By the time this edition of DRISTHI reaches you, Anita Bathe will have recently started her new position as co-host and front-line investigative reporter with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) prestigious 6 pm Vancouver News program. “This is such a great news team to work with,” Anita spoke with excitement in her voice. “I look forward to the opportunity to work with them and bring our newsworthy audience stories that they care about.”
The CBC Vancouver News Team will consist of co-hosts Bathe and Mike Killeen, as well as senior meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe. The broadcasts can be viewed on television as well as streamed lived online through cbc.ca/bc. The announcement was made by Jonny Michel, senior managing director, British Columbia, and Alberta in a press release: “CBC is the national public broadcaster, and we have the mandate to provide British Columbians with the most trusted and balanced news possible across a variety of platforms and TV news, especially local news, is still a vital piece. And with the changing landscape of media and how our audience consumes their news, not only will our host team be visible on TV, but they will also report across a multitude of media channels, from radio to online. These are talented and award-winning journalists who are genuinely passionate about the news, and they represent the new CBC Vancouver News.”
Anita’s previous journalism experience entails being a Reporter with the CBC since 2016, and stints with News 1130, CFAX and StarFM Country radio stations. She got her to start on Shaw Television, in the mid-2000s as host and reporter on Gen Why on the Express and later on the program Zindagi.
Born and raised in Abbotsford, Anita credits her parents and siblings in nurturing and supporting her inquisitive nature. “I have always been curious, always questioned things and tried to understand them,” she notes. While currently living in Vancouver, Anita still returns home to Abbotsford often, where her family continues to operate a blueberry and raspberry farm. “Abbotsford has grown so much over the years, but a farm is still a place I can go to sometimes just to get away from the rush and noise of the city. It is where I find respite.”
Anita’s journalism career spans more than ten years. It is a career which has taken her to many locales in British Columbia – such as Prince George, Squamish, Victoria, Metro Vancouver, and the Fraser Valley. She is a graduate of the British Columbia Institute of Technology, earning diplomas in Broadcast and Media Communications and in Marking Management Communications. “I took whatever learning and field opportunities came my way.” She has similar advice to anyone considering pursuing a career in journalism. “The field has changed so much. In the past, one could be a television reporter or a reporter on the radio. Now reporters are expected to operate in all environments, whether that be a television studio, on the radio, or even via digital platforms. So, a journalist needs to be skilled in all of those media.”
Anita is a multiple winner of awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association and the B.C. Association of Broadcasters, as well as a recipient of the Jack Webster Fellowship in 2015.
She has provided us with numerous in-depth news stories, such as covering the BC wildfires, and our local, regional and national elections, just to name a few. She looks forward to continuing to bring her investigative skills and ability to deliver stories that resonate and matter to British Columbians in her role as co-host and front-line investigative reporter with CBC Vancouver News at 6 pm.
