Earl Cameron (broadcaster) facts for kids

Earl Cameron (born June 12, 1915 – died January 13, 2005) was a well-known Canadian broadcaster. He was famous for being the main news anchor for CBC's The National from 1959 to 1966. He helped Canadians understand important news stories of his time.

Earl Cameron's Life and Career

Early Days in Radio

Earl Cameron was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1915. When he was a student, he found a summer job at a local radio station called CHAB. This was the start of his career in broadcasting.

He joined the main CBC Radio network in Toronto in 1944. There, he became the person who read the daily CBC National News Bulletin. He took over this job from another famous voice, Lorne Greene.

One of his most important moments was announcing the D-Day invasion of Normandy to Canadian listeners. This was a huge event during World War II. Besides reading the news, he also read commercials and hosted various radio programs.

Becoming a TV News Anchor

In 1959, Earl Cameron became the anchor of the CBC Television National News. Today, this show is known as The National. During the 1960s, CBC News started to change how they saw news readers. They wanted news anchors to be professional journalists, not just performers.

This meant that news readers were asked to stop doing outside work, like reading commercials for products. Earl Cameron agreed in 1965 to stop his well-paying ad contracts. However, the next year, he was replaced as the main anchor of The National. CBC management wanted a trained journalist in that important role.

After The National

Earl Cameron was replaced by broadcast journalist Stanley Burke. But Earl Cameron continued to work as an announcer for CBC radio and television until he retired in 1976. One of his jobs was hosting a short nightly show called Viewpoint. On this show, he would read letters from viewers after The National news.

Pop Culture Connection

The character Earl Camembert on the comedy show SCTV was named after Earl Cameron. This was just a joke to make Canadian viewers laugh. The character did not actually look or act like Earl Cameron.

Earl Cameron passed away in Barrie, Ontario, on January 13, 2005.