REEL TO REAL

Toronto is more diverse than any other city in the world. So why not have a channel that reflects that?

TORONTO 1 is the newest television station to be added to the television dial in over 30 years. A new Afro-Caribbean channel has been announced but hasn’t yet been launched.

Headed by general manager Barbara Williams, TORONTO 1 is about “One Toronto” and the station’s coverage and staff reflect the city’s cultural diversity. The station focuses on the city’s current affairs, lifestyle, entertainment, sports and English language ethnic programming

The station produces 30 hours of local programming per week. Its flagship show – Toronto Tonight – is Toronto’s only news magazine show featuring anchors Ben Chin and Sarika Sehgal. On The A-List, a popular entertainment show, hosts Dina Pugliese and John Nightingale give their viewers the celebrity lowdown. The Source, hosted by Wei Chen, focuses on people, places and trends in Toronto. TORONTO 1 also plays “Prime Ticket Movies” every evening.

TORONTO 1 is the newest televisi

Dream Catchers

By Danielle Savoni

As she strides into TORONTO 1’s front lobby, she flashes a wide, white smile. “Hi! I’m Dina.”

She’s tall and fashionable; absolutely stunning. The aura of arrogance one might expect is clearly non-existent. Instead, Dina Pugliese radiates a down to earth sweetness and somehow you feel like you have known her all your life.

Pugliese floods living rooms across the city seven days a week, giving viewers their daily dose of entertainment news.
She is the energetic and charming co-host on TORONTO 1’s The A-List.
Pugliese loves entertainment but says her job is not always easy.

“The most hectic part of my day is in the morning,” she says. “As soon as I arrive with my trusty java in hand, I go through the headlines with my producer and write like a mad woman to get it (the stories) done.”

Pugliese is then off to makeup to get her face on. She pre-tapes the show with co-host John Nightingale from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Afterwards the five foot ten Italian beauty with a healthy appetite breaks for lunch.

The rest of her afternoon is jam-packed with writing, voiceovers, interviews, research, watching pilot television shows, screening movies and listening to new CDs.

“If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t do it,” Pugliese says. “Some days I’ve clocked in 14 hours and don’t even realize it until I get home and can’t feel my toes because I refuse to wear sensible shoes. I’m always very busy but I refuse to have it any other way – it keeps me stimulated.”

Pugliese has interviewed a slew of celebrities including Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Jamie Foxx and Quentin Tarantino. She has the job of her dreams but says it took a lot of hard work and self-assurance to get where she is.

“My barrier was having the confidence in myself to get started. Realizing nothing was going to fall in my lap just because I am a hard worker and I am nice. And also realizing that even if somebody tries to put up a wall because they are in a high position, you really have to go around that.”

After graduating from Humber College’s post-grad journalism program, Pugliese briefly worked at Global TV. She had the potential to advance but had trouble getting people to notice her on-camera abilities.

“The news producer at the time wouldn’t even look at any of my tapes,” she says. “He wouldn’t look at any of the stories I did because he just thought that unless I moved somewhere else, somewhere smaller and got experience, it wasn’t worth his time. I was like, ‘No, I am not going to do that. I love Toronto. I don’t want to have to move away from my parents for that.’ So, I put a demo tape together.”

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