Multi award-winning journalist, Belle Puri’s career began in 1977 and has spanned almost 48 years. While working at CKNW in the 1970’s, became the first mainstream journalist of South Asian heritage in Canada. While there she managed to convince the bosses to give her a shot at sports broadcasting. They listened and Belle became the first female sportscaster reporter. The bosses were happy, but members of the Metro Vancouver listening audience of the day were not ready for a “girl” doing the sports. Whereas the assignment didn’t last long, Belle’s position made it much easier for female successors to hold such positions in the months and years that followed.
After her stint in sports, Belle covered the brave tours served by Terry Fox, Steve Fonyo and Rick Hansen, but not as a sports reporter but as a hard-nosed news reporter and filed special reports for the Rafe Mair Show. She then went on to be a reporter at the Legislature where she covered the reign of Bill Bennett and Bill Vander Zalm.
From CKNW, Belle went on to work at BCTV. It was during the 80’s that her in-depth look at grizzly bears led to the designation of B.C.’s Khutzeymateen Valley as a grizzly bear sanctuary. Her reporting on this is well known, precedent-setting environmental and advocacy reporting.
In 1992, Belle moved to CBC where she has reported locally and nationally. At CBC Vancouver, she has worked as the BC Legislative Bureau Chief, hosted CBC Radio’s “On the Coast”, hosted that station’s TV evening news, and spent four years as a business reporter for Newsworld Business News.
Some of Belle’s career assignments have included provincial politics, federal political leadership conventions, EXPO 86, the Commonwealth Conference, the Clinton/Yeltsin Summit, Royal visits, APEC, and the 2010 Olympics. She has covered the B.C. doctor shortage and the ICU Covid Unit at Royal Columbian Hospital which has put a light on issues that are now getting the changes needed in the province.
Belle has also worked as a senior producer and assignment editor at CBC which has made her an important leader and mentor in the newsroom.