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CTV News Team |
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Sandie Rinaldo - Weekend AnchorIt's hard not to think of Sandie Rinaldo and picture her face during a discussion about CTV. She's been anchoring CTV National News on weekends since 1985 and has filled in for Lloyd Robertson as Alternate Anchor of CTV National News on weeknights since 1981. At the same time, she's been bringing viewers extraordinary glimpses into the lives of remarkable Canadians with her profiles of Celine Dion, John Candy and Amanda Marshall to name a few. She frequently appeared on W-FIVE as a contributing reporter and interviewer, and recently (with Lloyd Robertson) took on anchoring responsibilities for the showcase newsmagazine. First steps But it wasn't always this way and it hasn't been an easy ride. She came to CTV in 1973 one week after graduating from York University where she had earned an Honours B.A. in Fine Arts. In that first year, she jumped from junior secretary to production secretary to production manager then becoming a researcher for W-FIVE. In 1975 she went to New York City with the team and helped produce "The Bankruptcy of New York," which won a journalism award. Don Cameron, then VP of News, was a mentor, she says. "He was determined to have women in the newsroom. He was supportive and encouraging, but we had to have the journalistic credentials," she says, adding matter-of-factly, "Women had to work twice as hard as the men in this industry to prove themselves." But she bounded through the "glass ceiling," that arbitrary barrier that prevents women from advancing in a company, every time she came up against it. In 1976 she joined Canada AM as a story producer and specialized in federal and provincial politics. In 1977 she was appointed reporter-at-large for Canada AM, a position that saw her regularly scooting everywhere from Vancouver to Cape Breton to the Middle East. True grit She attacked all of her assignments with drive, determination, and grit. She's passionate about covering hard news and producing a solid news story. Rinaldo is experienced in delivering in tough situations. The first story she worked on for CTV National News occurred while she was travelling from Israel to Egypt. It was a terrorist attack that occurred on a stretch of highway from Tel Aviv to Haifa. After that, Rinaldo anchored Canada AM"s live coverage of the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, the murder of John Lennon and the deaths of two Popes. Firsts By 1980 she had joined an expanding circle of women in the male profession. And she set precedents. When she was promoted to Canada AM as News Anchor, she became the first woman in Canadian history to anchor a daily network newscast. In 1985, she was appointed anchor of the CTV Weekend National News at 11p.m. and assumed a senior editorial role. She moved to local news for a couple of years as Senior News Editor and Co-Anchor of CFTO's daily World Beat News from 1989 to 1991. She speaks with pride of those years as she worked to "inject more national and international flavour" into the newscasts. She went to Washington, D.C. to cover the inauguration of George Bush, witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall, and was anchoring when Saddam Hussein's Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait. The toughest interview she ever conducted, she says in a self-mocking tone, was in 1979 with a crossdresser, the late, flamboyant Craig Russell. Why was it so hard? "Well you have to remember that it was a very different time. He complimented my nails and the colour of my lipstick and then he just hijacked the interview." She bursts out laughing. "I lost control. So finally I just sat back and watched him perform." Her winning ways Rinaldo has won many awards for her news coverage, including Bronze Medal for Best News Anchor in 1990, Finalist Certificate for Best News Anchor in 1991, and Silver Medal for Best Coverage of an Ongoing News Story 1991 for the Federal Budget" from the International Film and TV Festival of New York. In 1999, her Sunday newscast won the RTNDA award for Best Newscast for coverage of the crash of Swissair Flight 111. That same year she shared the Bronze Medal for Best Newscast from the International Film and TV Festival with Lloyd Robertson for their coverage of the Ice Storm that devastated Quebec. Her 1997 profile of Celine Dion won her a World Medal from the International Film and TV Festival. Television Credits
Radio Credits
Career highlights
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