OTTAWA -- Every television story has a beginning.
CTV Ottawa’s starts at the corner of Bayswater Avenue and Somerset Street, where a broadcasting dream was born.
It was March 12, 1961. The station’s opening was hardly an extravagant affair. Owner Ernie Bushnell taped a handmade sign to a door facing the street, proclaiming CJOH TV Channel 13 open for business.
The space was cramped and overflowing with people, but it was temporary. Bushnell and his staff would get their new station on the air from the Bayswater location, until completion of a new state-of-the-art building at 1500 Merivale Rd.
Future media stars such as the late Peter Jennings, of ABC’s World News Tonight, would launch his career from Channel 13. And as technicians and staff unpacked equipment, studios, and offices, they were, unknowingly, unpacking a six decade-long legacy.
"We moved in here and had the office area all upstairs, and downstairs, in the basement, was what was known as the studio," laughs 88-year-old John Beveridge.
Beveridge was hired just ten days before the new station was to go on air.
"Originally, I was hired to be the film and programming librarian," he says.
Beveridge would join others in launching the capital’s first privately owned TV station.
"Up until then, there had just been CBC English and CBC French television. So, this was a whole new experience for people, having been used to just one station, depending on your language of choice."
Beveridge would spend 33 years at CJOH, working his way up from film librarian to vice-president of programming, a job, and creative challenge, he loved.
"At our Merivale studios, we produced more than 600 episodes of Galloping Gourmet. We did so many great shows there. I am so grateful for that whole experience and I will never forget that."
In September of 1961, CJOH TV’s Merivale location was open for business. It was a state-of-the-art broadcasting and production centre.
"It was an extraordinary building for its time. It had large studios, good equipment and excellent production facilities. I had been to other stations in Canada, and they were much more modest—not in the same league, at all," says Bryn Matthews.
Talented and industrious crews helped to produce more 150 different shows for local and Canadian markets, and centres around the world.
"We produced a lot of local shows. We had a requirement to produce shows for older children, so we did. We created 'You Can’t Do That On Television' which ran, not only in Ottawa and throughout Canada, but across the United States for the better part of ten years," says Matthews.
Matthews is a former producer and director who became CJOH TV’s President and Chief Operating Officer, a position he held for a decade.
Though a local station, Matthews and his team always worked to produce content that could be played and enjoyed anywhere.
"I had ambitions that were slightly beyond the usual for a local television station some of them were successful and some of them weren’t, but that’s life," he says.
Matthews had 22 years at CJOH. He helped navigate three ownership changes in 15 years.
"Looking back, I can hardly believe it. It was a great era and I had the adventure of a lifetime."
Marlene Pauly shares Matthews’ enthusiasm, and her adventure at the station continues. A CJOH veteran of 33 years, Pauly is one of the station’s talented Technical Production Coordinators
Pauly and her colleagues in the newsroom, edit suites and control rooms, help ensure the newscasts get to air every day. She’s part of a solid team—something this football fan values and appreciates.
"Over the years, I’ve been very proud to be part of some amazing productions and made life-long friends that are really like family. CJOH used to staff CFL football games and that was my first big gig the summer of 1988—camera, up in the press box with Garry Bitze, who was the booth director," said Pauly.
"That November was Grey Cup in Ottawa and one morning during Grey Cup Week, Doug Flutie arrived on set for the show Eye on Ottawa.”
"I met Henry Mancini, Kim Campbell, and talked football with Henry Burris. There have been many changes over the years, and I am very proud to have worked with some talented anchors and reporters. Happy Anniversary CJOH-TV, BBS-TV and CTV Ottawa."
Owner Ernie Bushnell once professed that a local television station’s secret to sustainability, is in its ability to remain "community relevant." It needs to serve the people who watch it, as CJOH/CTV Ottawa always has.
In an early film promo at CJOH, Chief News Anchor, Max Keeping, affirmed that belief.
"After you watch our 60-minute newscast at six, you’ll have all the information you need to carry you through your day," he said.
Keeping, was the steady heartbeat of the station and newsroom; his reporters like members of a large, extended family. He hired Michael O’Byrne four decades ago.
"One of the biggest thrills for me was walking into the station and meeting Max Keeping and knowing I was going to work with a legend," said O’Byrne.
Recently retired, O’Byrne still remembers when CJOH went on air.
"I grew up in watching CJOH. I went to Saturday Date, hosted by Dick Maloney. Peter Jennings was the original host. So, for me to get a job there and have a career there, it was a dream come true."
Along with news and information, CJOH fostered a proud tradition of storytelling.
"I’m so proud to be part of this team. CTV Ottawa/CJOH is steeped in history and tradition but I think what we’re known best for is great storytellers. We’ve had some of the very best over the years and we have some of the very best right now and that’s the tradition we continue," said Peter Angione, the Director of News and Information Programming at CTV Ottawa.
"The technology we’re using to tell stories certainly has changed over the years, but our focus is on Ottawa’s stories-- the stories our neighbours are talking about. Those are the ones you see on the news each and every night. Those are the ones that are important to our viewers each and every night and that’s what we bring you."
For four of CTV Ottawa’s six decades, Regional Contact, a program celebrating the interesting and inspired, was a platform for the station’s storytellers on Saturday and Sunday nights at 6:30 p.m.
Today, Regional Contact feature stories are showcased on the news. I’ve been a privileged custodian of its uplifting and heartwarming stories for more than 32 years, co-hosting half-hour programs alongside Michelle Dubois for a decade and Kathie Donovan for another 14 fabulous years.
CJOH/CTV Ottawa has also known the pain of darker stories. More than once, those working at 1500 Merivale were not just reporting the news, but at the centre of it.
In 1995, former NHL hockey player and sportscaster Brian Smith was gunned down outside the building and died. And on February 7, 2010, a devastating fire resulted in the closure and demolition of the building employees called home for 49 years.
CTV Ottawa would be welcomed to a new home in the Byward Market at 87 George St. The station’s location would be only one of the many changes to come.
After nearly four decades on the anchor desk, Max Keeping announced his retirement. He became the station’s community ambassador.
"It’s hard to believe it’s been a full eleven years now," says Graham Richardson.
Veteran CTV National reporter, Graham Richardson took his seat in the anchor chair beside long-time anchor/reporter Carol Anne Meehan, a respected broadcaster at CJOH for 26 years. She left the station in 2015 and is now an Ottawa councillor.
Today Richardson and the devoted CTV Ottawa team continue a tradition of service to viewers. CTV Ottawa’s role during natural disasters, accidents, and of course, the pandemic, is now more important than ever.
"This is the biggest story in the world and it’s different in every city, in every neighbourhood and two different provinces. And it’s constantly changing. Our part in that is to try and walk thousands of people through that every single day, while trying to stay on top of it and explain it. That’s the reason we’re here."
Patricia Boal joined Richardson on the anchor desk in 2016. The nightly news she shares with viewers is an information life-line for a community counting on its long-time, local television station.
"We’ve had a lot of feedback from people through the pandemic saying we are once again sitting with the kids to get the nightly news. It’s a real connection at a time when our connections are limited, between us at the desk and the viewers we live next to in the community. We’re all experiencing a lot at the same time," said Boal.
In a rapidly changing digital landscape, CTV Ottawa’s reporters and storytellers continue to uphold Ernie Bushnell’s vision; Ottawa, the Valley and the Seaway still lean on the station, like an old friend. And after 60 years, like the station’s once popular slogan, that friend, is still "here for you."
"I think the future of broadcasting is very bright, very strong because the bottom line is that no matter what platform we’re on, people want information and they want to hear great stories," said Peter Angione.
"And that is what we do, each and every day. And that’s what we’re going to continue to do for many years to come."
