Mark Starowicz was awarded the Degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, “in recognition of an outstanding career as a producer of influential current affairs and documentary programs in Canadian broadcast history.”
Executive director of documentary programming at CBC, Mark Starowicz is a writer, historian and consultant on television, journalism and mass communications. Considered one of this country’s experts in the history and evolution of broadcast communications, he speaks widely on the impact of the media revolution.
Born in England to parents of Polish descent, Starowicz began his career in newspaper journalism and joined CBC Radio in 1970, where he received particular acclaim for his reworking of As It Happens and his creation of Sunday Morning, a three-hour weekend review. In 1979, he made the shift to CBC Television, where he executive produced the current affairs and documentary program The Journal.
Starowicz has transformed the Canadian broadcasting industry and created some of Canada’s most influential news programs during a radio and television career that spans more than four decades. He created and produced the 32-hour documentary series, Canada: A People’s History, which aired in English and French, attracted more than 14 million viewers and won three Gemini Awards. His six-hour history of television news, The Dawn of the Eye, was hailed by critics around the world and is a staple of journalism schools in North America.
His many honours and awards include the Canadian Journalism Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award and Officer of the Order of Canada, as well as six honorary degrees from Canadian universities.