Marguerite McDonald (1941/42 – August 24, 2015) was a Canadian television and radio journalist,"Marguerite McDonald, 1st host of CBC Radio's The House, dead at 73"

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 ...

, August 24, 2015. most noted as the first host of

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of C ...

's weekly political affairs series '' The House''.

Biography

Born and raised in Aubigny,

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, McDonald first worked in journalism beginning in 1960 as an intern for the ''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...

''. She became a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

nun, teaching high school and working part-time for local radio stations as a commentator on religion and theology. Leaving her religious vocation after 12 years, she joined CBR in Calgary as host of '' Calgary Eyeopener'', holding various roles with the CBC until becoming host of ''The House'' in 1977. In 1980, she joined CBC Television's '' The National'' as a social affairs reporter."CBC veteran signing off: McDonald retiring from radio to pursue other interests, make room for younger employees facing staff cuts". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The new ...

'', September 25, 1996. In 1986, she became producer of CBC Radio's religious and spiritual show ''Open House'', and became the program's host in 1990. She remained with the program until it was replaced by ''

Tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads ma ...

'' in 1994, and remained with CBO-FM as a newsreader until retiring from the CBC in 1996. During this era, she published at least one murder mystery short story, "Death at Network News", in a local anthology of Ottawa writers. McDonald was married twice, first to television producer

Harry Elton Harry Elton (5 January 1930 – 16 May 2004) was a Canadian broadcaster, primarily known as the television producer who championed the development of the British television programme '' Coronation Street'' in 1960, currently the world's longest-r ...

,"The force behind Coronation Street". ''

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 ...

'', June 12, 2004. and later to radio producer Bill Young after Elton's death in 2004. She had no children of her own, but was stepmother to both Elton's and Young's children from prior marriages. She died on August 24, 2015, in Ottawa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Marguerite 1940s births 2015 deaths Canadian talk radio hosts Canadian radio news anchors CBC Radio hosts Canadian television reporters and correspondents Journalists from Manitoba People from Pembina Valley Region, Manitoba Canadian women short story writers 20th-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian women writers Canadian political journalists Canadian women television journalists Canadian women radio journalists Canadian women radio hosts