final credits - earl cameron
Earl Cameron was host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's national television news from 1959 to 1966 and his style set the template for all CBC anchors that followed. His distinctively rich voice and famously unflinching face lent authority to the CBC in the early days of TV broadcasting. Never a journalist, Cameron stated, "I just read the words."
Born in Moose Jaw, Sask., in June 1915, the man who came to be known as "Mr. CBC News" started out as a teacher. He moved through a variety of jobs before netting a summer relief gig at CHAB, the local Moose Jaw radio station, in 1939. Cameron's droll sense of humour, his unflinching, stone-faced persona and distinctive, rumbling voice won him the job. The position quickly became permanent and he went on to become chief announcer.
He moved on to CKY in Winnipeg and stayed there for four years. The station was owned by the Manitoba Telephone Co. but the CBC also used the staff and facilities. Cameron quickly made a good impression and the CBC promptly lured him away. He soon arrived in Toronto and it wasn't long until he he captured the prized post of reading the national radio news five nights a week.
Cameron remained one of the country's top radio news presenters throughout the 1950s. When nation-wide television arrived, Cameron served as the backup for Larry Henderson, who was then the reader at 11 p.m. When Henderson quit in 1959, Cameron was given the job of reading the National News. Cameron's presence helped the broadcast become Canada's most reliable source of evening news.
Cameron was a classic CBC announcer. In the early 1960s, CBC' s The National was the only television newscast that aired across Canada. If Lorne Greene was the CBC's Voice of Doom, then Earl Cameron was the voice from Mount Olympus. His audience believed that if he said something then it had to be true. One woman went so far as to say, "he couldn't convince me that black is white, but if he said it, then I would certainly give it some thought."
Cameron was an announcer trained in the British tradition, authoritative, calm, unflappable, avoiding emotion, never editorializing. Once, when the studio lights failed during a newscast, he reportedly flipped open a cigarette lighter and read on, with the broadcast delayed by just a few seconds. He would open each program with a nod of his head, a hint of a smile and a quiet "good evening." It was a no-nonsense approach to a no-nonsense subject, and both Cameron and the CBC liked it that way. He worked hard to avoid the slightest gesture or change in inflection that might betray emotion or personal opinion. If he was provided with a "kicker" to end the newscast, he would permit himself an expression that might suggest a chuckle.
All told, Cameron read more than 1,500 CBC newscasts. He read the news from a script, not a teleprompter, and was famous for his diction and flawless delivery. His fans included those with an ear for perfectly spoken English. In 1966, TV columnist Dennis Braithwaite wrote, "I consider him a uniquely talented news reader, the only one at the CBC who, in my hearing, has never made a mistake in phrasing or pronunciation."
He was 'the' anchor, a term that didn't make it into the Oxford English Dictionary until 1965. In many ways, he was the last of a breed. As the 1960s progressed his impersonal delivery appeared increasingly outdated. New blood entering the CBC frowned upon the fact that he was a newsreader and not a journalist who rose through the ranks.
Like other announcers, Cameron was allowed to do commercial work -- Crest toothpaste and Rambler, the car made by American Motors -- were among his clients. The ads caused some complaints of perceived bias, and in 1965 it appeared that Cameron was given a choice: the ads or the 11 o'clock news. CBC officials have always maintained that it was their desire to replace 'performers' with 'journalists' that prompted Cameron's departure. *
In 1966, the CBC filled the anchor chair with newsman Stanley Burke. Cameron was then made host of Viewpoint, a five-minute public affairs program that followed The National. Cameron also was one of two readers for The World at Six on CBC Radio. He stayed on at the CBC until Viewpoint was cancelled in January of 1976, and retired after 32 years of service with the broadcaster. "Mr. CBC News" died January 13, 2005 after a lengthy illness in a Barrie, Ontario hospital. Cameron was 89.
Stanley Burke left in 1969 and was replaced by another announcer, Lloyd Robertson. Like Cameron, Robertson also faced the announcer/newsman challenge and he eventually left for CTV, Canada's private national broadcaster. Robertson was replaced by Peter Kent, a field reporter, who was followed by Knowlton Nash and Peter Mansbridge, who also held journalism credentials.
Cameron's influence on the Canadian news scene was acknowledged on the SCTV comedy show. A running sketch featured rival anchors Earl Camembert and Floyd Robertson, played respectively by Eugene Levy and Joe Flaherty.
For more about Earl Cameron, visit the CBC Archives tribute to the broadcaster.
* In 1965, Liberal MLA Elmer Sopha accused Earl in the Ontario legislature of telling lies on behalf of toothpaste. The CBC defended Earl but later had him sign a new five-year contract to concentrate on the national news and not earn extra money doing commercials. A year into that contract, he was replaced by Stanley Burke. (From the Canadian Communications Foundation History Of Broadcasting).