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The Journal was a popular current affairs newsmagazine on CBC Television from 1982 to 1992. It aired weeknights at 10:22 pm, following The National at 10:00 pm, and expanding on stories presented on there with in-depth interviews, documentaries, and televised "town hall" meetings.
Interviews were generally conducted in the early years of the program using a technique known as the double-ender. As satellite television technology progressed and became more commonplace interviews were instead conducted using satellite uplinks.
The program premiered on January 11, 1982. In its first season, it was hosted by Barbara Frum and Mary Lou Finlay, and was the first network news program in the world hosted by two women without a male co-anchor. However, after the first season Finlay returned to CBC Radio, and Frum hosted the program on her own until her death in 1992.
Guest hosts when Frum was absent included Bill Cameron and Keith Morrison.
Frum was so closely identified with the program that following her death, the CBC chose to revamp its entire approach to news programming rather than simply replacing Frum. In the fall of 1992, Prime Time News debutted with Peter Mansbridge and Pamela Wallin as equal cohosts of a package that mixed news and Journal-type features into a single program. That format lasted only two years before reverting to the old National/Journal format, although the name Prime Time News persisted for another year.
When the news program returned to the name The National in 1995, the current affairs program became The National Magazine.
The Journal bears many similarities in its format to the American program Nightline, which premiered around the same time.
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