TVO is marking Steve Paikin’s 20 years as current affairs host with Ontario’s educational media organization, and it is staging a multi-platform celebration in recognition and appreciation.
There's a new online portal where viewers and residents can share their memories and offer congratulations. As well, TVO is putting out 20 memorable moments over 20 days on the social media network Twitter (#Paikin20), and inviting fans to tweet their appreciation for Paikin's recognized contributions to civic engagement and informed debate in Ontario.
This fall TVO will roll out a new series of on air and online vignettes to mark his 20 years with the organization, in which the tables are turned and he becomes the one answering questions about his life and career.
During his time at TVO, Paikin built a reputation as one of Canada’s most respected journalists. In September he began his seventh season as anchor and senior editor of The Agenda with Steve Paikin, known for its in-depth analysis and debate, and for making extensive use of on-air and online distribution opportunities.
In his career at TVO Steve has interviewed newsmakers as diverse as Stephen Harper, Paul Martin, Jean Chretien and Brian Mulroney, Mikhail Gorbachev, Henry Kissinger, Conrad Black, Jane Goodall, Salmon Rushdie, Randy Bachman, fellow native Hamiltonian, Martin Short, and Ontario premiers and former premiers from William Davis to Dalton McGuinty.
In an environment where traditional long-format interviews and debates are becoming increasingly rare, Paikin's work is seen as proof that citizens still want – and benefit from – engaged nuanced discussion.
“If anyone said to me 20 years ago that I would get to meet and talk to all the fascinating people that I’ve had the good fortune to interview during my time at TVO I would have said they were crazy,” Paikin said. “I feel privileged to have worked with such a talented group of people as I have at TVO and to anchor a program such as The Agenda.”
Before The Agenda, he co-hosted Between the Lines for two years and Studio 2 for 12 years, and anchored Fourth Reading for 14 years, and Diplomatic Immunity for eight years. He has also moderated the past three federal and two Ontario election debates.
“Congratulations to Steve for 20 years of engaging and informative journalism that has helped Ontarians to better understand our province and the world around us,” said Lisa de Wilde, Chief Executive Officer of TVO. “Steve’s dedication to public service and his leadership in embracing new opportunities for citizen engagement in the digital space have really helped to elevate public discourse across the province.”
The organization will also celebrate Steve’s 20 years at a special fundraising dinner for TVO on November 8 at Grano Restaurant in Toronto. Special guests at the sold-out event will include former Ontario premiers William Davis, David Peterson, Bob Rae, Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. This celebration is presented by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, a sponsor of The Agenda with Steve Paikin.
TVO is Ontario’s public educational media organization, funded primarily by the Province of Ontario, and as a registered charity, by sponsors and thousands of donors. tvo.org.
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