Since the 1930s, CBC News services have kept Canadians at home and abroad informed about their communities, their country and the world. CBC/Radio-Canada is the country's largest news organization, employing more than 800 journalists in Canada and around the globe. Their stories now appear on CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBCNews.ca and CBC Newsworld. CBC News has more bureaus across Canada than any other network, and foreign correspondents based around the world. CBC/Radio-Canada correspondents operate out of New York, Washington and Rio de Janeiro covering the Americas; in London, Paris and Moscow covering Europe; in Dakar, covering Africa; in Jerusalem, Cairo, Amman, Bangkok; and Beijing covering the Far and Middle East. more
News gathering at CBC.ca
CBC.ca offers up-to-the-minute reporting of breaking news, expert analysis and in-depth background information on current issues affecting Canadians at home and abroad. Visitors to CBCNews.ca will find one of the largest online news sites created by and for Canadians. In addition to producing unique web-based news content and features, CBC.ca also showcases television and radio programming, creating a comprehensive multimedia experience for our online audience.
Biographies of CBCNews.ca Staff
Last updated: September, 2008
Mary C. Sheppard is the executive producer and is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the CBCNews.ca newsroom. Mary returned to the CBC in 2003 after an absence to teach journalism at Ryerson University and to write a novel. She had worked at CBC Radio News for more than a decade as a reporter, editor and manager. Under her leadership, CBCNews.ca has won more than a dozen awards including the Online News Association's awards for service journalism and for speciality journalism. In 2007, the RTNDA named CBCNews.ca the top website in Canada. Mary has a master's in journalism from Columbia University.
Andre Mayer is the senior producer at CBCNews.ca Arts. He has written about arts - primarily books and music - for Toronto Life, the Globe and Mail, the National Post, eye Weekly, Report on Business Magazine, TORO, Shift (where he also served as Arts Editor), Saturday Night, THIS Magazine and Azure. His writing has been anthologized in The Rough Guide to Rock and Signs of Life in the U.S.A.: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers.
Gary Graves is the senior producer of CBCNews.ca responsible for in-depth coverage and for provincial elections. Prior to joining CBCNews.ca in August 2000, Gary worked for CBC Radio and Television News for 17 years as a producer and executive producer on such programs as The Radio Show, Here & Now, This Morning, Newsworld Today and Benmergui Live. Gary has a degree in journalism and master of arts in international relations.
Carolyn Ryan is the senior producer for the news desk. She produced the morning show at CBC Radio in Saint John for two years before joining CBCNews.ca as a news writer in 2003. A graduate of both UPEI and Carleton University's School of Journalism, she has worked as an editor at newspapers in Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island.
Christine Boyd is a senior producer and the chief copy editor for CBCNews.ca. She joined CBCNews.ca in 2004 and worked as a writer before becoming a copy editor in March 2006. She has more than a decade of experience reporting and editing for news media in print, radio, television and the internet across the country, including at the Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Citizen, CBC Radio and Access Television. She has a BA in history and a master's in journalism from Carleton University.
Ian Johnson is the senior producer for CBCNews.ca technology, science, health, consumer and business news. He has covered the technology industry since the early 1990s as a writer, columnist and editor. Before joining CBCNews.ca in August 2006, he was the technology editor at the Globe and Mail, where he managed globetechnology.com, the Report on Business tech section and Tech Quarterly (TQ) magazine. He holds a number of media industry honours, including an Andersen Award for technology and business writing, the Richard Snell Award for investigative reporting, and the CATA Alliance Award for Science and Technology Reporting. Ian has an honours bachelor of journalism degree from Carleton University.
Cheryl Krawchuk is the acting senior producer of user generated content. Cheryl is a news writer who came to us from the online desk of Toronto's CityTV. Before that, she worked for three years at a Toronto-based web development company. Cheryl has a bachelor of arts degree and a diploma in journalism.
Blair Shewchuk is CBCNews.ca's senior editor of journalistic standards. He helps set editorial guidelines for our website and is our chief online news trainer. Blair began his career reporting for Southam papers in Ontario and Alberta more than 25 years ago. He joined the CBC in 1989, and has worked as a reporter, editor and producer in both radio and television. Blair moved to CBCNews.ca in 1999 as a news writer and columnist. He has a degree in journalism and a master's in economics.
Our writers, editors and producers
John Bowman is an associate producer. He graduated from Queen's University with a degree in biology in 1997 and from the University of King's College with a degree in journalism in 2000. After riding the last wave of the dot-com boom at an ill-fated Toronto start-up company, he came to CBCNews.ca in January 2001.
Ruby Buiza designs and develops our special reports and backgrounders. She also creates graphics and works on program sites. Prior to joining us, Ruby worked for a number of television stations for 10 years. She has a degree in journalism from Ryerson.
Showwei Chu joined CBCNews.ca as a senior news writer in January 2007. Her previous employers include the Globe and Mail, the Canadian Press and Maclean's magazine. She has an undergraduate degree in journalism and a certificate in photography studies from Ryerson University.
Emily Chung is the news writer in Ottawa, joining CBCNews.ca in September 2006. Previously, she worked as a reporter for the Toronto Star and the Vancouver Sun, edited the travel section of an urban cycling magazine and wrote for various other publications. Emily took journalism courses at the University of Western Ontario and the University of British Columbia while completing two chemistry degrees.
Andrew Davidson joined CBCNews.ca in August 2006 from the Canadian Press, where he worked as a reporter and editor in Toronto. Andrew has also worked as a news writer for CTV.ca and an intern reporter at the Globe and Mail. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature from McGill University and a graduate degree in journalism from Ryerson University.
Janet Davison joined CBCNews.ca as a copy editor in June 2006 after 16 years at the Standard in St. Catharines, Ont., where she was a reporter, copy editor and news editor. Janet has a BA in English and history from the University of Toronto and a master's in journalism from the University of Western Ontario.
Alison Downie joined CBCNews.ca as a copy editor in October 2007 after spending almost a decade with Sun Media as a readership editor and a city editor. She received her journalism degree from Conestoga College in Kitchener, and has worked at a number of Ontario newspapers, including the Woodstock Sentinel-Review, the Orangeville Banner, the Orangeville Citizen and the Arnprior Chronicle. She also served a term as a member of the Ontario Press Council.
Muriel Draaisma writes headlines for the crawl news service provided by CBC Newsworld. She also writes for CBCNews.ca. Previously, she worked as a reporter for the Vancouver Sun, the Edmonton Journal and the Regina Leader-Post. Muriel has lived in five cities in Canada and four provinces. She has an honours BA in English from UBC.
Zach Dubinsky joined CBCNews.ca as a copy editor in September 2007 after stints as an editor at the National Post and the Montreal Gazette. For two years, he was the Canada correspondent for Britain's Times Higher Education Supplement, and he has written for several Canadian and U.S. newspapers and magazines. He won the 2003 Award for Excellence in Education Journalism from the Canadian Association of University Teachers for uncovering the McGill University Ayn Rand affair.
Patti Edgar is the news writer in Alberta. She came to CBCNews.ca in June 2006 from the Winnipeg Free Press. She has also worked at the Vancouver Sun and the Ottawa Citizen. Patti is based in Calgary. She has a BA in creative writing.
Lianne Elliott is a news writer at CBCNews.ca. Before joining us in November 2006, she worked as a reporter for five years at The Record in Kitchener, Ont. She has also worked at The Montreal Gazette and The Kingston Whig-Standard. Lianne has a BA in English Literature from Queen's University and a master's in journalism from the University of Western Ontario.
Mark Gollom, news writer, joined CBCNews.ca in 2003. He's worked as a reporter at the National Post, the Ottawa Citizen and the Toronto Sun. Mark has a degree in political science from the University of Western Ontario and a diploma in journalism from Centennial College in Toronto.
John Gushue covers Newfoundland and Labrador for CBCNews.ca. He is also a frequent contributor to CBC Radio in Newfoundland and Labrador. John has been a journalist since 1985, in both print and broadcast. He studied English literature and classics at Memorial University. He joined CBCNews.ca in 2004.
Marlene Habib joined CBCNews.ca as a copy editor in March 2006. She started her career at the Globe and Mail and then spent 23 years at Canadian Press, where she wrote and edited news, health and fitness and entertainment, and served as lifestyles editor for two years. She has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Ryerson University and is a certified fitness trainer.
Peter Hadzipetros is the producer for the health and consumer life sections. He's had various responsibilities at CBCNews.ca over the years, from running the consumers zone to working on provincial election sites. Before joining us in 1997, Peter worked for CBC Radio for 15 years. Peter has a degree in creative writing.
Lee Hewitt joined CBCNews.ca in October 2007 as a producer with the in depth area. Before coming to the CBC, he was the senior web editor at the Toronto Sun and the sports and travel editor at AOL Canada. Lee has degrees in political science and journalism.
Amber Hildebrandt is the news writer for our Toronto site. She moved to Toronto after working at our Ottawa bureau for six months. Amber was a freelance writer and editor in Japan for three years and also worked at A-Channel News. She has an honours bachelor of journalism and political science from Carleton University.
Paul Jay is a techology and science writer. He's contributed as a freelancer to the top newspapers and magazines in Canada. He's also been a columnist and worked at CBCSports.ca during the Winter Olympics. Paul has a bachelor of applied arts in journalism from Ryerson University.
Brian Kemp became a copy editor at CBCNews.ca in March 2006. He spent the first nine years of his journalism career at the Telegraph-Journal in Saint John, where he began as a general reporter. While at the Telegraph-Journal he was nominated for two Atlantic Journalism awards. In 2001, he moved to the Daily Gleaner in Fredericton, where he was the opinion editor and deputy managing editor. Brian has a bachelor of arts in English from the University of New Brunswick and a journalism diploma from Holland College in P.E.I.
Tara Kimura became CBCNews.ca's consumer writer in July 2006. She has worked as a reporter/editor for the CBC Digital Archives website and online for the CBC coverage of the 2002 and 2006 Olympics. Tara has a master of arts in journalism from the University of Western Ontario.
Mike Laanela is a news writer in British Columbia. He came to online after working in radio and television news in Vancouver and Halifax with the CBC. Before joining the CBC in 2003, Mike was a freelance writer and photographer based in Sydney, Australia. He has BA in political science and a master's in journalism, both from UBC.
Andree Lau is the online journalist in Alberta (Calgary) and returns to CBCNews.ca after seven years as a TV reporter for CBC in Edmonton and New Brunswick. She has also reported for CTV in Ottawa. Born in Vancouver, Andree is a graduate of Carleton University's School of Journalism.
Donna Lee, news writer, covers the North for CBCNews.ca from our Yellowknife bureau. Before joining us in 2006, she worked at CBC Radio and Television in Winnipeg. She's also been a reporter with the Winnipeg Free Press and a freelance writer and broadcaster. Donna has a philosophy degree from Dalhousie University and a journalism degree from the University of King's College in Halifax.
Peter McCluskey, news writer, is a CBC News veteran who has been with CBC.ca since 1998. He is the writer on the Toronto site. Before that he was most recently CBC Radio's senior producer for British Columbia. Peter has also worked at Newsworld International and The National in senior positions.
John McHutchion writes business stories and features for CBCNews.ca. Before joining CBC in early 2001, John was a business/financial reporter at Canoe.ca and the Toronto Star. He also worked at the Yukon News and the Whitehorse Star.
Cameron Mitchell is an associate producer who is an encoder and designer. Cameron has a business degree from the University of Guelph.
Martin Morrow was the chief theatre critic for 11 years at the Calgary Herald, where he also wrote about film, television and arts in general. In 1995, he won the Nathan Cohen Award for Excellence in Theatre Criticism. From 2003-2006, he was Arts and Books editor at Calgary's Fast Forward News and Entertainment Weekly. His 2003 book, Wild Theatre: The History of One Yellow Rabbit, was short-listed for the Alberta Book Award. He has written numerous articles for the Globe and Mail and Books in Canada.
Timothy Neesam has worked as producer and/or director on a wide range of arts and entertainment projects for CBC Radio (Roots and Wings, The Arts Today and Take Five), Radio 3, and CBC.ca. Also a practicing photographer, he is a member of Toronto's Gallery 44. Timothy is the co-ordinating producer for CBCNews.ca Arts.
Amil Niazi is an associate producer for the in depth section. Before joining CBC she was the editor of Only, a weekly arts and culture magazine in Vancouver. Her freelance work has appreared in Vancouver Magazine, The Westender and CBC Radio 3. Amil studied journalism at BCIT.
Susan Noakes is an arts news writer and editor. She has been a reporter at the Toronto Star and the Financial Post, a copy editor at the Asian Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong, a news writer at CBC Newsworld and a freelance magazine writer.
Peter Nowak is the senior science and technology writer. Before joining CBCNews.ca, he was the technology and telecommunications reporter for the National Post, as well as for the New Zealand Herald where he was named 2006 journalist of the year by the Telecommunications Users Association. He was also a freelance correspondent in China for a number of leading newspapers, including the South China Morning Post, the Boston Globe and the Sydney Morning Herald. He also spent six years as an editor at The Globe and Mail, where he was a software columnist and technology writer. Peter has a degree in journalism from Ryerson University.
Kevin O'Connor is the online journalist for CBC Saskatchewan. A Regina resident, he joined CBC in 2004 after a 17-year career in newspapers. He has also reported for Time.
Jai Parasram was a member of the team that inaugurated CBC Newsworld in Halifax in 1989 and was lineup editor for the network until 1998 when he left the corporation to work as an independent communications and media consultant. He returned to the CBC in 2003 to help create the crawl for CBC Newsworld. Jai's career spans more than three decades, mostly in television, during which he has worked as a reporter, editor, producer, news anchor and executive producer. He has won several journalism awards. Jai holds a master of journalism degree from Carleton University.
Clement-Meoni Poon is a news writer in B.C. He joined CBCNews.ca in June 2007. Meoni worked as a print reporter in Hong Kong for three years and then spent 10 years as a radio reporter/editor in Vancouver's ethnic media. He has also worked at the Canadian Press. Academically, he has a BA in linguistics and a master's in journalism, both from the University of British Columbia.
Bruce Reeve joined CBCNews.ca as a copy editor in May 2006 after almost 23 years at Cycle Canada as managing editor and editor. He has a BA from the University of Toronto.
Robin Rowland is our photo editor and producer. He was one of the first four CBCNews.ca staff when Newsworld Online was launched in 1996. Before that he was a lineup editor and writer for Newsworld. He has also worked for CBC Radio News, CTV News and is the author of four books. His fifth, The Sonkrai Tribunal, will be published by Allen and Unwin in April 2008. Robin has an interdisciplinary MA in history and law from York University, a BJ from Carleton and BA in anthropology from York.
Jackie Ruryk, news writer, has been a journalist for more than 20 years. Before joining CBCNews.ca in 2000, she worked for United Press Canada and Broadcast News, as well as community newspapers in Ontario.
Charlene Sadler is a writer on the Newsworld crawl. She started her career at the Chronicle Herald in Halifax and then moved to the Daily News. She's also freelanced for many of the major newspapers in Canada and has worked at CBC-TV. Charlene has a bachelor of political science from Dalhousie University.
Wendy Sawatzky has been CBCNews.ca's news writer in Manitoba since 2001. She has also worked as a radio reporter, copy editor, travel writer and as a trainer with Journalists for Human Rights in West Africa. She has a bachelor of arts from the University of Winnipeg and a bachelor of journalism from the University of King's College.
Lara Schroeder came to CBCNews.ca's copy desk in December 2006 from the Toronto Sun, where she had been editing copy since 2003. She also worked on copy desks at the National Post and the Toronto Star after moving to Ontario in 2000. Before that, Lara worked in B.C. at the Nelson Daily News and the Free Press in Fernie, and in Dauphin, Man., at News for You. Lara has a bachelor of arts in English from the University of Winnipeg and a diploma in creative communications from Red River Community College.
Anna Sharratt is a writer for CBCNews.ca's health section. She has written about health, fitness, sex and nutrition for such magazines as Chatelaine and Canadian Business. Most recently she was health editor at Chatelaine. Anna has an English and art history degree and a diploma from the Ontario College of Art and Design.
Julia Skikavich joined CBCNews.ca in 2007 as the news writer for New Brunswick. Before this Julia covered the Yukon legislature and territorial affairs for the Whitehourse Daily Star. Her work has also appeared in the Globe and Mail, Time, the Ottawa Citizen, the Winnipeg Free Press and the Halifax Cronicle Herald. Julia holds a bachelor of journalism from Carleton University.
Robert Sheppard joined CBCNews.ca in August 2006 as a producer for the in depth section. He spent much of his career at the Globe and Mail where he was a reporter, columnist, Alberta bureau chief, parliamentary correspondent and national editor. He spent seven years at Maclean's where he was a senior editor, senior writer and education editor. Robert was the co-author of The National Deal: The Fight for a Canadian Constitution. He has an honours BA in literature and history.
Corinne Smith is the Quebec news writer, based in Montreal. She joined CBC.ca in September 2006. Corinne previously worked for CBC Radio as a news reporter, editor and producer in Montreal and Quebec City. She has also worked at the Montreal Gazette. Corinne has a BA in anthropology and English literature from McGill University, and a master's degree in journalism from Carleton University.
Kazi Stastna joined the copy editing desk at CBCNews.ca in December 2007. She has worked as a reporter and editor since 1996 for various media outlets in North America and Europe, including the Montreal Gazette, Radio Prague, the Czech News Agency (CTK) and FSK Radio in Hamburg. From 1998 to 2001, she was based in Prague, Czech Republic, where she helped create and run the award-winning online magazine Central Europe Review. Kazi has a BA from the University of British Columbia.
Bob Sudeyko oversees our Viewpoint and Your view sections. He's been in broadcasting for more than 25 years and has worked on air in both radio and television, most recently with CBC Newsworld in Halifax.
Terra Tailleur is the online journalist for CBC Nova Scotia. For five years, she travelled the country as a radio reporter. Before joining CBC, she worked at several newspapers in Alberta as a reporter and proofreader.
Scott Utting joined CBCNews.ca as a reporter in 2000 and became a copy editor in June 2006. Previously, he worked as a newspaper reporter and editor. He has master's degrees in English literature from the University of British Columbia and in journalism from the University of Western Ontario.
Robert Vajda designed the first version of CBCNews.ca in the 1990s. He was also instrumental in the development and design of Newsworld Online. Robert maintains and redesigns our main pages and backgrounders, and creates graphics. He has a degree in film and television from York University.
Paul Vance is a designer at CBCNews.ca. He creates graphics and assembles in depth features. Paul began his career at the CBC in 1997, writing news for the web at Newsworld Online and for television at Newsworld International. Paul has a degree in English/Anthropology from Trent University and a diploma in journalism from Sheridan College.
Kerry Wall is an encoder and designer. While at Ryerson she was the online editor at The Eyeopener and after graduation served as a consultant during the planning stages of a full-scale overhaul of the Eyeopener's web presence including the building of a new website. She has a Bachelor of Journalism from Ryerson University.
Jessica Wong is an arts news writer and editor. She joined us after stints as an associate producer with CBC4Kids and ArtsCanada. Jessica has a bachelor's degree in magazine journalism from Ryerson University.
Kevin Yarr is the CBCNews.ca journalist for Prince Edward Island. He brought 12 years of experience writing for regional and national magazines, including En Route, National Post Business Magazine, Canadian Family and a regular column in Progress. He began working part-time at CBCNews.ca in March 2003, and joined us full-time in May 2006.
Amina Zafar writes health and science news for our site. Before joining CBCNews.ca, Amina worked for CBC Radio's Quirks & Quarks. She has a degree in environmental science and a master's in journalism.
