Denise Bombardier
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Denise Bombardier (born January 18, 1941 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is an esteemed yet controversial journalist, novelist, essayist, producer, and media personality who worked for the French-language television station Radio Canada for over 30 years.
Bombardier is noted for her standard French, in particular her educated, European-norm pronunciation. She is a defender of the international Francophonie and has often been invited by Bernard Pivot to discuss the psyche of the French and the situation of the French language in France. Despite her established reputation for clear writing and outstanding reporting, she has been accused of displaying certain contradictions between her professional ethics and her purported personal values.
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[edit] Biography
Bombardier obtained a master's degree in political science from the Université de Montréal in 1971 and a doctorate in sociology three years later from the Sorbonne.
She began her professional career as a research assistant on the Radio-Canada television program Aujourd'hui. Starting in 1975 she hosted a number of programs such as Présent international, Hebdo-dimanche, Noir sur blanc (1979–1983), Le Point and Entre les lignes. She hosted Trait-d'union from 1987 to 1988, and participated on Aujourd'hui dimanche (1988–1991) and L'Envers de la médaille.
Noir sur blanc, was the first public affairs program to be hosted by a woman in Quebec. There Bombardier interviewed Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau, novelist Georges Simenon, Prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir, President of France Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and his successor François Mitterrand.
In 1999, she hosted and produced the science program Les Années lumières on Radio-Canada radio.
She has written a number of articles in the press, some of which have been controversial. Her articles have appeared in Le Monde, Le Devoir, L'Express, Châtelaine, Le Point and L'Actualité.
She has written La Voix de la France (1975), Une enfance à l'eau bénite (1985), Aimez-moi les uns les autres (1999) or more recently Nos chères amies (2008)
Bombardier has been accused of being a right-wing journalist and a homophobe.[citation needed] In 2005, she was fired via e-mail from the public television network Radio-Canada for engaging in a debate on same-sex marriage against Louis Godbout, spokesperson for the Quebec Gay Archives, during an interview-format segment of Le Point an evening information show. She has been scathing about reality television programs, especially Quebec's Star Académie.
[edit] Bibliography
- La Voix de la France (1975)
- Une enfance à l'eau bénite (1985)
- Le mal de l'âme (with Claude Saint-Laurent, 1989)
- Tremblement de cœur (1990)
- La déroute des sexes (1993)
- Nos hommes (1995)
- Aimez-moi les uns les autres (1999)
- Lettre ouverte aux Français qui se croient le nombril du monde (2000)
- Propos d'une moraliste (2003)
- Et quoi encore! (2004)
- Sans complaisance (2005)
- Nos chères amies (2008)
[edit] Selected filmography
- Présent international
- Hebdo-dimanche
- Noir sur blanc
- Point
- Entre les lignes.
- Trait-d'union (1987–1988)
- Aujourd'hui dimanche (1988–1991)
- L'Envers de la médaille
- Parlez-moi des hommes, parlez-moi des femmes (2001–2002)
[edit] Awards and recognition
- In 1993 she was made a Knight of the Légion d'honneur.
- In 2000 she was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec.
[edit] Trivia
Bombardier championed Next Episode by Hubert Aquin (translation of Prochain épisode by Sheila Fischman) in Canada Reads 2003. In the 2007 edition of Canada Reads, an "all-star" competition pitting the five winning advocates from previous years against each other, Bombardier returned to champion Gabrielle Roy's novel Children of My Heart.
[edit] References
- TV Hebdo Souvenirs, vol. 1, n° 1, Les Éditions Télémédia Inc., 1989. ISSN 677265
