Occupation news anchor Education Red River College | Role Journalist Name Dawna Friesen Residence Vancouver, Canada | |
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Notable credit(s) CTV NewsNet anchor(1997–1999)NBC News foreign correspondent(1999–2010)Global National anchor(2010-present) Title News anchor of Global National TV shows Global National, NBC Nightly News Awards Canadian Screen Award for Best National Newscast Similar People Michelle Kosinski, Richard Engel, Norah O'Donnell, Ann Curry, Tom Kennedy Profiles | ||
Dawna friesen
Dawna Friesen (born in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian television journalist, currently the chief anchor and executive editor of Global National. She was previously a foreign correspondent for NBC News.
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Dawna friesen on her family s battle with dementia
Career
She started reading news at a hybrid television/radio station in Brandon, Manitoba, in 1985 and from there went on to report for other stations in Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary, Vancouver, and Toronto.
By the late 1990s she was recruited by national networks in Canada and the US and joined NBC News. While at NBC, Friesen covered stories out of London as well as the Middle East, including the Israeli Palestinian conflict and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Karachi. She won an Emmy for her part in NBC's coverage of Barack Obama election as US President.
In 2010 Friesen joined Global News as their Global National anchor, succeeding Kevin Newman. Friesen was the first full-time female news anchor to lead a nightly newscast in Canada. In 2011 she won the Gemini Award for best news anchor.
Personal life
Friesen was raised on a farm west of Winnipeg; her parents were nonobservant Mennonites. Her father had her work on the farm, and she learned how to drive a tractor when she was six. Her mother was active in local politics. She graduated from Red River College and worked as a waitress when she was young.
Friesen is married to journalist Tom Kennedy and has one son. Both of her parents developed dementia, and in 2014 Friesen was featured in a 16×9 program about dementia and how families cope with it.