Sorry to drag this thread back to the top, but I couldn't resist after seeing this National Lampoon TV Guide parody of Saturday morning cartoon listings:

Brings to mind the scene from the BBC political comedy "The Thick of It" in which the fictional U.K. Prime Minister is caught up in a scandal involving contracts handed out by the government to her husband's consulting firm. For the uninitiated, "bent" is British slang for crooked, or open to bribes and corruption.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhuZOzQNXak

Frankly, I think its up to the hosts to state that their guests/panelists are a "former Liberal advisor" or a "former Conservative MP/strategist" when they introduce them so listeners can be informed from the get-go about what kind of perspective they'll be hearing in the discussion. 

Reminds me of a time during the Iraq War when I was watching the BBC and they were interviewing a U.S.-based guest about a military matter and identified him as a representative of the Brookings Institute, which the anchor described as a "right-leaning think tank." I watched as the guest's eyebrows shot up in surprise and anger at that description and he spent the first two minutes of the interview berating the anchor, claiming that his group was non-partisan. It was not, as they say, compelling TV.

RadioActive wrote:

And not surprisingly, the answer is "no."

CRTC turns down CAB request to start over on radio and audio consultation

Doesn't seem to be "no" as much as "hold your horses, you'll have your chance when the consultation period begins". 
 

Lotsa Luck was an effort by NBC to match CBS's All in the Family. Loosely based on the popular British sitcom On the Buses, it starred Dom DeLuise (starved to within an inch of his life) playing Stanley, who worked in the lost and found department of an unnamed city bus company. There was the usual cast of side characters (lazy mooching brother-in-law, bossy mother, crazy best friend) and a mild attempt to push the sitcom boundaries of the early 70s with plenty of references to sex and toilets. 

I read an interview with Dom DeLuise a long time ago where he admitted he knew the show was pretty much doomed from the start, but that he put a lot of effort into it in the hope it would score a breakthrough with American audiences. With only the big three networks in the U.S. at that time, anything less than a 20-point share in the audience was considered "on the edge" for cancellation. The show only lasted one season, but DeLuise acknowledged that it helped raise his profile with the public and he got more than a few guest shots and spots on other sitcoms as a result. 

CBC News Managing Editor Brodie Fenlon was on LinkedIn today, talking about the value of having correspondents on the ground in Washington to ensure Canadians get a clear picture of what's going with our neighbours to the south.

I'll vote at the elementary school around the corner from us once I get the driveway cleaned from this latest burst of snow. I'll mostly be following the results online, but may flick on the set to sample the offerings from CBC, CTV and Global. 

C'mon RA...The Rad-Can article pointed out that this was an initiative led by local reporters, rather than a top-down demand from management. It added that the experiment, such as it is now, is being driven by radio reporters, rather than TV crews who would have to carry bulky camera gear and mic kits. The article also points out that e-bikes are often faster and more efficient in crowded urban environments than cars, taxis or public transit.
For me, the fact that this story is getting such play on sites like Blacklock's, Rebel News and the Western Standard, none of which are particularly friendly to our national broadcaster, certainly smacks to me of yet another anti-CBC hit job.

Totally agree paterson1 - and for this who missed the show live, you can watch/listen to it here.

Cross-Country Checkup - Your Thoughts on Trump's comments about Canada as the 51st state.

I, on the other hand, liked it.

The show's creator indicated last May that the fourth season would be the last one, and that he had written a finale that tied together all the loose ends for the whole family. As he points out, the show is simply getting too expensive to produce. Ratings on The CW haven't exactly been explosive, if this snapshot is to be believed.

Ottawa-based Algonquin College may join the trend of other community colleges in Ontario in closing its radio program to deal with rising costs and budget deficits.

 

Some thoughts on yesterday's game...

I thought the opening segment with Lady Gaga and the tribute to the people killed in the car attack in New Orleans was well staged and thoughtful. Tom Cruise's cameo during the team introductions was underwhelming at best. The singing of America the Beautiful and the U.S. national anthem by local New Orleans artists were dignified and a lot less hawkish than I've seen at previous Super Bowls.

As far as the game itself, it was clear that Fox broadcast team was cheering on the Chiefs in the early going, but was forced to switch tone as the Eagles racked up the points. Tom Brady surprised me as the colour commentator, offering some good insights on some early penalties and generally providing solid information on what strategies both teams were employing. If he can learn to use the Telestrator properly and curb his tendency to talk too much, he could be a good analyst. As usual, Fox's halftime panel of experts featured too many guys all fighting to say something relevant and rapid while they waited for the Kendrick Lamar show to start. About that display, all I can say is "meh", but I'm clearly not the audience the league was targeting.

From what I could see, Trump was shown exactly once during the broadcast. Ditto Taylor Swift, who presumably had a lot less to be happy about. Journalists assigned to cover Trump indicate he left at some point during the 3rd quarter. Lots of shots of the other celebrities on hand (Costner, McCartney, Gaga and an extended thank you/kowtow to Fox boss Rupert Murdoch) were used to kill time between plays.

As for the Canadian commercials, the Timmies spot was tongue-in-cheek, especially since their claim of being "Canadian" is ridiculous in light of their ownership by U.S.-based Restaurant Brands International. A few other U.S. firms (notably Kraft/Heinz) attempted to wave the Maple Leaf by portraying their Canadian factories and touting their Canadian ingredients. My award for the most annoying spot

Anyone remember this 1996 commercial for the Bank of Montreal, which featured a remix of Bob Dylan's song "The Times They Are A-Changin"? The bank took so much heat for using a classic protest anthem to promote an upcoming new product that the chairman at the time, Matthew Barrett, had to publicly defend the commercial at a shareholders' meeting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z0tNUxjZmE

Huh? As far as I can tell, the PM hasn't made any announcement yet. It's now expected to come closer to the upcoming top of the hour (9:00 pm eastern). How do you know the other stations won't be picking it up from their respective TV feeds RA?