Today, an episode of the program Assignment. Assignment was one of the early news and current affairs programs on CBC Radio. It was created in 1956 by the legendary journalist, broadcaster and playwright Harry Boyle. The show's mandate was to tell stories about interesting people, places and events from across Canada. For its first five years it had two hosts- Bill McNeil and Maria Barrett. Assignment had a long run- from October 1956 to October 1971, when it was replaced by As It Happens. Today, a sample hour. It first aired on March 7, 1958.