[Professional Blog] New Host Announced

Germain is currently the China correspondent for CBC News. He replaces Jeff Gilhooly, who will retire in July. I will attempt to arrange an interview with Germain, before he takes over the host’s chair in mid-August. 

As you will see in the following press release, issued today by CBC NL, Germain already has a strong local connection with this province.

Anthony Germain, currently China correspondent for CBC News, is the new host of the St. John’s Morning Show.   Anthony is a strong, versatile journalist with a stellar record of achievement in CBC Radio News and Current Affairs. Before being posted to China, Anthony hosted Canada’s highest rated political affairs program The House, as well as Ottawa’s No. 1 morning show Ottawa Morning.  He built a reputation as a storyteller of impressive range and depth.  Listeners admired his passion, respected his journalism and chuckled at his sense of the absurd.    The pattern repeated in China. During his five years based in Shanghai and later Beijing, Anthony tackled everything from earthquakes in Sichuan to bloody insurrection in Bangkok. He documented China’s headlong rush to modernity and its controversial investments in Africa.  He took listeners to political and journalistic frontiers reporting, for example, on North Korean soldiers risking their lives to retrieve food tossed by sympathetic Chinese border troops.  

Along the way, Anthony mixed in delightful features that illuminated Chinese culture, history and habits of mind.  “What shines through in all of Anthony’s reporting is his curiosity,” says CBC News editor-in-chief Jennifer McGuire. “He’s an explorer who loves to learn things and to share what he’s learned.”   Anthony has received numerous distinctions for his journalism, including awards from the Hong Kong Amnesty International Human Rights organization, an Edward R. Murrow award, and this month will receive a RTNDA award.     By coming to Newfoundland and Labrador, this accomplished journalist and broadcaster is coming home, in a sense. Many of you may not know that he has a strong connection to St. John’s. Although he was born in Montreal, he says, “Newfoundland is my second home. My wife, Doris Cowley, is from St. John’s and I have spent many memorable summers and a wonderful Christmas there with members of my extended family.”   “We are very pleased to welcome Anthony to the Morning Show in St. John’s,” says Denise Wilson, Managing Director for CBC Newfoundland & Labrador.  “Anthony brings a wealth and breadth of journalistic experience that will serve our audiences well.”      Jeff Gilhooly, who has hosted the show for a number of years, announced that he will retire in July.  “Jeff developed a loyal following with our listeners. The way Jeff is able to connect with his audience has been instrumental in bringing the Morning Show to its current level of success. I would like to acknowledge and thank him for the significant contribution he has made to the CBC,” says Wilson.