[Professional Blog] Yay, Christina!

Christina Marshall is a relatively new face on the CBC Here & Now team, but she distinguished herself nicely on tonight's newscast (December 5, 2007).

Christina has been covering the power blackout on the Bonavista peninsula for the last few days, since Sunday's big snow and windstorm (which was followed by another nasty storm a day later that really complicated things for repair crews, and everyone else still without power).

Christina's coverage of the facts of the story has been professional, in that we know all about the poles that are down, shortage of generators and areas still without power. But hats off to Christina: she knows that the story is really about people. Her coverage has focused on personal stories of individuals who are coping with circumstances that are beyond their control.

Tonight, for example, Christina interviewed a family from Ontario who had come to Newfoundland to run the Seaport Inn in Port Union. Dressed in her Superman pyjamas (nice touch), Christina conducted the interview in the glow of a dim light. The conversation with the various family members, about how they felt about moving to Newfoundland, had the kind of candour and honesty that can only be revealed by lamplight and then, in the middle of it all, the generator gave out, plunging everyone into pitch black. It was a real slice of life' moment, captured with skill and presented with a lot of heart.

Welcome, Christina, to the pro league. You are definitely on the watch' list.

Here's a biography of Christina from the CBC web site (errors and all):

Coming from rural Ontario, Christina first started as a technical operator at CTV in Kitchener. She worked there for almost four years honing her skills behind the camera before jumping in front. After visiting Newfoundland in April of 2007 she fell in love with the province and set out to find a job in broadcasting on the rock. As luck would have it a position opened with the CBC for a video journalist in Gander. With fingers crossed and dreams of working for the CBC in Newfoundland became a reality. In Sept 2007 she set course on a 4-day road trip heading for her new home in Gander. After a few days on the road in Newfoundland she started her position as a VJ with the CBC for Here and Now. Now, it's full steam ahead. She's looking forward to covering issues and news in central Newfoundland.