Doug Ward

Background

About Doug Ward

Doug Ward Chair, Farm Radio International Tel:+1 613 563 0498 Cell 1 613 294 0518 Email: dougward38@gmail.com Web: farmradio.org Doug Ward worked at the CBC for thirty years. He began as a Radio Producer on Ideas, and later was Executive Producer of Radio Free Friday, a precursor to As It Happens. With Peter Meggs he co-authored The Radio Report which outlined new directions for CBC Radio for the 1970s and beyond. The report was adopted almost in its entirety. Doug helped northern Canadians gain access to the CBC radio repeater transmitters in their remote northern communities to do local programming in native languages. He started CBC's radio station in Northwestern Ontario. His staff brought the CBQ Morning Show to #2 in the Thunder Bay market. He was Director of CBC’s Northern Service and emphasized native language broadcasting and native staff training. As Vice-President, Regions, Doug designed the first budget cut in CBC's history. His team of Radio and TV managers cut (10%) while protecting and even strengthening core programming services. Returning to radio, Doug managed CBC Radio Ottawa for a decade. During that time the Morning Show was always #1 in the market and the Drive Home show became #1. Doug retired in 1996. He has served as Chair of the Board of Inter Pares, and now serves as Chair of Farm Radio International. At FRI Doug led the creation of Farm Radio Weekly which now serves over 2,500 rural African broadcasters, and designed the Participatory Radio Campaign methodology which has remarkable success helping small-scale farmers implement appropriate farming improvements. In 2009 Doug was appointed as a public adjudicator on the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council and retired in 2013. On January 1, 2016 Doug was appointed Member of the Order of Canada "for his contributions to radio broadcasting and for his efforts to improve food security in developing countries.