Bob McKeown Robert " Bob " McKeown ( ) ( born October 10 , 1950 ) is an investigative reporter with CBC News . He has also worked with NBC and CBS . McKeown returned to the CBC in November 2002 to host its investigative program , " The Fifth Estate " , a show which he had hosted from 1981 to 1990 . Prior to his current position , McKeown spent eight years working for " Dateline NBC " as a correspondent and five years with CBS News . He is a graduate of Yale University and had a six - year professional football career before dedicating himself to journalism . McKeown ' s work with " Dateline " includes coverage of the World Trade Center Attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing and investigations into hurricane s , tornado s , great white shark s and pastor Benny Hinn ( on whom he also did a " Fifth Estate " report ) . A five - year stint with CBS News is highlighted by his award - winning coverage of the Persian Gulf War . McKeown was the first reporter to broadcast from the front lines during Operation Desert Storm and reached Kuwait City as Iraq i troops were fleeing , almost a day before allied forces arrived . People Magazine wrote : " McKeown and his crew survived artillery , minefields and Iraqi snipers to get the best story of the Gulf War . " While at CBS , he was also a Correspondent for two prime - time newsmagazines , " Street Stories " and " America Tonight " , and contributed to " 48 Hours " and the " CBS Evening News " . In addition to hosting " The Fifth Estate " in the 1980s , McKeown produced , wrote and directed several critically acclaimed documentaries . These include " The Boys on the Bus " , an intimate portrait of the Edmonton Oilers as they won the 1987 Stanley Cup , " Les Canadiens " , a history of the Montreal Canadiens , and " Strangers in a Strange Land " , which depicted the trials and tribulations of a Canadian movie crew in China as it shot a feature film about the legendary doctor , Norman Bethune . In January 2005 , McKeown challenged a statement made by American conservative polemicist Ann Coulter during her " Fifth Estate " interview . Coulter asserted that Canada ' s non - participation in the 2003 invasion of Iraq demonstrated that Canada ' s " loyal friendship " with the United States was weaker than in the past . As part of her broader attempt to compare the Canadian response to the Iraq war with that of Vietnam , Coulter erroneously asserted that " Canada sent troops to Vietnam . " McKeown corrected her , " No , actually , Canada didn ' t send troops to Vietnam . " Although no uniformed Canadian troops were involved in war , Canadians did participate through counterinsurgency efforts in South Vietnam and reconnaissance for US bombing runs in North Vietnam . Later during an interview on the American C - SPAN channel , Coulter stated that McKeown did not mention that 10 , 000 Canadian troops ran across the border to enlist in the United States army . She also went on to call McKeown " a bubble - head , a Ted Baxter . " She had said she would get back to CBC , but she still hasn ' t . He has also taken on other conservative pundits , such as Fox News Channel host Bill O ' Reilly , whom he accused of lying and distorting facts , while trying to convey the news to the American people . McKeown used O ' Reilly ' s reference to what he called the " Paris Business Review " and the billions of dollars France had lost due to the boycott that he had initialized following Frances decision not to participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq . McKeown pointed out that trade between France and the United States actually went up since O ' Reilly initialized the boycott and that the Paris Business Review does not even exist . In all , Bob McKeown has reported from more than 60 countries and has been recognized with dozens of major journalistic prizes , including two Emmys - for the Gulf War and " Dateline " — two Geminis , two Edward R . Murrow awards , two Gracies , two National Headliner awards and a National Press Club award . In 1982 , McKeown anchored a special " Fifth Estate " report about animal cruelty in Hollywood , focusing on the 1958 Walt Disney film " White Wilderness " as well as the television program " Mutual of Omaha ’ s Wild Kingdom " . In the report , McKeown found that the lemming scene was filmed not at the Arctic Ocean , but at the Bow River near downtown Calgary , where the lemmings were forced into the river ; in addition , he also discovered that the footage of a polar bear cub falling down an Arctic ice slope was in actuality filmed in a Calgary film studio . In light of the findings for the report , McKeown asked " Wild Kingdom " host Marlin Perkins if he had deliberately injured or killed animals while making wildlife films . Perkins , then in his seventies , " firmly asked for the camera to be turned off , then punched a shocked McKeown in the face . " Football career . Before beginning his broadcasting career , McKeown played professional football for five seasons with the CFL ' s Ottawa Rough Riders . He won the Grey Cup in 1973 and was an all - star in 1974 at the position of centre . External links .