Allen, Gene '70

Gene Allen has had an extensive and varied career as a television news and documentary producer and as a newspaper editor and reporter, before joining Ryerson's Faculty of Journalism in 2001. He holds a B.A. from the University of Toronto, an M.A. from York University and a Ph.D from the University of Toronto.

Between 1979 and 1991, Gene worked at The Globe and Mail, holding positions as foreign editor, Queen's Park reporter, assistant city editor, and copy editor. From 1997 to 2001, he was Director of Research and a senior producer of the CBC/Radio-Canada television series Canada: A People's History, which won a Gemini Award for Best Documentary Series. He edited both volumes of the best-selling companion book to the series—Volume I was recognized by the Canadian Booksellers Association as Non-fiction Book of the Year in 2000. Gene also worked as a producer and writer for the award-winning television documentary series Dawn of the Eye, was the assignment desk producer for CBC Radio’s Morningside, assignment editor for CBC national TV news, and writer on The National. He is the author of Making National News: A History of Canadian Press (2013) and co-editor of Communicating in Canada’s Past: Essays in Media History (2009).

Gene was the founding director (2007-10) of Ryerson University’s Master of Journalism programme; he is currently a member of Ryerson's Faculty of Graduate Studies and a faculty member in the York/Ryerson Joint Graduate Programme in Communication and Culture.