Give Mesley her due

Re: CBC’S Mesley now a host without a show, Sept. 23

Your reporter wrote, “The Weekly first aired in January 2018 after Mesley established herself as a host on CBC’S consumer advocacy program Marketplace.” This is patently untrue. Mesley “established herself” over six years as host and co- creator of CBC TV’S weekly program Undercurrents, 1995- 2001, where she won two Gemini awards ( renamed Canadian Screen Awards) for Best Host/ Interviewer. She went on to co-host Disclosure and then Marketplace, where she won a third Gemini for Best Host/ Interviewer and in 2017 a Canadian Screen Award as Best Host/ Interviewer for her work on The National.

The article also stated that Mesley “later worked as a backup host for the network’s premier nightly newscast, The National, formerly hosted by her ex- husband Peter Mansbridge.” This sexist remark ignored Mesley’s six years as a CBC news reporter, 1979- 1985, based in Quebec City, and her subsequent move to Ottawa as CBC’S first female correspondent from the Parliamentary Press Gallery for The National.

She hosted The National on Friday and Sunday evenings on and off over a period of 25 years. I know all this because as a CBC TV producer I had the privilege of working with her for over 12 years. She was tough, hard- working and the best interviewer I’ve ever encountered.

Anne Wright- Howard, Toronto, Ont.