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SUCCESS
STORY
COMMUNICATIONS, MEDIA,
ARTS AND DESIGN
Finding the Silver Linings: Jennifer Valentyne’s
Journey from Centennial College to Living
Rooms Nationwide
It was Centennial’s robust industry placement component
that sealed Jennifer’s decision to enrol in the Radio and
Television Broadcasting program, now known as Radio,
Television, Film and Digital Media.
During her final year of the program, Jennifer was thrilled
to get a placement with CTV — followed quickly by another
opportunity at CityTV’s MuchMusic, where she worked
weekends in between her CTV internship.
“That’s where I really started my career,” she says.
“That’s where I wanted to be.”
From VJ dreams to a morning television breakthrough
After working for several years hosting a behindthe-scenes
spot and creating computer graphics for
MuchMusic — “I would sit in the control room, meet all of
the bands coming in and type in their names to appear
on screen” — Jennifer was asked if she wanted a job as
the “Diner Girl” on the network’s morning show, Breakfast
Television. She’d appear on air, but she’d have to serve
coffee to the show’s hosts, staff and guests.
It was Moses Znaimer, CityTV’s co-founder and former
head, who convinced her to take the job. “He had a way
of seeing things about people even they couldn’t see,”
she says. “He knew I’d do well in morning television.”
That role quickly turned into a gig delivering weather
updates for the show before becoming host of Breakfast
Television’s Live Eye segment, venturing out into the city
and covering trending people, news and events.
“I loved my job,” she says. “And then one day it came to
an end — I was fired. It was devastating.”
Finding the silver linings
After 23 years with Breakfast Television, Jennifer’s
unexpected departure from the show had a profound
impact on her mental health.
As she struggled to figure out what her future might
look like, Jennifer found comfort and motivation in an
unexpected place: the internet. “When my firing was
announced, the public was there for me,” she says. “They
followed me on social media — my followers went up by
30,000 in one day. Some days I wouldn’t even be able
to muster the energy to shower, but I’d read every single
message sent to me by viewers.”
With the support of her fans and her network, Jennifer
has found her way back to a good place. In addition to her
role as co-host of Global News Morning, she also hosts
W Network’s Movie Date, a series of engaging segments
that appear throughout Hallmark movies aired on the
channel, and she co-hosts the Instagram channel Mother
Daughter Date together with her daughter, Georgia.
Jennifer’s broadcasting career has brought her more than
a fulfilling 35-year career.
JENNIFER’S ADVICE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION...
“Don’t give up on your dreams,” she says. “You have to work so hard in this
industry, but it’s worth every moment. And always be kind to others. If you’re nice
on the way up, people will remember you and want to help you on the way down.”
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Success Story