/A\ Barrie announced today that Tony Grace will assume the Senior Anchor role at the station. The 13-year broadcast veteran and current /A\ News National Reporter in Ottawa will join longtime trusted news anchor Jayne Pritchard and weather specialist Bob McIntyre on September 20 for his first newscast as Senior Anchor.
“I’ve heard it time and time again from my colleagues in the business – /A\ Barrie has such an outstanding reputation as a local news service and as an established part of the community,” says Grace. “I’ve seen the evidence during visits to the area and have developed a profound respect for the role this station and this newsroom play. I’m delighted to join the /A\ Barrie team.”
“Tony is a very talented reporter and anchor, and he’s got a deep appreciation for local news,” says Ruth Anderson, News Director /A\ Barrie. “He thrives on being out in the community talking to people and finding great stories. He also loves the Barrie area and we’re delighted that he’s going to make his home here and bring his many talents to our newscasts.”
“We are very pleased to have Tony joining us,” says Peggy Hebden, General Manger /A\ Barrie. “He is already well known to our viewers and will be a welcome addition to our Senior News team both on air and behind the scenes.”
Grace has extensive reporting experience on major news stories including the Dawson College shooting rampage in Montreal, the deadly Laval overpass collapse in Quebec, and the aftermath of 9/11 in New York City. Grace is an experienced political reporter, most recently covering the G8 Summit in Muskoka and the G20 in Toronto. He is also a veteran of live election broadcasts and regularly interviews Canada’s top political leaders including Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the other national party leaders.
Grace joined /A\ News in Ottawa in August 2001 as a videographer and quickly worked his way up to Senior Reporter and backup Anchor for News. In September 2005, Grace was named the 11:00 pm News Anchor and in 2009 assumed the role of National Affairs Reporter for the /A\ Network.
Grace completed studies in journalism at Loyalist College in Belleville. He graduated at the top of his class and now serves on the Advisory Board for Loyalist’s School Of Media Studies and is a regular guest lecturer. In addition, Grace volunteers many hours to organizations including the Canadian Cancer Society, the United Way and the SPCA.
