Scott, Gail

Gail Scott was born in Ottawa. After graduating from Carleton University in 1964, she studied history, language and theatre studies for a year at the Sorbonne in Paris, before returning to Carleton to get her Graduate Diploma in Journalism in 1966, winning the University Medal for Journalism in the process.

She then joined the CBC newsroom at CBOT-TV in Ottawa, and in 1969 was promoted to be National Assignment Editor for CBC’s English and French television networks, where her bilingual skills proved to be a great asset.

In 1971, she moved over to radio to become the CBC’s Parliamentary Correspondent in Ottawa, before accepting a CTV offer in 1972 for her to become the Network’s Parliamentary correspondent on the Hill.  Over the next ten years,
Gail would make many strong contributions to the Network’s programming, becoming a field producer and host for W5 in 1976, and then in 1978 becoming host of Canada AM, where she handled both the program and the attendant early rising/early bedtime routine most effectively for four years.

During this time, in 1979 she formed her own company, Brodrik Communications, which acted for fourteen years as an umbrella corporation for her various activities.

She left the Network in 1982, and spent the next ten years at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute (later University) in Toronto, first as a lecturer in television broadcast journalism; this was followed by two years in the Office of the President handling Community Relations, after which she returned to the Faculty of Journalism as a Professor.

While at Ryerson, she was appointed in 1987 as a part-time member of the Canadian Radio-Television Commission (CRTC), and on leaving Ryerson she became a full-time member of the CRTC in 1993, a post she held for five years. During that time, she was particularly involved with the convergence of telecommunications and broadcasting systems, and the restructuring of both the television and radio broadcasting system.

On leaving the CRTC in 1998, Gail became a Member of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.   She is a Past President (1991-93) and Director of the Michener Foundation Awards, and is a member of Canadian Women in Communications.