For 17 days during the TWA hijacking in beirut last June, terrorists took over the airwaves as the networks battled each other for the inside story. In the months that followed, American networks came under fire for giving up their editorial control in exchange for drama. Meanwhile, networks that relied heavily on the American footage,… Continue reading Under the Gun
Series: Winter 1986
Getting it Wrong
The Globe and Mail‘s editorial ran under a grave headline: “The State as editor.” The writer insisted the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission had no business imposing a 45-percent Canadian content quota on the news broadcasts of two Windsor radio stations, citing freedom of the media as guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.… Continue reading Getting it Wrong
Monitoring the Media
Vince Carlin sat in Studio T, deep in the heart of the CBC radio building in Toronto, smiling patiently. Across the table, Trent Frayne, sports columnist for The Globe and Mail, and Brian Williams, sports anchorman for CBC, exchanged one-liners while fidgeting with their headsets. In the background, the voice of Edmonton Journal sports columnist… Continue reading Monitoring the Media
Strolling to the Rescue
The management team begins to file in at 9: 15 on this warm October morning. By 9:30 a.m. half the room is full. The only two women in the crowd almost disappear into the sea of more than 30 men who sit anxiously in their grey and navy suits. They are the editors and publishers… Continue reading Strolling to the Rescue
Peake’s Performance
(FLASH) “Right hand a bit lower on your bum Suzie.” (FLASH) “That’s it, head up, smile.” (FLASH) “Good now turn a little to your right and show us what you’ve got.” (FLASH) “Fantastic!” The studio on the second floor of the Toronto Sun building is small, dark and cool. But the air is filled with… Continue reading Peake’s Performance