George Finstad, a former CBC announcer and the first co-host of CBC-TV’s Marketplace, has died. Finstad died Friday in hospital in Mississauga. He had been suffering from heart problems.
Finstad was the weekend anchor of CBC-TV’s The National News in the 1970s, based in Toronto.
He was the calm voice who in October 1970 told Canadians on national television about the murder by kidnappers of Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte. Working without a script, he relayed reports as they came in from CBC reporters across the country. Later he said it was the most challenging day of his career.
He also reported on the secret wedding in 1971 of then prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Margaret Sinclair.
In 1972, when CBC created the groundbreaking consumer affairs show Marketplace, Finstad was co-host, along with consumer affairs reporter Joan Watson. He was nominated for an ACTRA award as best public affairs broadcaster for his work on the program.
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This is very sad news indeed. I worked with George three times, at CJAD Radio in Montreal in the late 70’s; as a CBC TV reporter in Montreal in the early 80’s and again as a news writer on CBC Radio in Montreal in the mid-80’s.
George took great pride in delivering every story and every intro as professionally as possible, even down to marking each word in his script at times. He also had a terrific wit and was a good friend, who was always ready to put in a good word for others.
He will be sorely missed.
– Bill Amos
Broadcast Journalism Instructor
B.C.I.T.