Gail Smith (journalist)
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Gail Smith (born September 4, 1955)[1][2] is a former Canadian television journalist and news anchor. From Trenton, Ontario,[3] Smith received her bachelor's degree in mathematics[2][3] from the University of Western Ontario[2] and a master's degree in journalism from Carleton University.[4]
Her broadcasting career started in 1978,[5] as a television news reporter,[2] producer[2] and news anchor[2][3][4][5][6][7] for BCTV in Vancouver, British Columbia.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Smith moved to Toronto, Ontario, and joined CFTO in February 1982[2] as a television news reporter.[2][4] Her career advancement at CFTO occurred at a time when the television news networks in Toronto competed to hire women as news anchors and attract larger audiences.[9][10]
On September 4, 1982,[11] Smith became the first female weekend news anchor at CFTO.[3][4] After the television ratings for the weekend news program climbed 55 per cent,[3] she became the station's first female late night news anchor on Night Beat News the following year.[4] On August 20, 1984,[12] she was the co-anchor of the early evening news program, World Beat News,[4][12][13][14] the station's top-ranked newscast at the time.[4][12][14]
Smith was a member the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians,[5][15] the union that represented newsroom and television studio workers at CFTO.[15][16][17] During the 12-week lockout at the television station in the summer of 1988,[13][17][18] Smith was criticized by the union for crossing the picket line and anchoring the news throughout the dispute.[15][16][17] She resigned from CFTO in October 1988,[5][6][7][19] ending a decade-long career in television news[5][7][19] that included six years in Toronto.[5][19] Her final broadcast on World Beat News aired on October 21, 1988.[5][7][13] Following an absence of nearly five years,[20] Smith returned to television briefly as an afternoon news anchor for CKVR in Barrie, Ontario,[20][21] on March 3, 1993.[20]