Jack Webster

Jack Webster

Jack Webster, CM, (1915 - March 2, 1999) was a Scottish-born Canadian journalist, radio and television personality.

Life in the United Kingdom

Webster was born in Glasgow, the son of a Clydeside ironturner. He worked in Glasgow and on Fleet Street. When World War II broke out, Webster joined the British Army and rose to the rank of Major, with most of his six years' service in the Middle East.

Career in Canada

After the war's end, Webster emigrated to Canada. He covered the labor beat for the Vancouver Sun newspaper. In 1953, he began to work on commercial radio in the talk radio format (which had its origins in British Columbia before spreading to the US). Webster made his mark broadcasting shorthand transcripts of testimony during a probe into corruption on Vancouver's police force. His City Mike show on CJOR (AM) achieved some fame covering it.

In 1963, prisoners at the BC Penitentiary were foiled in an escape attempt and took hostages. At the prisoners' request, Webster acted as a mediator between hostage-holding prisoners and the authorities and helped resolve the stand-off.

In 1979, at the age of 60, Webster moved his radio show to television where his familiar expression '9 am precisely' became the moniker for his show. An hour-long TV interview program which preceded the nightly news hour on BCTV and frequently dealt with British Columbia politics.

Recognition

In 1987, he was inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame. In 1988, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.

Jack Webster Foundation

In 1986, more than 1,000 people attended a salute to Webster upon his retirement. This event resulted in the creation of the [http://www.jackwebster.com Jack Webster Foundation] to promote and honour excellence in journalism in British Columbia. Each year, journalists judged to have outstanding work receive a "Webster," a glass statue (and a cash prize) that have become the hallmark of journalistic excellence in British Columbia.

The awards have grown from a single "Reporter of the Year" in 1987 to 13 awards for: best news, best feature and best community news reporting (print, radio and TV awards in each of the three categories) as well as recognition for excellence in the categories of business reporting, science reporting, commentary, legal journalism, Chinese-language news, and the Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award. The Foundation also awards fellowships and six annual student reporting awards.

Author

* 1990 - "Webster!: An Autobiography" ISBN 0888947062


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