It was a privilege to contribute to The Toronto Star’s special coverage of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with a story online now and in print on Saturday. The idea began about a month ago with a message from Kevin Newman. Back on September 11, 2001, he was days into his new job
Well, that was five hours I’ll never get back. The federal election coverage was like being dragged to an in-law wedding where dinner and booze are never served, the speeches are terrible and nobody wants to kiss the bride. CBC held their pundit-palooza in a dark, cavernous space with desks strewn like train cars across
How well CBC’s reincarnated The National does will eventually be answered once the broadcaster figures out a reason for there to be four news anchors. The flagship newscast returned Monday in a generally mistake-free hour. While Ian Hanomansing, Adrienne Arsenault, Rosemary Barton and Andrew Chang all did a fine job, there was never any reason to have
Feeling like waving the flag this Canada Day? Over the past weeks and even months,m I’ve been banking quotes from several TV personalities, getting their response to one question: What does Canada’s 150th birthday mean to you? Among those I quizzed: Don Cherry, Ron MacLean, Rick Mercer (above), Brent Butt, Marilyn Denis, Cobie Smulders, Jared
Peter Mansbridge is leaving in five or six weeks and they’re still not ready to name a replacement. That was the big news Wednesday in Toronto at CBC’s annual Upfront. Now, yes, the network had a ton of new and returning content to promote (see the next post). Add up all the kiddie and digital
When I sat down to interview Ian Hanomansing late last May at the CBC Upfront in Toronto, I got straight into it. “Mansbridge has already hinted he’s leaving soon,” I said. “You’ve been waiting longer than Price Charles for this top job. Should I put some money on it?” Hanomansing waved me off, looked embarrassed
“Do I a-moose-you?” That seems to be what Peter Mansbridge is saying. It’s not that he’s on the horns of a dilemma. He’s providing a voice for Disney’s “Zootopia,” opening Friday in theatres everywhere. “It’s come to this Bill, I’m playing a moose,” Mansbridge told me with a laugh. The 67-year-old London-native has been CBC’s main national news anchor
Was CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge too buddy-buddy with new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on that bus? CHML’s Scott Thompson wanted my take on CBC’s coverage last week of Trudeau’s first day at work. I thought there was nothing wrong with Mansbridge’s informal tone and also enjoyed Trudeau’s zinger suggesting Mansbridge might be out of touch with