Cheryl McKenzie is a Canadian broadcast journalist, and the Director of News and Current Affairs for the

APTN National News ''APTN National News'' is a Canadian television national news program broadcast by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The program formerly broadcast in two daily editions, ''APTN National News Daytime'' at ...

. She is of

Anishinabek The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...

and

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

descent. She is best known as the host of the Aboriginal People's Television Network's half hour nightly news show

, and the talk Show InFocus.

Early life

Both McKenzie's parents are residential school survivors.Lauren McKeon
Leading the way
J-source. October 12, 2011 They are from the Hollow Water and Peguis First Nations in Manitoba. Cheryl McKenzie grew up in Winnipeg, but frequently visited family on her parents' reserves. Cheryl's first career was as a chef. She worked in Winnipeg's #1 ranked restaurant, Amici, when she was still a teenager, aged 19. The grueling work schedule proved difficult after Cheryl became a single mother, and so she returned to school at the University of Winnipeg. McKenzie originally enrolled in political science, but was frustrated that the course excluded indigenous peoples. She switched her major and graduated with a degree in Philosophy in 1998.

Career

CBC Radio

Cheryl briefly interned at CBC Radio Winnipeg in 2000.Cheryl McKenzie
Linked in Profile. The internship ended after 10 months when the funding ran out. Also, her superiors at CBC told her they didn't think she would be successful as a journalist.

APTN

In 2001 Cheryl landed a job as a reporter at the Aboriginal People's Television Network's weekly news show, InVision, which was rebranded into

in 2003. In 2004 McKenzie earned award nominations at the Geminis and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters for an investigative series of reports into the lives of First Nations people who became ill and in some cases died from asbestos-related illness after their homes were contaminated by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs.

APTN Daytime

In July 2005 McKenzie was promoted to Host/Producer for the launch of APTN National News: Daytime a second national half hour newscast. Announcing New Host and Producer For APTN National News.

APTN Contact

McKenzie assumed the role of host producer on the APTN national call-in show

Contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * ...

in 2007.

APTN National News and InFocus

A new talk format show, APTN InFocus, replaced Contact in 2009, with McKenzie at the forefront as the host-producer. McKenzie reappeared on news, this time on the desk as a co-anchor with Michael Hutchison in 2012. In the fall of 2014, InFocus reverted to a half hour show. Topics have included: suicide rates, addiction, mental health issues, low-income, community violence, high incarceration rates, and self-governance struggles. APTN InFocus reformatted again in 2016, becoming a one-hour show, interactive as Contact had been but with a new focus on social media. The first episode on June 3, 2016 featured Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a guest. It was the first time a serving Prime Minister ever gave a sit-down interview to an Indigenous media organization. Trudeau took question via telephone and Twitter for an hour. The current design of the show usually features a three guest panel, and allows viewers to join the conversation via telephone Twitter or Facebook.

Executive Director of news and current affairs

McKenzie was promoted to Executive Director of news and current affairs on July 22, 2019, succeeding Karyn Pugliese, who departed on July 31, 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Cheryl Canadian television news anchors Cree people Anishinaabe people Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Canadian television reporters and correspondents Canadian television producers First Nations journalists Canadian women television journalists Canadian women television producers First Nations women