Lynne Robson ~ Assignment

400-word backgrounder on Lynne Robson


Sikander Ziad Hashmi
Jour 200, Concordia University


As Canada’s public broadcaster, the CBC has National News reporters in major centres across the country. One of those reporters is Montreal-based veteran journalist Lynne Robson, who has been with the CBC for 16 years.

The 48 year-old Winnipeg native graduated with a degree in Communications, and worked there for a private radio station as well as an advertising firm.

Ms. Robson began her foray into Eastern Canada by moving to Ottawa, where the Prime Minister’s Office hired her as a Press Attaché.

She moved to Montreal in 1985. For 3 years, she served as Vice-President, Communications, at the upscale Ogilvy's department store.

It was in 1989 that Ms. Robson began her career at the CBC. At first, she was a local reporter, but was later promoted to National News. She has been there since.

In 2002, Ms. Robson was chosen as the CBC Radio-Canada Fellow at Massey College.

As a recipient of the fellowship, Ms. Robson went on sabbatical and immersed herself in the study of world politics, history, modern espionage, fiction and poetry. She also joined the choir and took squash and yoga lessons.

It was quite a change for a seasoned journalist such as Ms. Robson.

“I left my house, my job, my friends, my car, my cell phone, a busy lifestyle and I now live on campus in a small apartment and I’m a nobody studying things that I’m not particularly smart in,” she is quoted as saying in the September 23, 2002 issue of the University of Toronto’s The Bulletin.

Until recently, Ms. Robson was a general assignment reporter. She filed her last report in that capacity in late June and now works on documentaries.

Although Ms. Robson is affiliated with the National, she can be asked to work for any number of programs. This was not so prior to 2003, but since the integration of TV, radio and new media news at the CBC, a reporter working for the public broadcaster can be asked to work for any program. As such, Ms. Robson finds herself reporting and working for a variety of CBC programs such as Canada Now, Absolutely Canadian, and the National, and even for the CBC’s cable-news channel, Newsworld.

Ms. Robson has covered a number of major news stories at the CBC, including the 1995 Quebec referendum and the deaths of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and hockey legend Maurice “Rocket” Richard.