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CTV Ottawa news anchor Graham Richardson has announced that he’s leaving the station’s flagship evening news program after 15 years.
Richardson told the CTV News at Six audience Thursday he would sign off from the anchor desk on July 5 to pursue a new job opportunity.
“I want to be very clear with all of you, our loyal viewers and listeners, this is not a layoff or cut: This is my choice,” Richardson said during the broadcast. “I’ve just turned 54 years old. I have another opportunity outside of broadcasting. I’m going to take it.”
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Like many private broadcasters, CTV has been hit with a series of layoffs in recent years that have claimed high-profile reporters such as Joyce Napier, Glen McGregor, Daniele Hamamdjian, Richard Madan and Paul Workman.
In 2015, Richardson’s then-CTV Ottawa co-anchor Carol Anne Meehan and sports reporter Carolyn Waldo were also laid off from their jobs.
Richardson told viewers that, after more than three decades in broadcasting, “I have decided it is time for me to make a change.”
“It has been an incredible privilege to tell your stories, especially the last 15 years here at CTV Ottawa and nearly 20 years with CTV News,” he said.
Richardson, a former member of the CTV national news bureau, has spent a total of 31 years in broadcasting.
He joined CTV Ottawa in January 2010 to replace legendary news anchor Max Keeping, who retired in March 2010 after 37 years on the anchor desk.
Before assuming his role at CTV Ottawa, Richardson spent four years on Parliament Hill as part of the CTV’s national news bureau. He was also CTV’s bureau chief in Los Angeles.
Before joining CTV, Graham was the Queen’s Park bureau chief for Global TV, and he spent eight years in Alberta, covering Calgary and Edmonton.
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Praise poured in Friday for Richardson, who moderated the last mayoral debate and distinguished himself with his on-the-ground coverage of the February 2022 convoy protests that paralyzed downtown Ottawa.
“Graham is one of the best storytellers in our business,” said Peter Angione, director of news and information programming for Bell Media Ottawa.
“It was an absolute gift to work alongside Graham for these past several years,” CTV Ottawa news anchor Patricia Boal said on the social media platform, X.
Raised in Toronto, Richardson studied at Queen’s University and the University of King’s College before launching his career in journalism.
Richardson said he would have more to say about his decision to leave broadcasting on his final show in early July.
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