HEADLINE HUNTERS (1972 - 1983)

A charming host and Canadians’ love of news turned ‘Headline Hunters’ into a hit

“Headline Hunters” was a long-running Canadian television game show that focused on news and current events.

Hosted by iconic Canadian game show host Jim Perry (who was actually American), “Headline Hunters” aired from 1972 – 1983 on CTV. 

Similar to CBC’s “Front Page Challenge,” “Headline Hunters” also had contestants identify a person or event based on a news headline.  

Nick Nicholson and E. Roger Muir, who created such game show hits as “The Newlywed Game,” “Spin-Off,” “Guess What” and “Definition” (also hosted by Perry), created this show as well. 

Dave Devall, a beloved Toronto weather forecaster who was on air with CTV Toronto for more than 48 years, served as the announcer of the show. Devall and Perry also worked together on the game show “Definition.”

In the first two rounds of the game, contestants would have to identify the news item after hearing a headline one at a time. The more headlines the contestant would have to hear, the less points he or she would receive. 

In the third round, a special guest would be brought in and hidden from the contestants’ view (similar to “Front Page Challenge”) and contestants would have to correctly guess who the mystery guest was. Following the reveal, the guest would do a short interview with Perry.

During the final broadcast of the show, Perry applauded the show for how it had promoted news literacy.