1975: CBC hires women announcers

[jon]

We talked recently about the first appearance of female announcers on Radio.

While researching something for my mother, I discovered that the CBC first hired female announcers in 1975. Presumably, staff announcers, as they hired a female consumer affairs reporter for Radio in 1972.

I've included the articles I found on Judy Maddren's retirement below. Her SoundPortraits.ca site is also worth a look, as she will be continuing it after she retires. Her partners include Alannah Campbell, Marieke Meyer and Gladys May.

[jon]

CBC Radio's Judy Maddren to retire after more than 30 years with broadcaster
March 16, 2009

TORONTO — One of the CBC's signature voices is stepping away from the microphone.

Judy Maddren, host of "World Report," is retiring after more than 30 years with CBC Radio, according to a release from the company. Maddren's last appearance on "World Report," CBC's morning radio news program, is scheduled for March 27.

She began her career as a consumer information reporter for CBC Radio in 1972.

Three years later, when the CBC began hiring women as announcers, she joined Jan Tennant and Margaret Pacsu on staff as a national announcer, working in radio and television.

Maddren has been host of "World Report" since 1993.

Upon leaving the company, she will continue on with SoundPortraits, a web business she launched in 2001 that offers customers a one-hour recorded CD of their life stories.

"Judy has always made it look as if hosting 'World Report' is a privilege and a profound responsibility," said Jane Anido, CBC's director of radio news programs, in a note to staff. "But for those of us who've worked with her, it's Judy's caring, compassion and warmth that stand out - she genuinely wants to know how you're doing and is always willing to mentor others."

Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

[jon]

Voice of World Report, Judy Maddren, leaving CBC
Last Updated: Monday, March 16, 2009 | 1:20 PM ET

Judy Maddren, best known as the host of World Report on CBC Radio, is leaving the public broadcaster after more than three decades at the microphone.

"I will miss being part of the Canadian neighbourhood," said Maddren in an interview with CBC News.ca. "[And] I will also miss that daily consideration of what the stories are that are important for Canadians.

"It's something I've always tried to do — we are sharing information and it's not preaching."

Maddren says she is especially proud of the fact that she was only the third female announcer ever hired by the CBC back in 1975.

"It was something I had wanted to do since I was 15, " recalls Maddren. "That was proud-making. There are a lot of young women who don't understand how quickly things progressed [since then]."

A statement from Jane Anido, director of radio news programs at CBC, praised Maddren's "sense of humour, delighting in the absurd, and her memorable and frequent treats baked for the World Report team before her early bedtime."

"For those of us who've worked with her, it's Judy's caring, compassion and warmth that stand out — she genuinely wants to know how you're doing and is always willing to mentor others," said Anido.

Maddren, who once co-hosted World Report with the late Russ Germain, spent 16 years bringing news of the world to Canadians in the early morning hours. Germain died in February at 62 after a battle with cancer. He retired from the CBC in 2002.

The stories she has announced include the Somalia inquiry, the Sept. 11 attacks and the war in Afghanistan.

Cried after 9-11 attacks

"The only time I ever cried when I came off air was after the Twin Towers were hit in New York City and CBC Radio went live to network," notes Maddren.

"That was profoundly affecting, to be part of transmitting such a horrific story and trying to share it."

While working at World Report, Maddren also did a stint on the spirituality show Tapestry and served as the CBC's media language adviser, taking over the mantle from Germain after he left the corporation.

'At the core, the CBC is valued for being the voice of Canada. We may have some work to do to re-discover that voice.'
—Judy Maddren on the CBC's challenges

Maddren, who holds a consumer studies degree from the University of Guelph, started at the CBC as a researcher immediately after graduating in 1972. That eventually led to on-air work for two years in Ottawa on both radio and television.

She then worked freelance for 14 years through the 1980s while raising four children, and in 1993 was invited back to host CBC Radio's flagship newscast, World Report, the most-listened to program on CBC Radio.

She has seen the CBC go through "boom and bust" while grappling with technological changes.

"Fewer people do more [but] there needs to be reflection. What does this line actually say? Is it carrying weight? Is it germane to the story or is it just an interesting sidebar?"

Of the current challenges facing the public broadcaster — a projected budget shortfall of $65 million and the possible inclusion of more commercial programming — the veteran announcer predicts "tough times" ahead.

"I don't know how this one is going to work out. At the core, the CBC is valued for being the voice of Canada. We may have some work to do to re-discover that voice."

Maddren says she will miss all the creative people that work at the CBC and feels her colleagues are under-utilized.

"My wish for the CBC is to take full advantage of what’s right there. Every talent we need is right there."

One thing that will continue is the annual readings of A Christmas Carol across Canada — a charitable event featuring CBC hosts and personalities reading the Charles Dickens classic that Maddren initiated.

The idea, hatched more than 20 years ago, has raised millions for many charities including food banks, shelters and hospitals.

Telling other peoples' stories

Maddren says she's leaving to focus full time on her other work — Soundportraits, a company she created in which she interviews people and records their life stories.

She created the business after she interviewed her grandmother a few years ago and realized she was getting more than what her grandmother usually told. Maddren says it's because, as a journalist, she asked more questions.

"I'm helping people tell their stories," said Maddren.

"[A person's voice] is so evocative of experiences and sorrows ... it's the first thing you forget when somebody dies. So, the pleasure you get from hearing someone after they die, I don't think you can measure it."

Maddren's last day on the job will be March 27.

[cart_machine]

She began her career as a consumer information reporter for CBC Radio in 1972.

Three years later, when the CBC began hiring women as announcers, she joined Jan Tennant and Margaret Pacsu on staff as a national announcer, working in radio and television.

When did Judy Piercy arrive at CBC radio? She was certainly there in 1975. Or doesn't Vancouver count?

cArtie.