Sampson Nanton
Deputy Managing Editor
sampson.nanton@cnc3.co.tt
There are journalists who arrive at a scene after the news has happened.
Then there is Ivan Toolsie.
For almost four decades, the veteran CNC3 cameraman has gone towards danger, hardship and the forgotten corners of Trinidad and Tobago, camera in hand, looking for the images that tell the story.
He has been beaten while covering a story at San Fernando General Hospital, ventured into the aftermath of the Piparo mud volcano and travelled by boat into dangerous waters in pursuit of a story.
For Toolsie, difficult assignments have never been a reason to retreat. Instead, they have strengthened his determination to get the facts and show the public what is happening.
“I didn’t let that deter me. It made me stronger and gave me the strength to still continue showing the public the truth,” he said.
“Whereas people try to prevent you from showing the truth, it gives me that encouragement and force to come forward.”
Into the danger zone
Toolsie’s journey into television began almost four decades ago, shortly after the attempted coup of July 1990.
Already known in his community as a videographer, he recorded footage of a tragic event and took it to AVM Television. The station liked what it saw, from a news perspective.
Then came a major industrial fire in south Trinidad, which Toolsie also captured. Soon, television stations were calling him for footage.
“They were happy and glad to have it,” he recalled.
“And then after that, they started calling me to do stories. So that’s how I started.”
He began supplying footage to TV6 and TTT, establishing himself as a reliable source of pictures from south Trinidad.
From south Trinidad to CNC3
By the time CNC3 was preparing to launch in 2005, Toolsie had built a reputation for getting to difficult stories.
Some TV6 staff members moved to the new station, and Toolsie was invited to join them. There was one important condition: his footage had to be exclusive.
“They wanted all their footage exclusively,” he said.
“So all the other stations I used to work for - whether AVM, TV6 or TTT - they wanted it solely exclusive.”
Toolsie accepted and became part of CNC3’s original team, remaining based in the south.
One of his most memorable assignments came when he received a night call about conditions at San Fernando General Hospital. Patients were reportedly lying on the ground waiting to be attended to. When Toolsie arrived and began recording, a security guard confronted him.
Despite being assaulted, he continued filming.
“I was recording the incident. So even though I was getting all of these licks and blows from the security guard, I captured the event and it was aired on television,” he recalled.
The report, he said, produced a rapid response.
“And believe it or not, we got immediate results. In less than a day and a half, they restored the situation at that hospital. I will never forget that incident.”
Another assignment that remains vivid was the 1997 Piparo mud volcano eruption. Toolsie arrived to find homes, buildings and livestock covered in mud.
“The whole place was covered with mud,” he said. “All the buildings were covered. All the animals and livestock were covered. When you went there, you couldn’t believe it. It was like a disaster.”
Even then, his instinct was to get closer.
“I was so daring. I wanted to go on top of that volcano,” he said.
“I went with a few residents. We took galvanised and walked on it to go on to that volcano. I remember that very clearly.”
His assignments also took him out to sea, including trips with fishermen to investigate a floating mass reported beyond Trinidad’s waters and another involving an undersea volcanic phenomenon.
“It was dangerous, but I remember that clearly,” he said. “Those are some of my adventures, going at sea, dangerous areas where people don’t want to go. I was fearless in those days.”
More than pointing a camera
Technology has transformed the job since Toolsie began.
He remembers when cameramen carried a separate recorder and camera, one on each shoulder. He worked through U-matic, VHS, Super VHS and 8mm before digital recording cards changed the way television pictures were captured.
Today, almost everyone carries a camera in a mobile phone.
But Toolsie does not regard that simply as competition. For him, the difference is knowing how to tell and verify a story.
“I never saw that as a competition,” he said.
“I always put it as, in my experience, going and getting the story, getting it right. I’m not just going to take a video, whether it’s shaky or not. I will take my best angles so the story can be told.”
The work also requires verification and follow-up.
“I will normally check with my sources and make sure I get it correct,” he said.
“And then, of course, I will also do follow-ups of an incident.”
Giving the voiceless a voice
For Toolsie, the most important part of the job has never been the equipment. It is the people in front of the lens.
Much of his career has been spent travelling into rural communities, particularly across south Trinidad, where residents have used the media to bring attention to problems that might otherwise go unheard.
“The plight of the people and the suffering gives me that type of motivation to know that I can go and help them and solve their problems,” he said.
“When nobody’s listening to them, I can highlight it and bring it to the relevant people.”
That philosophy has shaped his view of CNC3’s role in the national conversation.
“We bring the news, we bring the people,” he said.
“We not only bring the news, but we bring the people to the forefront.”
His contribution to the media was recognised nationally in 2025 when he received the Chaconia Medal (Silver) for Film and Media.
Toolsie said he initially believed the call informing him about the honour was simply another award. It was only when he walked onto the stage that he realised its significance.
“It was overwhelming,” he said.
“I felt proud to know that I was awarded a national award by the State.”
No glamour, just the work
Despite the recognition, Toolsie remains clear about what journalism requires.
His advice to young people entering the profession is simple: do not come looking for fame.
“If you’re not interested in this work, don’t think of it as a money-making thing, or you want to be a star,” he said.
“This work is about going out there in the rain and the storm. If you don’t have that passion to help people, don’t come in this job. This is not a job for just glamour.”
After almost four decades behind the lens, his idea of legacy is equally straightforward.
“I would like to be known as taking care of my family, and that I’m a person who likes to help underprivileged people,” he said.
“And that I could give back, give people - the voiceless - hearing.”
And what does he love most about the work?
“I love meeting people, telling their stories, and to know that I can make a difference in people’s lives.”
