Peter Trueman | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Peter Main Trueman (1934-12-25)December 25, 1934 Sackville,New Brunswick, Canada |
| Died | July 23, 2021(2021-07-23) (aged 86) |
| Occupations | Journalist,news presenter |
| Years active | 1954–1988 |
| Employer(s) | Ottawa Journal,Montreal Star,Toronto Star,Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,Global Television Network,CTV |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Albert Trueman and Jean Miller |
William Peter Main TruemanOC (December 25, 1934 – July 23, 2021) was a Canadiantelevision andradio personality, best known for his work for theGlobal Television Network between 1974 and 1977, and from 1978 to July 1988. In the 1960s and early 1970s he was areporter,editor and producer forCBC News.
Trueman was born inSackville, New Brunswick, on December 25, 1934.[1] He was the son ofAlbert Trueman, an academic and arts administrator. His journalism career began as a print reporter with theOttawa Journal in the 1950s.[2]
When Trueman was 23, he moved to theMontreal Star to be theirNew York City-based columnist and would cover theassassination of John F. Kennedy for the paper.[2] His print career also took him to theToronto Star. In 1970, he moved to television as executive producer of CBC's flagship newscastThe National.[1]
Trueman producedThe National during theFLQ Crisis in 1970. In his memoirs, he recalled being ordered to censor the CBC's coverage of the crisis: "We were to avoid commentary and speculation of all kinds. We were not to use man-on-the-street interviews or shoot film of any public demonstration. We were to air no panel discussions on the October Crisis and were to avoid reporting speculation, particularly speculation about what the government was doing."[3] Trueman also reprimanded reporterTim Ralfe for his memorable confrontation withPierre Trudeau on the steps of parliament in which Ralfe debated the Prime Minister asking how far he was willing to go which prompted Trudeau's famous "Just watch me" line.[4] Trueman later apologised for not challenging the CBC's censorship and for reprimanding the reporter saying, "I should have given Ralfe a medal."[5]
Trueman became the firstanchor forGlobal News in 1974. He became well known for his commentaries in the last minutes of each broadcast which he would end by saying, "That is not news. But that, too, is reality".[1]
Trueman briefly left Global in 1977 to join rival networkCTV, becoming one of the co-hosts ofCTV Reports, a short-lived, unsuccessful attempt to replace two of the network's news magazine/documentary shows,W5 andMaclear; within a few months, Trueman would return to Global.
Trueman retired permanently from Global News in 1988 "in disgust" over the declining quality of news coverage at the network. He later joinedVision TV to host a 26-part series calledNorth-South about Canada's relation to theThird World.[6]
Trueman also served as host and managing editor of theDiscovery Channel's award-winning seriesGreat Canadian Parks in 1996 and oversaw a series of documentaries for theHistory Channel featuring national historic sites.[2] In 2002, he hostedDestination Parks with Peter Trueman on theCTV Travel network.[7][8]
Trueman was appointed a member of theOrder of Canada in May 2001 and invested in October of the following year.[9] He was conferred theQueen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.[2]
Trueman married Eleanor in 1956.[1] They remained married for 64 years until his death.[2] Together, they had three children: Anne, Mark and Victoria. Mark joined Global News in 1982 and is senior producer of Global News Toronto as of 2021. One of his grandchildren, Devin, works as a control room operator at Global.[1]
After retiring in 1988, Trueman and his wife moved toAmherst Island inLake Ontario.[10] There, he co-foundedCJAI-FM, a community radio station which began broadcasting in 2006.[1] He died on July 23, 2021, inToronto. He was 86, and had suffered from cancer prior to his death.[1][2][11]
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