Robert James Reed was a Canadian journalist, producer and

news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

, best known for his work on W5, a

CTV Television Network The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned television network and is now a divis ...

current affairs Current affairs may refer to: News * Current Affairs (magazine), ''Current Affairs'' (magazine) a bimonthly magazine of culture and politics. * Current affairs (news format): a genre of broadcast journalism * Current Affairs, former name for Behi ...

program.

Early life

Reed was born in

Goderich, Ontario Goderich ( or ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario and is the county seat of Huron County, Ontario, Huron County. The town was founded by John Galt (novelist), John Galt and William "Tiger" Dunlop of the Canada Company in 1827. First ...

in 1938. He had three sons.

Broadcasting career

Reed joined W5, a national Canadian newsmagazine and current affairs program, in 1972 as a producer. His notable achievements with W5 included an interview with

Susan Nelles The Toronto hospital baby deaths occurred in the Cardiac Ward of the Hospital for Sick Children between July 1980 and March 1981. The deaths started after a cardiology ward had been divided into two new adjacent wards. The deaths ended after the p ...

, a nurse falsely accused in the

Toronto hospital baby deaths The Toronto hospital baby deaths occurred in the Cardiac Ward of the Hospital for Sick Children between July 1980 and March 1981. The deaths started after a cardiology ward had been divided into two new adjacent wards. The deaths ended after the p ...

in 1980 and 1981, and the first North American interview with

Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

in 1981. Subsequent to this, Reed worked for 12 years as a journalist at

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

, and also worked for

TVO TVO (stylized as tvo), formerly known as TVOntario, is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It operates flagship station CICA-DT (channel 19) in Toron ...

and as a freelance journalist for

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', and ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''. During his career, he was awarded three

Gemini Awards The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States a ...

and a

Gordon Sinclair Award The Gordon Sinclair Award is a Canadian journalism award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television for excellence in broadcast journalism. Originally presented as part of the ACTRA Awards, it was transferred to the new Gemini Awar ...

for excellence in journalism. Reed died on 12 February 2011 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

non-small cell lung cancer Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is any type of epithelial lung cancer other than small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). NSCLC accounts for about 85% of all lung cancers. As a class, NSCLCs are relatively insensitive to chemotherapy, compared to sm ...

Career timeline

*1972:

, W5, producer *1972–1990:

, W5, anchor *1990–2002:

, journalist

Awards

Public and industry awards

, 1986

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Jim 1938 births 2011 deaths Canadian television reporters and correspondents Journalists from Ontario CBC Television people CTV Television Network people People from Goderich, Ontario 20th-century Canadian journalists Canadian Screen Award winning journalists