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              ON THE COVER
Pamela Wallin for Canada A.M.-
By JAY BOBBIN
  Few people in broadcasting create their own jobs, a factor that makes Pamela Wallin unique. After several months as co-host of CTV's popular morning program "Canada A.M.," she knows that persistence pays off, as well as a strong belief in one's own abilities. She claims her adjustment to her new role has been relatively easy: “You go on adrenalin for a long time, then it finally starts to sink in."
  In 1979, Wallin was strictly behind the scenes as a research and production assistant on CEC Radio’s "As It Happens” when she learned of an opening in the Ottawa bureau of the Toronto Star. She applied for it, bravely stating, "I don't know how to write, but I'll learn." The newspaper took a gamble, and Wallin's career in journalism started right in the hectic midst of an election. "That’s the best way to learn,” she believes. “Get in over your head, then find out if you can swim."
  She swam well enough to branch into television as a regular panelist on CTV's interview series "Question Period." Her tough questioning of politicians led to a subsequent assignment as the Ottawa reporter for "Canada A.M.,” then to her current position. "When I was doing only the Ottawa segment," she says, “I simply asked the political questions I thought were important. Now that I've taken on all the other aspects of the show and have become the front-and-centre person, I suppose I've become a bit of a personality by definition. I thought that would really be traumatic, but in fact, it hasn’t been."
  In this age of newscasters accused of being more concerned with their on-camera appearance than with their job, Wallin's attractive and youthful look makes her a natural target. However, she has a rational outlook on her rapid rise in TV. "Sometimes, people my age simply have more energy.
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Also, I think it has to do with my being single. If I had lots of family responsibilities, I might not have had the time to do this sort of thing. Many things have worked in my favor.
  “We've had a tradition in Canada," she continues, "going back to people like Patric Watson and Laurier Lapierre, of broadcasters building reputations not because they were witty or charming — which many happen to be — but because they asked hard questions." Most Canadian television critics agree that Wallin is continuing that tradition admirably, but they might be surprised to learn that social work was her first occupational choice.
  “I did a lot of public speaking on behalf of the women's liberation movement when I attended university," she recalls. "Through that. I became fairly comfortable with appearing on TV and radio, but I never thought about it them as anything other than media through which I could express my views.” After graduation, Wallin went to work with the prisoners at the penitentiary in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan (not far from her hometown, Wadena).
  She might still be there now, if she hadn’t “discoverd that was not the be-all and end-all for me. I enjoyed my work, but I didn’t really want to do it forever. A friend of mine at CBC Radio in Regina was producing a noon-time news show, and the last of its two hours was an open-line program that revolved around a set topic every day. The host had either fallen ill or quit, so my friend called and asked if I'd like to finish up the season. The thought had never crossed my mind before, so ^ thought about it for a day, then phoned back and told him I’d love to.”
  The result? As Wallin puts it, "I absolutely got hooked. Later, I went into the production end, which I found more interesting. I spent five or six years doing that.” Then came her move to newspaper work, followed by her alignment with CW. While electronic journalism has fulfilled her career hopes, it's left her little time for other activities. “I assumed that I'd be able to continue freelance writing," she says, “but I just haven't had the time. I'm a fairly social person, so I have to cram that aspect in by seeing my friends at lunch and dinner.”
  Her "Canada A.M.” duties keep Pamela Wallin on the run, but she loves her level of activity. “I clearly want to do this,” she states. “Some people prefer a nine-to-five life, but I live and breathe what I do. Everything I do is work-related, and every person I meet gives me some perspective on something; it all fits in. I couldn't function any other way.” One additional element lends a helping hand: “Fortunately, I’m an insomniac, so I don't need a lot of sleep.”
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