Voice of World Report, Judy Maddren, leaving CBC
Judy Maddren, best known as the host of World Report on CBC Radio, is leaving the public broadcaster after more than three decades at the microphone.
"I will miss being part of the Canadian neighbourhood," said Maddren in an interview with CBC News.ca. "[And] I will also miss that daily consideration of what the stories are that are important for Canadians.
"It's something I've always tried to do — we are sharing information and it's not preaching."
Maddren says she is especially proud of the fact that she was only the third female announcer ever hired by the CBC back in 1975.
"It was something I had wanted to do since I was 15, " recalls Maddren. "That was proud-making. There are a lot of young women who don't understand how quickly things progressed [since then]."
A statement from Jane Anido, director of radio news programs at CBC, praised Maddren's "sense of humour, delighting in the absurd, and her memorable and frequent treats baked for the World Report team before her early bedtime."
"For those of us who've worked with her, it's Judy's caring, compassion and warmth that stand out — she genuinely wants to know how you're doing and is always willing to mentor others," said Anido.
Maddren, who once co-hosted World Report with the late Russ Germain, spent 16 years bringing news of the world to Canadians in the early morning hours. Germain died in February at 62 after a battle with cancer. He retired from the CBC in 2002.
The stories she has announced include the Somalia inquiry, the Sept. 11 attacks and the war in Afghanistan.
Cried after 9-11 attacks
"The only time I ever cried when I came off air was after the Twin Towers were hit in New York City and CBC Radio went live to network," notes Maddren.
"That was profoundly affecting, to be part of transmitting such a horrific story and trying to share it."
While working at World Report, Maddren also did a stint on the spirituality show Tapestry and served as the CBC's media language adviser, taking over the mantle from Germain after he left the corporation.
'At the core, the CBC is valued for being the voice of Canada. We may have some work to do to re-discover that voice.'—Judy Maddren on the CBC's challenges
Maddren, who holds a consumer studies degree from the University of Guelph, started at the CBC as a researcher immediately after graduating in 1972. That eventually led to on-air work for two years in Ottawa on both radio and television.
She then worked freelance for 14 years through the 1980s while raising four children, and in 1993 was invited back to host CBC Radio's flagship newscast, World Report, the most-listened to program on CBC Radio.
She has seen the CBC go through "boom and bust" while grappling with technological changes.
"Fewer people do more [but] there needs to be reflection. What does this line actually say? Is it carrying weight? Is it germane to the story or is it just an interesting sidebar?"
Of the current challenges facing the public broadcaster — a projected budget shortfall of $65 million and the possible inclusion of more commercial programming — the veteran announcer predicts "tough times" ahead.
"I don't know how this one is going to work out. At the core, the CBC is valued for being the voice of Canada. We may have some work to do to re-discover that voice."
Maddren says she will miss all the creative people that work at the CBC and feels her colleagues are under-utilized.
"My wish for the CBC is to take full advantage of what’s right there. Every talent we need is right there."
One thing that will continue is the annual readings of A Christmas Carol across Canada — a charitable event featuring CBC hosts and personalities reading the Charles Dickens classic that Maddren initiated.
The idea, hatched more than 20 years ago, has raised millions for many charities including food banks, shelters and hospitals.
Telling other peoples' stories
Maddren says she's leaving to focus full time on her other work — Soundportraits, a company she created in which she interviews people and records their life stories.
She created the business after she interviewed her grandmother a few years ago and realized she was getting more than what her grandmother usually told. Maddren says it's because, as a journalist, she asked more questions.
"I'm helping people tell their stories," said Maddren.
"[A person's voice] is so evocative of experiences and sorrows ... it's the first thing you forget when somebody dies. So, the pleasure you get from hearing someone after they die, I don't think you can measure it."
Maddren's last day on the job will be March 27.