Russ Hobson
Inducted 2026
Primary Outlet
Global TV Winnipeg
Russ Hobson showed a passion for sports and sports journalism from a young age - and invested in his future.
As a young boy in Stratford, Ont., Hobson saved his earnings from a paper route to purchase a camcorder and began shooting Major League Baseball games from the stands.
After graduating from Loyalist College in Belleville, Ont., he did an extended work placement in the sports department at a local TV station in Syracuse, NY.
In 1995, Hobson headed west to work in the news department as a video journalist with the BBS/CTV affiliate in Prince Albert, Sask., anchoring the news and even the weathercasts before transitioning into sports full-time covering the Western Hockey League's Prince Albert Raiders.
Three years later, he jumped at the opportunity to join the Sportsline team at Global TV Winnipeg. In a changing industry, he was both a camera operator and reporter, raising the level of local coverage shooting highlights of high school and university sports, the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and the Winnipeg Cyclone of the International Basketball Association. He produced the plays of the week and took a leading role in accessing satellite feeds of local pro teams when they were on the road to use for the 30-minute sports show.
He also co-hosted Global's live-on-location coverage following the Winnipeg Blues Bombers Canadian Football League games. He was moved into an anchor position with Sportsline until the program was cancelled. He has since hosted the late sports at Global News Winnipeg and writes for the station's website.
Among his broadcasting highlights, Hobson witnessed the wild celebrations at Portage and Main when news leaked of the National Hockey League's return to Winnipeg. He was proud to be part of Global's live coverage of the official announcement of the NHL's return and the Winnipeg Jets' first game back in the league. He was also in the throng of curling fans at the airport for live coverage of the arrival of Team Jennifer Jones after it captured Olympic gold medals.
Hobson's commitment to his job has gone beyond the norm.
One night in 2008 he was about to go on air when his wife went into labour. Barb convinced him to stay and do the show before racing home for the birth of his son, Jack, to join siblings Ken and Jessica.
Hobson also captained the company hockey team to the Canwest Cup, playing the last three games with a broken leg. Two days later, tired of waiting for X-rays, Hobson left the medical facility to work an eight-hour shift before getting casted and spending almost six months on crutches.
During three decades at Global, Hobson considers it a privilege to cover major sporting events, including Grey Cups, world junior and world women's hockey championships, the NHL Heritage Classic, Pan American Games, university football's national Vanier Cup, the FIFA Women's World Cup and countless curling championships.
At a time when local TV stations across the country have eliminated sports from their newscasts, Hobson continues to deliver.
"I'm proud to produce and anchor the last local late-night TV sportscast in Winnipeg," he said.
Russ Hobson was inducted into the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Media Roll of Honour in 2026.
As a young boy in Stratford, Ont., Hobson saved his earnings from a paper route to purchase a camcorder and began shooting Major League Baseball games from the stands.
After graduating from Loyalist College in Belleville, Ont., he did an extended work placement in the sports department at a local TV station in Syracuse, NY.
In 1995, Hobson headed west to work in the news department as a video journalist with the BBS/CTV affiliate in Prince Albert, Sask., anchoring the news and even the weathercasts before transitioning into sports full-time covering the Western Hockey League's Prince Albert Raiders.
Three years later, he jumped at the opportunity to join the Sportsline team at Global TV Winnipeg. In a changing industry, he was both a camera operator and reporter, raising the level of local coverage shooting highlights of high school and university sports, the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and the Winnipeg Cyclone of the International Basketball Association. He produced the plays of the week and took a leading role in accessing satellite feeds of local pro teams when they were on the road to use for the 30-minute sports show.
He also co-hosted Global's live-on-location coverage following the Winnipeg Blues Bombers Canadian Football League games. He was moved into an anchor position with Sportsline until the program was cancelled. He has since hosted the late sports at Global News Winnipeg and writes for the station's website.
Among his broadcasting highlights, Hobson witnessed the wild celebrations at Portage and Main when news leaked of the National Hockey League's return to Winnipeg. He was proud to be part of Global's live coverage of the official announcement of the NHL's return and the Winnipeg Jets' first game back in the league. He was also in the throng of curling fans at the airport for live coverage of the arrival of Team Jennifer Jones after it captured Olympic gold medals.
Hobson's commitment to his job has gone beyond the norm.
One night in 2008 he was about to go on air when his wife went into labour. Barb convinced him to stay and do the show before racing home for the birth of his son, Jack, to join siblings Ken and Jessica.
Hobson also captained the company hockey team to the Canwest Cup, playing the last three games with a broken leg. Two days later, tired of waiting for X-rays, Hobson left the medical facility to work an eight-hour shift before getting casted and spending almost six months on crutches.
During three decades at Global, Hobson considers it a privilege to cover major sporting events, including Grey Cups, world junior and world women's hockey championships, the NHL Heritage Classic, Pan American Games, university football's national Vanier Cup, the FIFA Women's World Cup and countless curling championships.
At a time when local TV stations across the country have eliminated sports from their newscasts, Hobson continues to deliver.
"I'm proud to produce and anchor the last local late-night TV sportscast in Winnipeg," he said.
Russ Hobson was inducted into the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Media Roll of Honour in 2026.