Craig Pinley
TORONTO, ONT (December 6, 2000) – It isn’t quite like journalist Clark Kent rushing into the phone booth and being transformed into Superman, but when Sharol Josephson travels each week from Strathmore, Alberta, to Toronto, Ontario, her role transforms nearly as dramatically.
On the weekends, Sharol is the mother of a high school junior and is perfectly content being in Strathmore, a town of 7,000 people. Her husband, Neil, is president of nearby Covenant Bible College (CBC). What she describes as the low-key environment and sense of family are aspects of life she treasures.
From Monday through Thursday, however, Sharol Josephson is much more visible as the host of the Toronto-based Canadian Living Television, a half-hour show airing three times each weekday and once on Sunday in Canada. Since September, she has been working in that role and will continue her cross-country schedule until March when taping stops for the season.
From Monday through Thursday, however, Sharol Josephson is much more visible as the host of the Toronto-based Canadian Living Television, a half-hour show airing three times each weekday and once on Sunday in Canada. Since September, she has been working in that role and will continue her cross-country schedule until March when taping stops for the season.
Josephson’s first show as host of the Life Network cable show was October 2 and, based on recent polls, this journalist has been super in her new job. A Canadian Living spokesperson said the audience at its noon-to-12:30 p.m. (EST) time slot increased 50 percent in the early weeks after Josephson assumed the position as host. The show averages about 240,000 viewers per week.
“Whenever there’s a change in host, you usually fall off in the ratings awhile,” the 41-year-old Josephson said. “It takes awhile to get used to someone new. We all were expecting a little bit of a dip in numbers, but that hasn’t happened. The emails from viewers indicate that I’m ‘the girl next door’ and people who write in feel they can identify with me,” she continued.
“Our target market is females ages 18-40 – stay-at-home moms,” she said. “I’m within that age category . . . and I’ve had teenagers. And Neil and I have a good relationship of 22 years and people seem to have appreciate that as well.”
Josephson has 16 years of television news background, most of that time as a news anchor in the provinces of Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Alberta. She earned four Can-Pro Awards, given by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters for the best in Canadian television. She also was named Best Entertainment/Current Affairs Host in the TV Week Viewer’s Choice Awards. She believes her interviewing skills and versatility as a news journalist gives her a great foundation for her current position.
“When people do lifestyle shows, they’re either writers or models or entrepreneurs – they’re not journalists,” said Josephson. “To be able to bring some of those interests along with the journalistic skills, that has been appreciated. There’s a little more of a hard news edge to it.”
Josephson sees herself first as a parent of two children (high school junior Brady and Benjamin, who is a third-year university student in Vancouver) and wife of a devoted husband. She had no reservations when Canadian Living senior producer Sue Skinner asked all 300 applicants to include a home video describing one’s philosophy of parenting.
“My greatest strength is that I’m a generalist, probably from my news background,” she said. “But the thing that gets my juices going is my family (parenting) background. And, quite frankly, that’s what I’m best at.”
Most Sunday nights Josephson flies from Alberta to Ontario and during the workweek commutes back and forth from Yorkville, Ontario, a trendy part of Toronto. “I miss Neil and Brady when I’m away, but I enjoy the change of scenery,” Josephson said. “The only downside is that because Neil needs to be home during the week, he does a lot of his traveling on weekends and I’m home with Brady. We’re good at staying connected over distances, but we don’t like it. However, Neil is the most ‘comfortable-in-his-skin’ person I know. He’s happy with who he is and that gives me a lot more room to be free in my realm.”
Faith has been a key part of the Josephson family’s life and vocational calling. Sharol and Neil also reflect a close personal relationship – they were high school sweethearts. Besides sharing a love for their children and sports, the two share a passion for CBC, which has expanded to three campuses and has proven to be a labor of love for both husband and wife.
“What he does is something I share, it’s something we’re both passionate about,” said Sharol. “Together we believe in this mission and ministry, and while I’m not hands-on there all the time, it’s a huge part of what I do.”
Copyright © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.