Maria Panopalis

Maria Panopalis is the host and producer of CTV News at 5. Maria is a familiar face to Maritime viewers. She first joined CTV Atlantic in 2002, starting as a floor director and production assistant before moving to CTV Morning Live as a co-host. She continues to bring her enthusiasm, infectious spirit and professionalism to CTV News at 5. While well-versed in social media and pop culture, Maria also enjoys sharing stories unique to our region. Maria spent a year travelling the Maritimes, looking for undiscovered gems which she documented in the weekly segment In Our Backyard. One of her stories won a Radio and Television Digital News Award for Best Short Feature. She was also recognized with a prestigious International Edward R. Murrow Award for Breakfast Television in Nicaragua. Originally from Halifax, Maria has a Bachelor of Science from Dalhousie University, a Journalism degree from the University of King’s College and a post-graduate diploma in Applied Information Technology. In 2005, Maria won Making it Big, a North American reality show which pitted her against two other contestants for the title of best entertainment reporter. Maria also provided high-energy coverage for CTV Atlantic when the Juno Awards came to Halifax in April 2006. Maria is heavily involved in the community and lends her time and support to a wide variety of CTV-supported organizations such as the IWK Health C