Heath Mulligan Muggli, on Feb. 18. After attending the Western Academy of Broadcasting, Mulligan got his start with Rawlco Radio as a DJ, before transitioning into sales with the company. In 2002, he joined Saskatoon city magazine, Planet S, as a co-owner in addition to working in sales with Prairie Dog Magazine. He joined Saskatoon’s StarPhoenix as Media Sales Manager in 2019, before returning to his radio roots in April 2023 as a Media Marketing Consultant with Harvard Media in Saskatoon. In addition to his work in media sales, Mulligan was a well-known baseball umpire and member of the Saskatoon District Baseball Umpires Association. He was the inaugural recipient of the Quinn Stevenson “For the Love of the Game” award in 2020.
Vince Gallant, 88, on Feb. 13. Gallant began his 65-year broadcasting career in radio on his native Prince Edward Island in the 1950s. Stops in Nova Scotia and Montreal followed, before Gallant arrived at NTV News in St. John’s, NL as News Director in the 1970s. He then did a stint at CJYQ, before landing at VOCM, where he went on to anchor for the next 35 years. He retired in 2019. Gallant was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the RTNDA in 2005.
Bryan Smyth, 91, on Feb. 3. Smyth began his broadcasting career with CBC Radio in Windsor, later joining CBC Ottawa in 1960. He spent the next three decades as a familiar on-air personality, best known for his almost 30-year run as host of “Reach for the Top.” He also hosted CBC Ottawa television shows “Platform” and “Review,” as well as the morning show and “Gotcha” on CBC Radio. For many years, Smyth was also the face of CBC’s national Canada Day and Remembrance Day broadcasts. A frequent emcee of community and charity events, he could also be seen in local Orpheus Musical Theatre Society productions.
Jim Rae, 83, on Feb. 2. Originally from Calgary, Rae and his wife relocated to Winnipeg in 1966 when he accepted an on-air position as the farm commentator at CBC Radio. He went on to host the call-in show “Questionnaire,” in addition to hosting dozens of election forums, among other special events. He retired from CBC in 1996, but continued writing an ag column for rural newspapers published right up to the week of his passing. Rae also served as a reporter for “The Canadian Farmer” on CTV and as a consultant ahead of CBC’s launch of its “Country Canada” specialty channel. He was a lifetime member of the Manitoba Farm Writers’ Association and the Manitoba Community Newspapers Association.
Bill Cunningham, 91, on Jan. 31. Originally from Yarmouth, NS, Cunningham embraced journalism at a young age, writing a weekly high school column for the Moncton Times & Transcript as a teenager. He worked in local radio in New Brunswick and then with Broadcast News, before joining CBC. Cunningham helped coin the name of flagship evening newscast “The National” where he served as executive producer in the 1960s. He covered the war in Vietnam for the public broadcaster in the late 1960s, getting captured by the North Vietnamese Army while attempting to document their presence in Southern Cambodia. He was promoted to head of CBC News in 1972, where he helped pioneer the concept of journalist-anchors, but left shortly thereafter in 1974 to become Vice President of News for the Global TV network. He was recruited to CTV in 1980, initially as executive producer of W5 and then as a host, reporter and managing editor. After getting laid off by CTV in 1991, he returned to CBC as a foreign correspondent and documentary host. Among other accolades, Cunningham was recognized with a Gemini Award for lifetime achievement and an Honorary Doctorate from Ryerson University in 2009.
Marguerite Falk Callegari, 93, on Jan. 28. Callegari began her career with CBC Vancouver in 1963 as a summer relief switchboard operator. She was promoted to Head of the Switchboard Department where she worked until 1975 when she transferred to the TV Programming Department as a senior clerk, handling the scheduling of the script and production assistants, assisted the unit managers, and worked for the Executive Producer, TV Drama, Philip Keatley. Callegari retired from the public broadcaster in 1989.
