Obit

Photo from CBC News.

Stanley Burke, 93

CANADIAN NEWS ANCHOR Stanley Burke died Saturday, May 28. He was 93.

Burke anchored Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s The National News from 1966 to 1969 before it was rebranded as The National. He also worked as a foreign correspondent in France and Nigeria where he covered the Biafra civil war in the late 1960’s.

Burke was passionate in reporting the Biafra conflict which triggered widespread deaths from famine and diseases. His outspokenness and criticism of the war ultimately lead to his resignation from CBC. After resigning, he launched a public campaign to bring a peaceful resolution to the fighting. (“Canadian journalist Stanley Burke dead at 93,” CBC.ca, May 29, 2016)

Burke also wrote several children’s books, such as Frog Fables and Beavers Tales and The Day of Glorious Revolution, which satirized Canadian politics in the 1970’s.

Colleagues mourned the passing of the journalist and peace activist. Peter Trueman, his long-time friend, remembered him for his steadfast ideals. “The CBC gave Stanley an ultimatum. It was either Biafra or read the National News. Stanley, to his credit, gave up his salary of $30,000 a year, more than the president of the CBC, to remain true to his own conscience,” Trueman said. (“CBC newscaster Stanley Burke took up cause of peace,” TheGlobeandMail.com, May 29, 2016)

He is survived by his wife and children.