From the Stoney Creek News  June 21.2012

By Laura Lennie, News Staff
 
In his more than 60-year broadcast career, Warren Beck has been an operator, cameraman, anchor, reporter, director and instructor.
 
The Stoney Creek resident has also served on industry associations and boards.
“I can’t recall ever not wanting to go to work on a certain day – some days you wished to hell you hadn’t gone to work – but I’ve never had a day where I’ve been reluctant to walk in and start working,” said Beck, 78. “I think that’s pretty remarkable that you can say that, after being so long working in the business.”
 
Beck began his broadcasting career in 1950 in his hometown, St. Thomas, Ont., where he was an operator at CHLO.
 
In 1954, he came to Hamilton, where he worked as an operator at CHML until 1962.
“While I was there, I also volunteered in the newsroom; I wanted to feel around and see what it was like,” Beck said. “They had a great news director, Don Johnston, and he let me come in and just observe. I don’t think I wrote any stories, but I observed and I liked it.”
Beck wanted to gain more news experience and got a gig as a newscaster at CJOY in Guelph.
 
“We only had a staff of three, so you were able to do a bit of everything, it was a great experience,” Beck said. “I worked with news and sports director Norm Jary. I gained a lot of experience through him and that’s how I got started in news.”
 
Beck later took a job as an anchor for a television station in Indiana. But he quickly returned home when he was offered a position as a general reporter at CHML.
 
“I covered everything – city council, committee meetings, boards of education and politics,” Beck said. “I started specializing in labour and I liked it, so I ended up being a labour reporter. I was appointed assistant news director in 1970.”
 
Beck held the position for two years.
 
He was promoted to news director after Johnston was hired as a news director for CFRB in Toronto.
 
Beck remained in the position until 1985. He then took a job instructing radio and television journalism at Mohawk College, where he stayed until 1995.
Today, Beck runs a media consulting company.
 
He also works as a news director three days a week at CKPC in Brantford.
Beck said the key to his broadcast longevity is simple.
 
“I like the business and that’s why I still work. I like what I do and I like doing it,” he said, adding having a supportive family also helps.
 
Having the chance to work with good people has also motivated Beck to stay in the game.
“That also rubs off on you because everyone brings different skills to the table and it’s so nice working with people with various talents and being able to learn from them,” he said.
Beck said the industry has changed over the years and the  only way to adapt is to roll with the punches.
 
“We’re doing much more with less and it’s not just technology that’s changed that, it’s just business today; you work a lot tighter financially, your budgets are tighter, you hire people that are multi-skilled,” Beck said. “If you’re good at doing what you do, you find other ways of doing things or other things to do in the business and you can stay longer.”
It is that attitude that has earned Beck Radio-Television News Directors Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
 
The award is presented to individuals who have distinguished themselves through outstanding service and continued excellence during the course of their career in broadcast journalism.
Beck called the honour “unexpected.”
 
“It’s humbling being recognized for something that you enjoy doing and the other thing is, I didn’t realize I’ve been around that long. Maybe, it’s a reminder that I’ve been around too long,” he laughed. “I still get excited about going to work and it’s something I’ll continue doing, probably ‘till they carry me out.”
 

Last edited by Broodcaster (January 8, 2024 9:03 pm)