Paule Beaugrand-Champagne

Paule Beaugrand-Champagne was born in 1943 and began her career in the 1960s, rising through the ranks to lead major media organizations. In the 1970s, she was editor-in-chief of the daily Le Jour, then joined the senior news management team at La Presse, making her the first woman to hold a leadership position in a daily paper newsroom. In 1986 she became associate editor of Le Devoir and managing editor of Le Devoir économique. During the 1990s, she was associate editor of L’actualité then editor-in-chief of Le Journal de Montréal.

Ms. Beaugrand-Champagne is also very involved in TV broadcasting. In the early 2000s, she was editor-in-chief of Radio-Canada’s Téléjournal, then CEO of Télé-Québec, where she promoted public television. She was also editor of the magazine L’actualité from 2005 to 2008. In 2014, she was appointed president of the Québec Press Council. She is the first woman to hold this position.

Ms. Beaugrand-Champagne’s career is a model for the next generation. Her role in the influx of women into journalism and the news cannot be understated, as other women followed the path she blazed and carried on her commitment to quality reporting. As young men and women learn the demanding profession of reporting the news in a constantly changing world, they can emulate Paule Beaugrand-Champagne and her stellar career.