Rogers Sportsnet announced that former Globe and Mail sports columnist Stephen Brunt has signed an agreement to work exclusively on a full-time basis across all Sportsnet media platforms.
Brunt, one of the most influential and respected commentators in the world of sports, will be the back-page columnist on Sportsnet magazine, which will debut on Thursday, September 29th. He will also be a regular columnist and feature contributor on sportsnet.ca. In addition to his current role as a co-host on Sportsnet Radio The FAN 590’s Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown and contributions on Sportsnet Radio The FAN 960, he will also make appearances on Sportsnet Connected and continue his insightful video essays.
“Adding Stephen full-time will strengthen all of Sportsnet’s platforms,” said Scott Moore, President, Rogers Broadcasting. “Stephen is truly one of the most gifted sports columnists in Canada. His video essays are a great example of the type of storytelling we aspire to.”
“There is a lot of opportunity with the multiple platforms for a writer to reach an audience,” said Brunt. “I look forward to giving Sportsnet viewers, readers and listeners a closer look at today’s biggest sports stories. And of course, continuing to trade wits with my good friend McCown.”
One of Brunt’s biggest duties in his new role will be to contribute as the back page columnist in every edition of the Sportsnet magazine, which launches Thursday. Steve Maich, the Editor-in-Chief, sees Brunt as one more voice to complete what he sees as a chorus of great Canadian sports writers.
“Stephen Brunt is one of the most respected and revered voices in sports journalism in Canada. He adds tremendously to the great team we’ve assembled at Sportsnet magazine.”
Brunt started at The Globe and Mail in 1982 and began writing in the sports section in 1985. His 1988 series on negligence and corruption in boxing won him the Michener Award, one of the highest distinctions in Canadian journalism. In 1989, he became a sports columnist. Brunt has authored several successful books such as the No.1-Canadian best seller Searching for Bobby Orr, as well as the internationally recognized Facing Ali, which was selected as one of the top 10 sports books of the year by Sports Illustrated. Most recently, Gretzky’s Tears, was published in 2009 and chronicles Wayne Gretzky’s 1988 trade to the Los Angeles Kings that changed the landscape of hockey. In 2003, he was named writer of the year by Sports Media Canada. His film the Last Round, produced by the National Film Board and directed by Joseph Blasioli, won the Special Jury Prize at the Hot Docs Festival in 2003, and was a finalist for the Genie Award as best feature length documentary. In 2010, a video essay for Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium at the Vancouver Whistler Games won the Gemini Award for best sports feature.
Brunt is the latest high-profile signing by Sportsnet over the last eight months, a list which includes: Hockeycentral’s Jeff Marek, Scott Morrison, Executive producer of Hockey and Hockeycentral insider, Hockeycentral features reporter Christine Simpson, Prime Time Sports co-host and Hockeycentral analyst Damien Cox, MLB analyst Gregg Zaun, Prime Time Sports co-host and sportsnet.ca columnist Michael Grange and sportsnet.ca baseball insider Shi Davidi.
In case you missed it first time around, take the time to watch Stephen Brunt’s Remembering 9/11 Essay: