Ring-Side Seats in a High-Stakes Environment: Brian Stewart’s On the Ground

On a lovely fall afternoon in October, Linda drove up to possibly one of the most charming spots in Quebec, just off-island of Montreal —Hudson, on the unceded territory of the Kanien’keha:ka. Hudson has much to commend to it, but, in this instance, it was StoryFest, the annual literary program hosted through the Greenwood Centre that invites writers to come and speak to audiences there and that extends back to 2002 (yes, it’s been evolving over twenty years).

Linda drove up to Hudson to interview the journalist, Brian Stewart, about his memoir, On the Ground: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent -- a perfect book for this year's theme, Getting Lit Goes Global. Stewart was, for decades, one of Canada’s most prominent television journalists, acclaimed for his foreign coverage for both CBC’s The National and The Journal. Born in Montreal (welcome back, Brian!), and originally a newspaper reporter, he went on to become foreign correspondent for CBC in London and for NBC in Frankfurt. He worked in 10 war zones, hosted the CBC foreign affairs show Worldview, and interviewed many of the historic figures of his time.

In this interview and in his book, Stewart speaks of the urgency of having journalists on the ground to bear witness to what is happening across the globe and of having journalists as moral witnesses, reminding audiences of the costs globally of famine and war and environmental disaster, of the need for greater political accountability.

With thanks to StoryFest organizers, Julie Gedeon and Sandy Racicot, to Larry Cool for recording sound, and to Jason C. for sound production. Linda Morra, Producer/Host; Maia Harris, Associate Producer; and Raphael Krux, Music.

Just a reminder that voting opens soon for this year’s GLWL prize for best episode or author. Please do vote and honour your favourite writer represented in an episode of season 6, in 2025.

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