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The Life and Work of
DAN IANNUZZI
An
entrepreneur, a journalist, a broadcaster, an idealist and a
visionary – Daniel Iannuzzi was a man of character and strength who
touched the lives of many Canadians. Knowledgeable about
broadcasting like few others in Canada, Dan remained faithful to
those whom he regarded as “his people”: the readers of Corriere
Canadese. Francophone by birth, Anglophone by adoption, Italian by
heritage, Dan Iannuzzi was the symbol of the new, multicultural
Canada. “Fiercely Canadian and Proudly Italian” was his personal
motto printed as part of the masthead of the daily Corriere
Canadese.
Daniel
Andrèa Iannuzzi was a third-generation Canadian, born in Montreal on
February 24, 1934. At the age of 18 he enrolled with the Canadian
Grenadier Guards, but two years later he moved to Toronto, where he
immersed himself in the Italian-Canadian community. With Arturo
Scotti, he laid the foundations for a newspaper to serve the Italian
community. In 1954 he founded Corriere Canadese, and developed it
into a daily publication and an institution for the Italian-Canadian
community. In June of 2004 Corriere Canadese celebrated its 50th
anniversary.
The
community grew, technology changed, and Dan Iannuzzi followed suit.
He was a founder-shareholder, Director and Executive Producer of
multilingual programming at CityTV from 1972 to 1979. By then the
idea of a multilingual TV station was maturing: in December 1978,
thanks to the support of another innovator and visionary, Pierre
Trudeau, the concept of multicultural broadcasting was consolidated
through the launch of CFMT-TV, today’s OMNI 1. For ten years, Mr.
Iannuzzi served as President and Executive Producer for the station.
It was
not by chance that the very first message of condolences after his
passing came from Prime Minister Paul Martin: “A giant in the field
of Canadian media has passed away.”
Mr.
Iannuzzi dedicated his entire adult life to multiculturalism in
Canada and pursued it through a life-long career in international
and multicultural media. He was Chairman and President of
Multimedia Nova Corporation, a public company whose subsidiary,
Multicom Media Services Ltd., produces Corriere Canadese, the
Italian daily newspaper which he founded in 1954, and Tandem, its
weekend edition. Other Multicom Media newspapers are: Correo
Canadiense (Hispanic), Nove Ilhas (Portuguese), Insieme (Italian) in
Montreal and the group of nine Town Crier community newspapers.
Mr.
Iannuzzi was also the President of World Television Network/Le
Rèseau Tèlèmonde Inc., licensee of two national multicultural
specialty services in Canada’s official languages.
Mr.
Iannuzzi served on many national committees and received numerous
citations and awards including: City of Toronto Achievement Award,
1979; Ontario Bicentennial Medal, 1984. One of his most prized was
the Canadian Family of Man Award from the League of Human Rights (B’nai
B’rith), 1977. Another special citation was the EXPO ’86 Award for
Excellence and Contribution in pioneering multicultural
communications. In 1987, he was presented the Order of the Republic
of Italy, and named “Man of the Year” by the Canadian Italian
Business and Professional Association. He was a Knight Commander in
the Order of Malta.
Mr.
Iannuzzi was named to The Order of Ontario in 1989, and became a
member of The Order of Canada in 1990. In 1992, he was appointed to
the Board of Directors of CANADA 125 Corporation, a non-profit crown
corporation set up to implement the national initiatives for the
celebration of Canada’s 125th Anniversary.
In
1999, he was awarded the Order of Merit for lifetime accomplishment
and dedicated service to the community by the National Congress of
Italian Canadians in Toronto.
Goodbye, Dan. Although you are no longer with us, your dreams will
live on forever. |
