Current And Former Colleagues Remember Mark Dailey

Like any business, a newsroom is always evolving.  People come and go.  But friendships last. 

And as those who have had the pleasure to work with Mark Dailey over the years can attest, he was truly one of a kind.  

At Citytv, Dailey was a trusted friend and respected colleague whose sense of humour and good nature left an indelible impression.

CityNews sports reporter Kathryn Humphreys spent many nights alongside Mark during CityNews Tonight at 11.  They shared an incredible chemistry that usually resulted in gut-busting laughter.

“He was like my big brother who would tease his little sister,” Humphreys said Monday.  “So quick witted.   Something would happen and he would instantly have the funniest line about it.”

“He has the biggest, softest heart,” she added.  “He knew when you were feeling down about something and he would ultimately make you laugh.  I learned so much from Mark Dailey, he helped me in so many ways, in my career, in life, he was an incredible man.”

Longtime anchor Gord Martineau can still recall seeing a lanky Dailey for the first time in the newsroom.

“My first reaction was who is the beanpole, this tall, thin guy with the big glasses, the notebook and the pen?  But it didn’t take long for us to realize his true value and his value has always been there,” he stressed.

Current Toronto councillor Adam Vaughan worked alongside Dailey for years during his days as political reporter at Citytv.

“If you’ve ever walked into that newsroom at 11 at night, whether it was two minutes to air or five minutes after the first story aired, Mark’s personality was front and centre and you heard it in his voice and you also saw it in his friendship and you could hear it in any story that was every told on Citytv.”

Jim Waters Former Chairman, CHUM, thinks we should all follow Dailey’s example.

“When I first think about Mark the first thing I think about is what a great human being he was, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for another human being and we can all take a great lesson from that.  If we were all that way the world would be a better place, I know that sounds pretty cliche, but he was special that way.”

Making the transition from the NHL to television broadcasting wasn’t easy for former Leaf Jim McKenny, but he had the best in the business to learn from.

“When I first started out in broadcasting Mark and I worked together. I was doing sports as a volunteer at CHUM, and he was doing the news.  I couldn’t believe how he could read a script, it was just like butter coming out of his mouth.  Later on I realized how really good he was.”

Another former colleague, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, David Onley, credits Dailey for urging him to get checked for prostate cancer, a cause Dailey championed after his own bout with the disease.

“I ended up getting my first prostate test after Mark was going through his process, because he came up to me and said ‘have you had a test?’  I don’t know how many men are out there now who went through that same thinking process because he was so public about it and so affirmative about it.”

Vice President of News, Tina Cortese spoke on behalf of the entire Citytv family.

“It’s a pretty tough day for us at Citytv, Mark was quite literally the voice of Citytv and CityNews, he was smart and funny, a brilliant broadcaster and a producer’s dream.  He made it easy, he was the consummate professional.”