- Tony Parsons (Canadian journalist)
Tony Parsons (born
1939 ) is a noted Canadian broadcaster whose career spanned more than 50 years and who is noted for anchoring the most-watched supper-hour TV newscast in North America.He was born Anthony Parsonage in England. His father was a flight-lieutenant in the
Royal Air Force . His mother was of Italian descent.His family emigrated to
Canada fromEngland in1948 , settling inFeversham, Ontario . After a year studying radio and television arts at the Ryerson Institute inToronto , he looked for work at Ontario radio stations and eventually shortened his name to Tony Parsons. His first broadcasting job was as a country and western DJ at CJCS inStratford, Ontario . He worked at various radio jobs in Stratford, Guelph, and Hamilton, before landing in Toronto. After a brief stint withCHUM , he took his first television job as a reporter atCFTO-TV , a CTV affiliate.Parsons advanced to the late evening anchor at CFTO until 1975, when he jumped at the opportunity to fill the 6:00 anchor spot on
CHAN (better known as BCTV) inVancouver, British Columbia , where he has remained for more than 30 years. He was also the anchor of "Canada Tonight ", a CHAN-produced newscast which aired on stations owned byWestern International Communications until that company was acquired by theGlobal Television Network . In2004 , his career achievements were recognized by his being awarded theBruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award by theJack Webster Foundation.In 2002, Parsons was named Italo-Canadian of the year by the Confratellanza Italo-Canadese.
In May 2007, Parsons announced his intentions to gradually phase himself out of the anchor chair at the Newshour. As of September 2007, Tony will work Tuesdays and Wednesdays, until the
2010 Winter Olympics , after which he has stated his intention to retire and make documentaries.Parsons resides in
Burnaby, British Columbia .References
[http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=70ad5e69-921d-468d-be3a-30f736a07c7e Anchor Tony Parsons easing into retirement] . By Kevin Griffin. The Vancouver Sun, A3. Published on May 12, 2007. Retrieved on May 12, 2007.
External links
* [http://www.canada.com/globaltv/bc/personalities/story.html?id=091c6cd5-195a-4980-93fc-7a2060c69f2b Global BC Bio]
* [http://www.corporate-living.com/tony_parsons.php Profile in Corporate Living Magazine]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.