Mr. Owen joined the Forum after 20 years with CBC News (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) He produced news coverage for the CBC during the conflicts in El Salvador and Nicaragua, the Shouf war in Lebanon in 1983, and the Kurdish refugee crisis after the Gulf war. He was the executive producer of the CBC's flagship news program The National, the chief editor of CBC-TV News from 1985-1990, and the chief of foreign bureaux and London bureau chief from 1990-1996.