Kirstie Hudson is this week’s Campus Profile! Kirstie is the producer of the CBC radio show All Points West and the sessional instructor of WRIT 102: Introduction to Professional Nonfiction. A graduate of the Journalism Master’s program at Western University, Kirstie has a lot of skills and experience that she is eager to share with her students.
Kirstie began her career in journalism when she was studying English at McGill University. In her second year, the campus newspaper asked her to write for their sports section, as she was a varsity track athlete. Kirstie found that she enjoyed writing for the paper and became the sports editor in her fourth year, after an injury forced her to withdraw from track.
Once she completed her Master’s, Kirstie was hired by the CBC in 2000. She was hired as an associate producer by the CBC Morning television newscast during the Sydney Olympics due to her athletic background. Kirstie watched the Olympics from midnight to 8 a.m., taking notes and writing scripts for newscasters to read in the morning. This overnight shift is an example of one of the hardships and challenges that journalists must endure.
“There are days when I love it and days when I don’t,” says Kirstie. “It’s a very fulfilling role, and I feel really lucky. And I know that I’m lucky to work at the CBC—I recognize that I’ve been fortunate to have a full career there and I think, in all the doom and gloom around the CBC lately, it’s kind of easy to forget that.”
Kirstie has worked for the CBC since 2000. She worked first in television in Toronto and Vancouver, then in radio in Vancouver, where she was advised to find a job in a small town in order to learn a wide range of radio skills. Kirstie then took a position at a two-person station in Prince Rupert for three years, where she learned the radio ropes. She was hired in Victoria ten years ago, and has been there ever since.
Some of Kirstie’s best journalistic work has won awards. In 2006, she won a Jack Webster Award for Best Feature Story in Radio for her radio series Fatal Cuts. Fatal Cuts investigated why British Columbia tree fellers were dying at unprecedented rates, through documentaries, news reports and expert interviews. This series was picked up across the country and sparked a nationwide conversation about how to make tree felling a safer industry.
WRIT 102 was Kirstie’s first time teaching, and she immensely enjoyed interacting with eager young students. Now, she returns to producing All Points West, and to keeping her ear to the ground for the latest scoop.