Gail Smith (journalist)

For persons of a similar name, see Gail Smith (disambiguation).

Gail Smith (born September 4, 1955) is a former Canadian television journalist and news anchor. From Trenton, Ontario, Smith received her bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Western Ontario and a master's degree in journalism from Carleton University.

Her broadcasting career started in 1978, as a television news reporter, producer and news anchor for BCTV in Vancouver, British Columbia. Smith moved to Toronto, Ontario, and joined CFTO in February 1982 as a television news reporter. Her career advancement at CFTO occurred at a time when the television news networks in Toronto competed to hire women as news anchors and attract larger audiences.

On September 4, 1982, Smith became the first female weekend news anchor at CFTO. After the television ratings for the weekend news program climbed 55 per cent, she became the station's first female late night news anchor on Night Beat News the following year. On August 20, 1984, she was the co-anchor of the early evening news program, World Beat News, the station's top-ranked newscast at the time.

Smith was a member the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, the union that represented newsroom and television studio workers at CFTO. During the 12-week lockout at the television station in the summer of 1988, Smith was criticized by the union for crossing the picket line and anchoring the news throughout the dispute. She resigned from CFTO in October 1988, ending a decade-long career in television news that included six years in Toronto. Her final broadcast on World Beat News aired on October 21, 1988. Following an absence of nearly five years, Smith returned to television briefly as an afternoon news anchor for CKVR in Barrie, Ontario, on March 3, 1993.

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