Andy Barrie pulls up in a taxi to the Front Street entrance of CBC’s downtown Toronto fortress at approximately 5:30 a.m. After settling the fare with his long-term driver, who jokes that Barrie has paid for at least 10 per cent of his mortgage, the king of morning radio grabs his copies of The Globe… Continue reading Morning Glory
Series: Spring 2007
Life of Brian
On November 16, 1986, Brian Linehan lounged in a wooden chair in Tucson, Arizona, and interviewed Three Amigos!star Martin Short for City Lights, an in-depth Citytv celebrity-interview show. Always classy in grooming and attire (he never owned a pair of jeans in his life), Linehan asked the probing questions that showed off the impeccable research… Continue reading Life of Brian
Parting Shots
Boris Spremo lugged his 125-pound trunk through Toronto International Airport. The Toronto Starphotojournalist was off on a six-week assignment in several countries of famine-ravaged Central Africa. Inside his trunk he’d packed a small retractable enlarger, film-developing chemicals, processing trays, a hair dryer and a thermometer. The photographer, who had dark shaggy hair, also carried a… Continue reading Parting Shots
This Means War
Editors hunched over their desks throughout The Canadian Press newsroom in downtown Toronto command an army of reporters and strategize with bureaus across the country. All around, flashes and blasts of light and noise radiate from televisions tuned to CBC, CNN and Sportsnet. The sounds of snapping computer keys and shrieking phones clutter the air.… Continue reading This Means War
In From the Cold
Late one morning last October, Carol Off, the new host of CBC Radio One’s evening flagship As It Happens, prepares to interview Zemedkun Teckle, spokesperson for the Ethiopia Ministry of Information. Ensconced in a recording studio in the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in downtown Toronto, she dons her headset. The wall behind her features a groovy… Continue reading In From the Cold