April 22 2002

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Canadians can expect even more coverage of faith on network television. The privately owned CTV network has added a second full-time reporter to the beat, and the publicly funded Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) will devote part of a new program to religion.

The latest addition at CTV is Anne-Marie Mediwake of Burlington, Ontario, who began in February. She joins Mark Schneider, who began working out of the network's Vancouver bureau last year.

February also saw the launch of CBC News: Sunday, a new current affairs program.

The program expects to devote at least 30 minutes of each two-hour show to faith and spirituality.

"Interest in spirituality is up, and people are finding unorthodox ways to incorporate spirituality into their lives," says Mediwake, 28, an evangelical Christian. She will pay special attention to youth and spirituality.

According to Stuart Coxe, executive producer of CBC News: Sunday, the network decided to devote more time to faith because decision-makers realized that "we need to take a serious crack at [faith]."

The program will not assign a specific reporter to faith stories, Coxe says. Instead, all of the program's reporters will have a chance to show how people "wrestle with faith, and their struggles and choices around faith and spirituality."

Previous Christianity Today coverage includes:

Canadian Network Expands Religion ReportingCTV appoints Mark Schneider as anchor for spirituality segment.