On Sept. 20, exactly one month after Kevin Newman’s last show, Dawna Friesen will take over as Global National’s anchor and executive editor.
Friesen, who grew up on a farm just outside Winnipeg, will be returning from 11 years as an anchor and foreign correspondent at NBC News in London, and will become Canada’s first full-time, female anchor of a national nightly newscast.
"I’m thrilled to be coming back; it feels really good," Friesen said Friday, hours before Newman’s final broadcast.
Newman announced in April that he would be stepping down as head of Global National, the flagship early-evening newscast he helped found in 2001.
Friesen, a young-looking 46, says working abroad has given her a new outlook.
"You begin to appreciate what perhaps you took for granted when you lived here, particularly because of the kind of reporting I had a chance to do overseas."
That kind of reporting included some of the biggest international stories of the decade: the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan; the fall of Slobodan Milosevic in the former Yugoslavia; the siege of a theatre by Chechen rebels in Russia; and the Madrid train bombings. She won an Emmy Award for her part in covering Barack Obama’s U.S. Presidential victory.
"Maybe I can have a bigger perspective, place things in context . . . and bring a credibility, because some of the places we’ll report from, like Afghanistan, I’ve been there, so it’s part of my consciousness."
The past 11 years have also made her more appreciative of her home country, she says:
"You begin to see how lives can be so totally disrupted and destroyed by that sort of thing, and you really appreciate that you can call yourself Canadian and come home to Canada, to a place where peace and security are so taken for granted. The political conflict that happens here – not that it’s not important and significant, but it’s not life-threatening. So I think I have that perspective now. I feel more national pride than I did when I lived here before."
Before reporting and anchoring stints at both CBC and CTV, Friesen got her start in journalism in 1985, working in small Manitoba towns, as well as Saskatoon and Thunder Bay – something she says will also serve her well.
"I love small towns and I love rural life, as much as I love big cities, so I think I have a sensibility you might not have if you’re born and raised in Toronto. I can’t really define it. When I’m at the anchor desk, because I know what it’s like to live in Saskatoon, to try and run a family farm, I have a greater feeling for people across the country, from different walks of life. . . . I like the sense of community you get when you live in those places. I understand that, and I know the value of that, and I hope some of that sense of empathy and humanity is reflected in the newscast."
Next year, CTV News reporter Lisa LaFlamme will take over the national news broadcast from Lloyd Robertson, meaning two out of three national anchor positions will be held by women – a situation mirrored in the U.S., where Katie Couric and Diane Sawyer deliver the news for CBS and ABC, respectively.
But Friesen isn’t putting a lot of stock in what may seem like a sexual revolution in the TV-news business.
"I think it’s fantastic, but it should have happened a long time ago; it’s a natural evolution. There have been other female broadcasters; there’s been Pam Wallin and Barbara Frum, so I don’t feel like I’m the first woman on the scene, by any means. And locally, of course, there have been many women doing local news at a high level and are extremely good at it."
"I feel like I got the job, not because of my gender, but because of my experience and my abilities, so that’s what comes first for me, and the fact that I’m female, well, that’s just who I am."
So what changes does she have in mind for Global National?
"I think change for change’s sake is not wise. I think Global National has a great reputation, a solid show with a great team of people. Kevin Newman has been the driving force behind that, and has been remarkable at it. He’s built a large and loyal audience, and I wouldn’t want to mess with that, because it would be crazy; they’ve got a good thing going."
"What I’ve said from the beginning is I want to build on that solid foundation, I want to make the show continue to be credible, relevant, fast-paced and smart. And I think the show being at 5:30 – though it could be seen as a disadvantage because it’s early – I think it gets us ahead of the curve. It gets people informed earlier in the evening, so that, by 10, 11 o’clock, when the other newscasts are on, it’s, like, ‘That’s old news by now.’
Speaking of competition, Friesen isn’t worried by it: not by CBC, nor CTV, nor flashy, right-wing networks such as Fox in the U.S. – or even new kid on the block, Sun TV, a televised version of the right-wing Toronto Sun tabloid launching in January.
"I realize, in this multi-faceted broadcast world, people can get their news from so many other sources, so yes, you’re not just competing with CTV and CBC anymore. But I like to think Fox News, in particular, has a style that doesn’t necessarily reverberate with Canadians, as it might with Americans.
"I also know Sun TV is causing a lot of anxiety in this country, but I think any competition is good. Someone comes in and says – as annoying as it might be to some people – that they’re going to shake things up and ruffle some feathers. I think that’s good. I think it makes people take notice and think, maybe we do need to raise our game, maybe we have become complacent, and that’s not a bad thing."
Friesen is equally sanguine going head to head with LaFlamme, whom many might consider to be her most direct rival.
"Lisa’s a friend of mine. I think it’s fantastic she got this job, I wish her well. So yes, she’s a competitor, but I think we all raise each other’s game. If we all strive to be as good as we can possibly be, we’ll all lift the quality of news in this country. Yeah, I want to get more ratings than she gets, but that’s the name of the game. But is that going to consume me? No. It’s about quality and they’ll be some nights, some things we wish we had done, and vice versa, and that’s what keeps you on your toes."
Won’t she miss the constant globe-trotting that has defined her career over the past 11 years?
"I have a feeling I’ve got it out of my system now," she says, laughing. "I know they’ll be times I’ll think, ‘Oh, I wish I could jump on a plane and head over there,’ but I have a young child, he’s five years old, so my focus has changed; I want to be around home more, so it’s the right time."
Dawna Friesen’s first broadcast as anchor of Global National will be September 20. Guest anchors, such as Eric Sorensen, Global’s Washington bureau chief, and primary substitute anchor Robin Gill, will be filling in until then.
With files from Global News
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.