Zerbisias joined the "Toronto Star" as a TV columnist in 1989. She was assigned to the Montreal bureau in 1991. In 1993, she returned to Toronto and became a media critic. She won the 1996 National Newspaper Award for critical writing for her columns about magazines; the award noting that Zerbisias "is not one to mince with words as she focuses on the subject matter at hand. She proceeds to give us her insights, analysis and critique not only with rhetorical, stylistic and intellectual rigor, but with gusto and passion, a rare commodity in today's bland politically correct journalism." In 1997, she became TV critic and then, in 2003, was appointed media columnist.