuna is a brand of tuna produced by StarKist Co., an American company formerly based in Pittsburgh's North Shore that is now wholly owned by Dongwon Industries of South Korea. It was purchased by Dongwon from the American food manufact ...

'' brand of tuna based on the suggestion by a non-government corporation. In 1990, he moved to CTV to host '' W5'', which during this period was known as ''W5 with Eric Malling''. In 1995, Malling moved from hosting ''W5'' to hosting ''Mavericks'', a CTV program that explored controversial political figures. His television journalism earned him a

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in t ...

, six

ACTRA Award The ACTRA Awards are Canadian accolades presented since 1972 to celebrate excellence in cinema, television and radio industries.Gordon Sinclair Allan Gordon Sinclair, OC, FRGS (June 3, 1900 – May 17, 1984) was a Canadian journalist, writer, and commentator. Early life Sinclair was born in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, the son of George Alexander and Bessie Go ...

awards for excellence in broadcast journalism. He also received two Centre for Investigative Journalism Awards for excellence in investigative journalism. Malling died at Sunnybrook Hospital 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 ...

. He was 52 years of age.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malling, Eric 1946 births 1998 deaths Canadian television reporters and correspondents People from Swift Current Journalists from Saskatchewan Journalists from Toronto University of Saskatchewan alumni Carleton University alumni Canadian people of Danish descent CBC Television people CTV Television Network people Canadian Screen Award winning journalists 20th-century Canadian journalists Centre for Investigative Journalism Award winners Canadian Screen Award winning writers Screenwriters from Saskatchewan