CHCH-TV colleagues are mourning the passing of Dwight Ryan last week after a lengthy illness.
Ryan passed away at the age of 77 on Oct. 21, after suffering a severe stroke and heart attack in May 2021 while producing the 6 p.m. newscast for CHCH, shortly before airtime.
A reporter, anchor and producer, Ryan had a combined 55-year career in the broadcast and communications industry that started while he was still in high school when he got a part-time job at a Hamilton radio station in the control room. He went on to hold positions through the 1970s at CKPC Brantford, CKOC Hamilton, CJCS Stratford, CKWW Windsor, CKOY Ottawa, CHML Hamilton and later North Bay and Sudbury, where he often used his full name on-air “Dwight Arthur Ryan.”
He made his foray into television in 1976 as News Director at CKNY-TV in North Bay, where he produced and anchored the supper hour newscast. From there, he landed at CHRO-TV in Ottawa/Pembroke as News Director from 1977-79, before going on to an 18-year run with CHCH-TV in Hamilton. His time with the station included serving as a Queen’s Park Bureau reporter, reporting on business for the Morning Business Program, an eight-year stint producing the evening newscasts and taking regular shifts as an assignment and line-up editor.
“Always popular for his terrific sense of humour, which even lead to a ‘Dwight Ryan Fan Club’ being created at CHCH, he was recognized for his superb writing skills, sound judgement and ability to work under tight deadlines,” former colleague Beth Barron told Broadcast Dialogue. “His significant and varied experience made him a great mentor for many young people who have gone on to enjoy successful careers of their own. He took great pride in mentoring them.”
In 1997, Ryan left CHCH to launch Daryan Communciations, his own corporate communications and marketing consultancy, based in Burlington.
While running Daryan, he continued to serve as a popular Master of Ceremonies and moderator for community and corporate events, in addition to continuing to work part-time at CHCH.
