After 50 years in the media, journalist and presenter Michel Désautels announced on Sunday morning that he would be retiring next June.
One of the headliners of the channel ICI Première will end the radio season at the helm of his show Désautels am Sonntag, which will be broadcast on Sunday mornings. His last show is April 18.
“It was with mixed feelings that I decided to retire at the end of the season. Leaving the house I’ve owned for 50 years gives me a good shot of the blues, Michel Désautels said in a press release. But that feeling fades very quickly when I think of the chance to do a wonderful job with colleagues who genuinely believe in the importance of public service. I never entered the office backwards. I leave with a smile on my face. »
Over the course of his long career, the journalist has hosted many radio shows, including Homecoming on Radio-Canada from 2003 to 2012. He has been hosting Désautels on Sundays for ten years and has taken part in the morning show Tout un matin every day for four years.
From the 1980s, the journalist moderated election evenings on television and reported on five Olympic Games as a reporter and presenter. He has hosted numerous shows over the years, including the talk show Studio Libre and Le Point magazine with Jean-François Lépine, Daniel Pinard and Gil Courtemanche. He is also the author of three books.
“Michel Désautels is quite literally a radio giant,” Luce Julien, Radio-Canada’s chief information officer, said in a statement. “Taught in everything, he also has a phenomenal memory. Throughout his career, public broadcaster listeners could appreciate his warm voice and great talent as a popularizer. As a passionate advocate for public service broadcasting, we will all miss him. »