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Tony Parsons (Canadian journalist)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tony Parsons (born 1939) is a noted Canadian broadcaster whose career spanned more than 50 years and who is noted for anchoring the most-watched supper-hour TV newscast in North America.
He was born Anthony Parsonage in England. His father was a flight-lieutenant in the Royal Air Force. His mother was of Italian descent.
His family emigrated to Canada from England in 1948, settling in Feversham, Ontario. After a year studying radio and television arts at the Ryerson Institute in Toronto, he looked for work at Ontario radio stations and eventually shortened his name to Tony Parsons. His first broadcasting job was as a country and western DJ at CJCS in Stratford, Ontario. He worked at various radio jobs in Stratford, Guelph, and Hamilton, before landing in Toronto. After a brief stint with CHUM, he took his first television job as a reporter at CFTO-TV, a CTV affiliate.
Parsons advanced to the late evening anchor at CFTO until 1975, when he jumped at the opportunity to fill the 6:00 anchor spot on CHAN (better known as BCTV) in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he has remained for more than 30 years. He was also the anchor of Canada Tonight, a CHAN-produced newscast which aired on stations owned by Western International Communications until that company was acquired by the Global Television Network. In 2004, his career achievements were recognized by his being awarded the Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award by the Jack Webster Foundation.
In 2002, Parsons was named Italo-Canadian of the year by the Confratellanza Italo-Canadese.
In May 2007, Parsons announced his intentions to gradually phase himself out of the anchor chair at the Newshour. As of September 2007, Tony will work Tuesdays and Wednesdays, until the 2010 Winter Olympics, after which he has stated his intention to retire and make documentaries.
Parsons resides in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Anchor Tony Parsons easing into retirement. By Kevin Griffin. The Vancouver Sun, A3. Published on May 12, 2007. Retrieved on May 12, 2007.
