Year Born: 1938
Year of Induction: 2001
Pioneer – Member of CAB Hall of Fame
Cowie, Bruce (1938- )
Bruce Cowie began his broadcasting career in 1953 in radio with CKOM Saskatoon, from which he made the switch to television in Regina to CKCK-TV. He became general manager of CKCK-TV in 1968.
Following the sale of the station to Baton, Bruce accepted the invitation of Electrohome Limited of Kitchener to move to Edmonton to head-up CFRN-TV, which the company was successful in buying from Dick Rice.
When Bill McGregor retired, Bruce was appointed President and COO of Electrohome’s broadcast group, which included CKCO-TV Kitchener and CFRN-TV.
Next, it was off to Toronto as the television assets of Electrohome were folded into Baton Broadcasting. As the CAB delegate, he served as President of the North American Broadcasters’ Association.
In due course, Calgary became the home of the Cowie family, with Bruce deeply involved in several aspects of Canadian broadcasting, including the Vice-Presidency of Harvard Broadcasting based in Regina. Earlier in his career, he was deeply into the Queen City’s community and civic scenes and was elected as an Alderman, in addition to serving on a number of boards and committees.
He has served as chair of the CAB Board of Directors, and as the president of the Saskatchewan Association of Broadcasters and of the Western Association of Broadcasters, of which he was named a Life Member, as well as being acclaimed by the WAB (in 1981) as “The Broadcaster of the Year”. Other presidencies included the Saskatchewan Horse Association, the Roughriders Football Club and the Senate of Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Saskatchewan.
In 2001, Bruce Cowie was inducted into the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame.
Written by J. Lyman Potts – October, 2001