Profile

Timeline

	born in Toronto
	graduates from Bishop Strachan School in Toronto
	1974: finishes Ryerson’s journalism program: gets married on the same day as her graduation
	begins hosting her own radio show
	begins hosting Midday on CBC Television
	hosts Canada Am
	begins hosting The Canadian Antiques Road Show

Finding A Voice:

Radio became her home. After graduating from the Ryerson journalism program, she was hired at CFRB Radio in Toronto. The segment she hosted, sponsored by Coca-Cola, consisted mainly of interviews. Though she cannot recall who the first one was with, she met a rich array of memorable personalities: Steve Podborski after he won his first downhill ski race, Michael Budman and Don Green, the young founders of Roots, Garth Drabinsky, when he began practicing entertainment law, and Karen Kain all stand out in her memory. The intensity of the early work ensured that, for the rest of her career, Valerie would find no interview too daunting. "By the time you’re interviewing Margaret Thatcher, you should be getting better because you’ve been doing it for the last 15 or 20 years."

When the Coke sponsorship dried up three years later, Valerie, then 24, was relegated to research jobs. CFRB refused to let her back on the air because, she claims, they thought her voice too high pitched. Top brass apparently referred to her as "shrill queen". "It was an interesting time because I kept thinking, ‘Oh god – I want to be on air!’"

A period of introspection followed. For two years she did grunt work for other people's shows, always in the shadows. "I really liked telling my own stories," she laments, "and I liked writing my own stuff and I liked doing interviews. So it frustrated me to set up stuff and give it to somebody else who would kick it as far as I was concerned." The program managers kept telling her she didn't have a voice for radio. While she initially bowed to the demands made by CFRB executives, Valerie never let her dream die. Rather than give up, she began to take senior announcers and producers out for lunch and ask their advice. One of the hosts, Andy Barrie, was especially supportive, allowing her to present her own short segments on his show. His producers sent memos, continuously warning him, saying, "don’t encourage Valerie," but he was nice enough to ignore them.

If the bosses don’t like it, find new bosses. She pursued jobs at other radio stations and went for interviews with other program directors. At CFRB, she was still treated as a kid, as 'that leftover summer student'. The producers respected her, but retained a hint of friendly suspicion. Maybe beginning somewhere new would provide the fresh start she needed. One small problem: none of the other stations were getting back to her. With no other option, Valerie decided to wait things out at CFRB.

Reflecting on the criticism she had received from the directors, Valerie decided to do something about her voice. If it was too high, lower it. Too shrill, strengthen it. She visited her old high school drama coach for her advice. The teacher gave her voice lessons, making Valerie enunciate the words of Shelley’s Ozymandias, putting an emphasis on the vowel sounds.

Maybe it worked, maybe not. Either way, a program director at CFRB heard about the effort she was making and was impressed. Suddenly, doors began to open up for her. When Andy Barrie or Betty Kennedy went on vacation, she would be asked to fill in to host their shows. Valerie now likens the change to the story of the emperor’s new clothes. "One minute I was naked, one minute I had clothes. All of a sudden, I became ‘okay’."

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