2 retired CBC journalists take home RTDNA lifetime achievement awards
Two retired CBC journalists have each won a lifetime achievement award.
Both Emma Saganash and Sandi Coleman were celebrated for their "outstanding service and continued excellence" in their journalism careers by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA). The awards were announced on Tuesday.
Saganash and Coleman had extensive careers in broadcast journalism.
Saganash retired from CBC North's Cree unit in Montreal in 2018, after a career that spanned over 40 years in radio, television and management.
That includes a number of years where Saganash was the host of the Cree-language television show Maamuitaau.
Her work "is at the very foundation of Indigenous journalism in Canada, much of it accomplished long before the increased understanding created by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission," it says on the RTDNA Canada website.
Saganash, who is a residential school survivor, "did it all with a deep humility, humanity and a sense of humour that is still missed at CBC North Quebec. She is very deserving of this honour."
In 2003, she moved into her role as CBC North's area manager in Quebec.
Saganash played a key role in "educating others within the CBC on the realities and the needs of Indigenous populations."
She also was known to be a mentor for Cree youth into the profession — some of whom continued working in the field.
Coleman 'well known for her warmth'
Coleman retired in April 2019, after a four decade career in broadcasting, including 16 years as host of CBC Yukon's A New Day.
In her first job in Saskatoon she was assigned what was called the Diefenbaker beat — where she interviewed the former prime minister every time he returned home to Prince Albert.
Coleman went on to work at CTV in Winnipeg and eventually formed a small TV production company with her colleagues. The group spent a few years driving around rural Manitoba for the hit CBC-TV show, "Breakaway."
She later became an announcer at CBC Winnipeg and then eventually headed north to join CBC Yukon.
Coleman, who was "well known for her warmth," emceed countless community events, such as regional science fairs, Special Olympics awards dinners, the annual United Way breakfast, and both playing in, and hosting, the awards at the annual Peter Gzowski Invitational Golf Tournament.
"Across her 41-year career, Coleman's legacy will be her kindness, her dedication to strong journalism, and her love and caring for the communities she served," the website says.
