Bernie Lucht was 16 when he first watched the production of a television program.
He was hooked.
“I was impressed by the nature of the event, by the professionalism,” he said in a phone interview. “I thought to myself, ‘I want to work in this medium.’”
The rest, as they say, is history.
Lucht is at St. Thomas University this month as the Irving chair in journalism, teaching students what has become his second nature – the production of public broadcasting and of ideas.
He’ll be at St. Thomas for two months, putting on workshops with students and delivering a public lecture.
Lucht has been executive producer of CBC Radio One’s Ideas program for 28 years, a show that “discovers a perspective that maybe you don’t get in day-to-day journalism.”
But prior to working on Ideas, Lucht spent several years on different CBC programs, while completing his degree in political science and history at Concordia University.
When he discovered his love for production in high school, he started to show up at the personnel office of Montreal’s CBC to watch the show’s production.
He decided, after about a year of watching, he would make an attempt at a television script.
About a month after Lucht passed it in, he got a call from the CBC. They were interested in turning the script into something more.
That’s how he got his first job working for CBC. He spent his summer directing short films, about five or six minutes long, for CBC Montreal.
“Persistence makes all the difference. And maybe a bit of good luck.”
And then there are those stories that make you realize you’re in the right place.
During one of his summer jobs, Lucht was asked to do a story about a Japanese potter.
“I walked into a room, the room was dusty and at the centre was an old man…with bright, sparkly eyes, he was a real master at his craft.”
Lucht was fascinated by the man’s skill and “peaceful demeanour” while moulding the pottery.
“I asked myself, ‘What did he do to get here? He probably became a master by doing this for a very long time,’” he said.
“This kind of became the model for my own life.”
After graduating university in 1966, Lucht spent two years as a producer for Radio-Canada International, producing daily news and current affairs programs for broadcast around the world.
In 1968, he became the producer of Cross-Country Checkup, a national open-line radio program that’s still going strong today (now hosted by Rex Murphy).
In 1969, he left the CBC for West Africa. For two years, Lucht was a volunteer, teaching West African history at a boys’ college in Nigeria.
“I was in complete culture shock. I had to struggle to orient myself,” Lucht said. “It became one of the big shapers of who I am.”
When he came back to Canada, Lucht became a production assistant for Ideas.
“Having the opportunity to do something like this is a real gift,” he said. “We have a responsibility to our audiences to try and provide original perspectives on the world.”
The show has been an award-winning endeavour for Lucht. In 1998, he was awarded the John Drainie Award for Distinguished Contribution to Broadcasting and recently Lucht was given the CBC/RadioCanada President’s Award for being CBC Brand Champion.
The program’s name will be the main topic at Lucht’s public lecture titled “Where ideas come from.”
The lecture will focus on the production of the show while also discussing broader issues in journalism.
“It’s the ability to try to contribute…to always be thinking and reading,” Lucht said.
“It’s a question of living in this world.”
Lucht’s public lecture will be on Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. in the Kinsella Auditorium
