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
The big loser in Monday’s Canadian federal election? Media companies who raked in record revenues over the course of that 78-day campaign. The tens of millions spent by the Conservatives on all those, “He’s just not ready” ads plus further tens of millions spent by the Liberals and the NDP, plus assorted special interest groups,
Lordy, the jokes when I was down at the TCA press tour last month about Canadian news anchors. It seemed like every day I was down in Pasadena, another Canuck news personality was getting caught screwing up. First it was Global News anchor Leslie Roberts, suspended and then forced to resign after it came to