Tony King inducted into Western Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame

Since 1981 Tony King has made a name for himself gracing the airwaves in Alberta, and his career reached a pinnacle when he was inducted into the Western Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Tony has written and presented noteworthy stories that have had a major influence on the world and transformed life as we once knew it. Topics such as the dawn of personal computers, mobile phones, two Iraq wars and Truth and Reconciliation, just scratch the surface in Tony’s arsenal of exceptional editorial and spoken pieces.

Private radio and television stations in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba belong to the Western Association of Broadcasters. To nominate someone for the Hall of Fame they must have significant successes throughout their career and a minimum of 30 years in the industry.

The criteria also says a commitment to the highest standards of broadcast excellence and extraordinary leadership experience must be explained or examples can be submitted.

Tony’s efforts and accomplishments for the past four decades will be recognized as the finest in western broadcasting.

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Anthony R (Tony) King was born in North Sydney, N.S., in 1958, and he grew up an army brat. In 1981 he graduated from the British Columbia Institute of Technology, with a degree in Broadcast Communications specializing in Radio. In the same year he started his career in Red Deer, and moved to Calgary soon after, and in 2000 joined the staff of CHQR full-time.

Over the course of his career, he’s been a host, anchor, reporter and news director. John Vos, the Regional Program Director for QR Calgary, describes Tony as the quintessential news guy.

“He stays plugged in all the time, it’s kind of in his blood. He brings this measure of calm when things are happening. He’s covered a lot of big stories in this town. He’s been the voice of the morning to Calgarians for 25-plus years”, said John Vos.

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Tony’s archive of notable stories includes the 2013 Southern Alberta floods, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the attempted assassination of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan and the 9-11 attacks.

To complement a life of revered journalism, Tony has a wife, Donna who he married in 1981, and two children, Robert and Candice.