Gord Steinke

Anchor

Gord Steinke is no stranger to Edmontonians. As one of the region’s most popular news anchors, he brings you the News Hour, every weeknight at 6.00 on Global Edmonton.

In the fall of 2006, Gord launched Your Town, a feature that quickly proved to be a favourite with viewers. Your Town has Gord heading out to rural Alberta communities to profile our province’s hidden gems and tell the stories urbanites otherwise might not hear about.

In 2007, Gord nabbed two nominations from the Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association (AMPIA) for Your Town. The feature has now evolved into a new segment called “Up Front.”

While Gord is best known as a veteran broadcast journalist, he’s also a best-selling Canadian author. He penned Mobsters and Rumrunners of Canada, which is sold at bookstores across Canada and even the United States. It focuses on a little known part of Canadian history: the roaring 1920s and the connection between Canadian and American gangsters during prohibition.

Gord began his broadcasting career in Saskatchewan, where he attained his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communications from the University of Regina. His first job was in print journalism, then radio, before becoming a television reporter and anchor in Regina. He later ventured south of the border and worked at the now defunct All News Channel in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Serving as both an anchor and a reporter, Gord covered the invasion of Panama and the Gulf War. However, Gord and his family were homesick for Canada, and couldn’t stay in the U.S. forever.

He seized the opportunity to join ITV (now Global Edmonton) back in 1992. His hiring proved to be very popular with viewers. Edmontonians have voted in Gord as their favourite news anchor several times since.

Dealing with the unexpected is Gord’s favourite part of the job. “Every day is different. You never know what’s in store for you when you walk into the newsroom. This job is always exciting and interesting. Plus, we have an extremely creative and intelligent team at Global Edmonton. It’s serious business and hard work, but we also have a lot of laughs.”

Gord’s proudest professional moment was when the Global Edmonton team won the best major market newscast award from the Radio-Television News Directors Association. One of Gord’s proudest moments was when he was awarded a huge military honour. He was appointed Honourary Lieutenant Colonel of the 15th Edmonton Field Ambulance by the Federal Government. The unit is part of the 41st Canadian Brigade Group.

His wackiest moment was in November 2007. Gord and his longtime friend (and then-co-anchor) Lynda Steele went from partners on the desk to competitors on the race track. They took part in the first annual Celebrity Charities Challenge: a harness race at Northlands. The pair split a $10,000 purse between Gord’s charity (Kids in the Hall Bistro) and Lynda’s charity (the Alberta Council for Women’s Shelters). On the other hand, Gord’s most embarassing broadcast moment was his very first CBC Radio newscast. That went up in flames, literally.

“The host reached over and lit my scripts on fire.”

When he’s not working, Gord is still a busy man. He’s a music lover and a rock ‘n roller, with three rock albums under his belt. He also devotes his time to help various Edmonton charities. Every June, Gord and a team of bikers take off on a motorcycle adventure and fundraiser. The “Look and Stepper Revving Up for Kids’ Charity Race” is a three-day event all about enjoying the open road and helping kids fighting cancer. So far, they’ve raised over $100,000 annually for the charity.

He is also proud to be on the board of directors with the Kids with Cancer Society.

Most recently, Gord was honoured with the prestigious Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers from the Governor General of Canada, which recognizes exceptional volunteer work in the community.

Gord and his wife Deb also enjoy spending as much time as possible touring on their 2006 Harley Davidson Road King and taking in the great outdoors.