After 31 years hosting CBC’s flagship investigative program THE FIFTH ESTATE and a remarkable journalism career on both sides of the border, multiple award-winning investigative journalist and broadcast host Bob McKeown has announced that he will retire this fall. McKeown will make his final appearance as host for THE FIFTH ESTATE’s 50th anniversary special, looking back at significant investigations over the decades and highlighting the program’s essential role in the Canadian news landscape. THE FIFTH ESTATE: 50 YEARS OF TRUTH will air Friday, November 29 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC and CBC Gem.
“Since I first joined The Fifth Estate, I have been a very fortunate guy. Not only for finding my dream job, but working alongside the best and brightest colleagues – Adrienne Clarkson, Eric Malling, Hana Gartner, Linden MacIntyre, Mark Kelley, Gillian Findlay, and so many others. And all at a time when investigative journalism has taken on the most crucial issues,” said Bob McKeown. “Through the changing journalism landscape, The Fifth Estate has remained steadfast in its commitment to uncovering truth, which we now unquestionably need more than ever. And one last thing about my time at the Fifth. The first person that I met on my first day at The Fifth Estate office would become the most important in my life, Sheilagh D’Arcy McGee. This past summer we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary.”
“Throughout his impressive career, Bob’s passion for investigative journalism and dedication to uncovering the truth has earned him the trust and admiration of audiences across Canada and around the world,” said Brodie Fenlon, General Manager and Editor in Chief, CBC News. “His work points to the importance of investigative journalism in Canada, and his enduring legacy at The Fifth Estate will no doubt continue to inspire journalists to dig deeper in pursuit of the truth.”
After graduating from Yale University in 1971, Bob McKeown began his broadcasting career 53 years ago as a freelance sports commentator in his hometown of Ottawa. During that time, he also played for the Canadian Football League’s Ottawa Rough Riders, winning a Grey Cup along with recognition as a league all-star. After retiring from football, McKeown began his full-time career in journalism, hosting CBC local TV and radio news in Ottawa and Montreal, before joining THE FIFTH ESTATE in 1981.
In 1990 he joined CBS News based in New York for the news magazines Street Stories, America Tonight and 48 Hours as well as The CBS Evening News. McKeown made international headlines, scooping the world as the first journalist on the ground in a liberated Kuwait City during the Persian Gulf War. When the network briefly switched to the broadcast from another CBS crew, both the White House and the Pentagon called CBS headquarters, asking that McKeown be put back on the air. He then spent eight years as an NBC news correspondent with Dateline, during which time he reported extensively on September 11 and the Oklahoma City bombing; tracked down war criminals; covered hurricanes and tornados; broadcast live from the wrecksite of the Titanic; and was bitten by a shark – on camera.
After a distinguished career in the U.S., including winning two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Coverage of Breaking News, McKeown returned to CBC and THE FIFTH ESTATE in 2002. His work since has included investigations into the deadly wreck of the cruise ship Costa Concordia in the Mediterranean; exposing an epidemic of concussions, brain injury and dementia in professional football and hockey; and his Michener Award-nominated work on the sexual charges against Canadian former fashion mogul Peter Nygard. A 2018 investigation that exposed industry lobbying behind lax safety standards on school buses won the 2019 Canadian Hillman Prize for Public Service Journalism.
Over the course of his career, McKeown has reported from more than 80 countries and been recognized with dozens of major journalistic prizes, including three Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio and Television News Directors of America; three National Headliners; two Gracies from the American Women in Radio and Television; the Consumer Journalism Award from the National Press Club in Washington; and multiple Gemini and Canadian Screen Awards. In 2021, he was named a member of the Order of Canada for excellence in investigative journalism.
THE FIFTH ESTATE airs Fridays at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC, CBC Gem, YouTube and wherever you stream CBC News. A special anniversary episode THE FIFTH ESTATE: 50 YEARS OF TRUTH, hosted by McKeown and looking back at its 50 seasons of groundbreaking investigative journalism, will air on Friday, November 29. The Toronto Public Library and THE FIFTH ESTATE are also hosting the free public event “The Next 50 Years of Investigative Journalism,” featuring an advance screening of the anniversary episode and panel discussion with leading investigative journalists, at the Toronto Reference Library’s Bram & Bluma Appel Salon on Thursday, November 28. More details and ticket information can be found here.
