Knowlton Nash
Encyclopedia
Cyril Knowlton Nash, OC
, O.Ont
(born November 18, 1927), commonly known as Knowlton Nash, is a journalist, author, and former long-serving senior anchorman of CBC Television
's flagship news
program
, The National. He was born in Toronto, Ontario.
and Toronto Telegram
at the corner of Bathurst and Eglinton
for three cents a copy.
Nash began his career working for The Globe and Mail
in the 1940s before becoming an editor with British United Press in Canada
, moving quickly up from night editor at the Toronto bureau in 1947, to bureau chief at Halifax, Vancouver, and then Toronto. In 1951, he moved to Washington, D.C.
where he worked as the Director of Information for the International Federation of Agricultural Producers, reporting on international politics as relates to agriculture. For IFAP he travelled regularly to London, Paris, Rome, New York, occasionally to Africa and Latin America, and represented the federation's interests at the United Nations
.
After years reporting on the inner circles of Washington politics to IFAP, he started freelance reporting, for CBC television and radio, the Financial Post
, Maclean's
, and daily newspapers across Canada. In 1961 he became CBC's Washington correspondent. In Washington Nash covered major historical events, among them the Cuban missile crisis
and the assassination of John F. Kennedy
. He interviewed five U.S. Presidents, seven Prime Ministers of Canada
, four Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
, Che Guevara
, and other major figures in his time. He was one of the last reporters to interview New York state
U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy
before his assassination.
He joined the CBC's management as head of news and information programming in 1968, moving back to Toronto, and became anchor of The National following the departure of Peter Kent
in 1978. During his tenure, the program expanded from 15 minutes to the first segment of an hour long news package with The National being followed by The Journal, which featured interviews and documentaries.
In 1988, Nash offered to retire from his duties at The National in order to keep Peter Mansbridge
from accepting an offer to host the morning news at the American
network CBS
. Nash left his position as CBC News' senior anchor and chief correspondent
in 1988, yet remained active in Canadian journalism
circles. He hosted various programs on CBC Newsworld
in the 1990s, and from 1990 to 2004 was host of the CBC's educational series "News in Review". Knowlton Nash officially retired from the CBC on November 28, 1992 – his last official duty was anchoring The National.
As of 2008, Nash lives in Toronto with his wife, former CBC personality Lorraine Thomson, and his family.
in 1989, and a Member of the Order of Ontario
in 1998. He received the President's Award of the Radio-Television News Directors Association in 1990, the John Drainie Award "for distinguished contributions to broadcasting" in 1995, and was inducted to the Canadian News Hall of Fame
in 1996. He holds Honourary J.D.
degrees from the University of Toronto
(1993), Brock University
(1995), the University of Regina
, (1996), and Loyalist College
(1997). In 1992 he was the Max Bell
Professor at the University of Regina
School of Journalism.
On June 22, 2006, Nash accepted a lifetime achievement award from the Canadian Journalism Foundation
. He prepared a speech which was read by his wife (Nash suffers from Parkinson's Disease
), which included harsh words for the CBC, due to its planned simulcast
of American network ABC
's The One: Making a Music Star
, which bumped The National back by one hour in Ontario and Quebec
on Tuesday nights. The program flopped and was cancelled after two weeks.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, O.Ont
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...
(born November 18, 1927), commonly known as Knowlton Nash, is a journalist, author, and former long-serving senior anchorman of CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
's flagship news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
, The National. He was born in Toronto, Ontario.
Career
As a 12-year old in 1939, Nash was a newspaper boy selling the Toronto StarToronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
and Toronto Telegram
Toronto Telegram
The Toronto Evening Telegram was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at both the federal and provincial level. The paper competed with the liberal Toronto Star...
at the corner of Bathurst and Eglinton
Eglinton Avenue
Eglinton Avenue, originally known as the Richview Sideroad within Etobicoke, is an east-west arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Within Toronto, Eglinton Avenue is the only road which crosses through all six former boroughs...
for three cents a copy.
Nash began his career working for The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
in the 1940s before becoming an editor with British United Press in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, moving quickly up from night editor at the Toronto bureau in 1947, to bureau chief at Halifax, Vancouver, and then Toronto. In 1951, he moved to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
where he worked as the Director of Information for the International Federation of Agricultural Producers, reporting on international politics as relates to agriculture. For IFAP he travelled regularly to London, Paris, Rome, New York, occasionally to Africa and Latin America, and represented the federation's interests at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
After years reporting on the inner circles of Washington politics to IFAP, he started freelance reporting, for CBC television and radio, the Financial Post
Financial Post
The Financial Post was an English Canadian business newspaper, which published from 1907 to 1998. In 1998, the publication was folded into the new National Post, although the name Financial Post has been retained as the banner for that paper's business section and also lives on in the Post’s...
, Maclean's
Maclean's
Maclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...
, and daily newspapers across Canada. In 1961 he became CBC's Washington correspondent. In Washington Nash covered major historical events, among them the Cuban missile crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
and the assassination of John F. Kennedy
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
. He interviewed five U.S. Presidents, seven Prime Ministers of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
, four Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
, and other major figures in his time. He was one of the last reporters to interview New York state
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
before his assassination.
He joined the CBC's management as head of news and information programming in 1968, moving back to Toronto, and became anchor of The National following the departure of Peter Kent
Peter Kent
Peter Kent, PC, MP is a Conservative member of parliament for the riding of Thornhill, and the current Minister of the Environment in the 28th Canadian Ministry.Previously, he was Deputy Editor of Global Television, a Canadian TV network...
in 1978. During his tenure, the program expanded from 15 minutes to the first segment of an hour long news package with The National being followed by The Journal, which featured interviews and documentaries.
In 1988, Nash offered to retire from his duties at The National in order to keep Peter Mansbridge
Peter Mansbridge
Peter Mansbridge, OC , a Canadian broadcaster and news anchor, is the CBC News Chief Correspondent and anchor of The National, CBC Television's flagship nightly newscast. Mansbridge has received many awards and accolades for his journalistic work including an honorary doctorate from Mount Allison...
from accepting an offer to host the morning news at the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
network CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. Nash left his position as CBC News' senior anchor and chief correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
in 1988, yet remained active in Canadian journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
circles. He hosted various programs on CBC Newsworld
CBC Newsworld
CBC News Network is a Canadian English language Category C specialty news channel owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . It broadcasts into over 10 million homes in Canada. It is the world's third-oldest television service of this nature, after CNN in the United States and...
in the 1990s, and from 1990 to 2004 was host of the CBC's educational series "News in Review". Knowlton Nash officially retired from the CBC on November 28, 1992 – his last official duty was anchoring The National.
As of 2008, Nash lives in Toronto with his wife, former CBC personality Lorraine Thomson, and his family.
Honours
Nash was made an Officer of the Order of CanadaOrder of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
in 1989, and a Member of the Order of Ontario
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...
in 1998. He received the President's Award of the Radio-Television News Directors Association in 1990, the John Drainie Award "for distinguished contributions to broadcasting" in 1995, and was inducted to the Canadian News Hall of Fame
Canadian News Hall of Fame
The Canadian News Hall of Fame is a museum that honours individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to journalism in Canada. The Hall of Fame is operated under the auspices of the Toronto Press Club and is housed within the Ontario Club at 30 Wellington St. W. in Toronto...
in 1996. He holds Honourary J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degrees from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
(1993), Brock University
Brock University
Brock University is a comprehensive university located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Brock offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs that include co-op and other experiential learning opportunities to an enrolment of over 17,000 full-time students.The enabling legislation is...
(1995), the University of Regina
University of Regina
The University of Regina is a public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a junior college in 1925, and was disaffiliated...
, (1996), and Loyalist College
Loyalist College
Loyalist College is an English-language community college in Belleville, Ontario, Canada.- History :...
(1997). In 1992 he was the Max Bell
Max Bell
George Maxwell "Max" Bell was a Canadian newspaper publisher, race horse owner and philanthropist. He was best known as the co-founder of FP Publications, Canada's largest newspaper syndicate in the 1960s. He built his newspaper empire after inheriting the Calgary Albertan, and its $500,000 debt,...
Professor at the University of Regina
University of Regina
The University of Regina is a public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a junior college in 1925, and was disaffiliated...
School of Journalism.
On June 22, 2006, Nash accepted a lifetime achievement award from the Canadian Journalism Foundation
Canadian Journalism Foundation
Founded in 1990, the Canadian Journalism Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in Canadian journalism by recognizing outstanding journalistic achievement and by promoting dialogue between media, business, government and academe.The Foundation's awards...
. He prepared a speech which was read by his wife (Nash suffers from Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
), which included harsh words for the CBC, due to its planned simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
of American network ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's The One: Making a Music Star
The One: Making a Music Star
The One: Making a Music Star was an American reality television series that aired in July 2006 on ABC in the United States, and CBC Television in Canada. The show was hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos, known to Canadian viewers as the host of CBC's The Hour...
, which bumped The National back by one hour in Ontario and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
on Tuesday nights. The program flopped and was cancelled after two weeks.