Knowlton Nash named inaugural inductee to CBC News Hall of Fame

Knowlton Nash became the inaugural inductee to the CBC News Hall of Fame at a special dedication ceremony Wednesday in Toronto.

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The longtime CBC broadcaster and former anchor and chief correspondent for The National, died last year after a battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 86.

The beloved colleague, journalist and mentor is an appropriate choice to launch the hall of fame, which honours the "men and women who have shaped Canadian journalism over the past eight decades," the CBC said.

Jennifer McGuire, general manager and editor-in-chief of CBC News, said the tribute will serve as a permanent testament to Nash's service.

"For 40 years at the CBC, on-air and behind the scenes, Knowlton Nash personified the very best that Canadian journalism has to offer," said McGuire. "We are honoured to be able to call him the inaugural inductee to the CBC News Hall of Fame."

The tribute consists of six video monitors playing pictures, clips and factoids devoted to this year's honoree and 12 current and former journalists and technicians.

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The CBC News Hall of Fame is not open to the public, but visitors to The Canadian Broadcasting in Toronto will find it located immediately outside the main entrance to the CBC's national newsroom.

A plaque dedicated to Knowlton Nash was unveiled at Wednesday's dedication ceremony, which was attended by Nash's family and hosted by The National's current anchor and chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge.

Read the plaque's message here:

Over the course of his four decades at the CBC, Knowlton Nash was equally adept at covering Washington at the height of the Cold War or reporting from the trenches during the Vietnam War.

He made the move to management as director of CBC Television News and Current Affairs, where he steered his department through a time of growth.

But it was Nash's next calling, as anchor and chief correspondent of The National that made him a household name.

His trademark "Good night" became a reassuring coda to each night's newscast no matter how grave that day's news.

Retirement never caught up with Knowlton Nash as he continued to host while becoming a prolific author about the news industry's storied past and his concern for its future.