1 of 1- Muffaraw Joe
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After 15 years on TSN, the Reporters sports round table show is done
Kind of a sad way to end a great sports talk show...TSN announced last week, that after 15 years, The Reporters (hosted by Dave Hodge) along with reporters Michael Farber, Steve Simmons, Bruce Arthur and Dave Feschuk on occasion is done.
No last hurrah and done when it is a prime time of year for sports.
Job well done Dave Hodge, not sure what is next for you, but do well!
Here is more on the story...
The world would be so good if it weren't for some people...
- unclefester
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Re: After 15 years on TSN, the Reporters sports round table show is done
Muffaraw Joe wrote:
Kind of a sad way to end a great sports talk show...TSN announced last week, that after 15 years, The Reporters (hosted by Dave Hodge) along with reporters Michael Farber, Steve Simmons, Bruce Arthur and Dave Feschuk on occasion is done.
No last hurrah and done when it is a prime time of year for sports.
Job well done Dave Hodge, not sure what is next for you, but do well!
Here is more on the story...
That's a puff piece (SURPRISE) from TSN as one might expect.
To get the real goods about what happened behind-the-scenes the G&M has carried a story by David Shoalts
In the October 29th edidtion the article quotes Hodge as saying he's not ready to retire yet even at age 72.
And it details the cutbacks the show endured -- leading Hodge to resign as host...
If someone could post the link to the story from the October 29th Globe and Mail -- it's a great read...
I loved the show and it's participants but the corporate grim reaper got ahold of them...
Phucking sad...
Last edited by unclefester (November 9, 2017 12:58 am)
- Retaw
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Re: After 15 years on TSN, the Reporters sports round table show is done
Broadcasting insiders say Hodge grew increasingly unhappy with a series of budget cuts to the show that he felt compromised its quality. The situation came to a head last week in the wake of the latest round of cuts, which began in September, when Montreal journalist Michael Farber, a long-time panelist on the show, was dropped.
Hodge resigned as host of The Reporters and TSN quickly cancelled the show. While the show probably would have stayed on the air if Hodge had not resigned, he decided he could no longer stomach working on a show that, in his eyes, was a shadow of its original incarnation.
However, Hodge is not blaming TSN management for the show's demise. He is said to feel it is more a result of the state of the broadcast industry, which has been fighting declining viewership and advertising revenue for years.
The trouble started last year when the show switched to Monday afternoons from Sunday mornings. Then, for the first time since it started in 2002 running 52 weeks a year, The Reporters, took a hiatus this past July and August as a cost-cutting measure. When the show resumed in September, it was switched back to Sunday mornings but Hodge's unhappiness increased.
Farber, who was flown in from Montreal every Sunday to do the show in TSN's Toronto studios, was the next victim of the budget cuts, leaving Steve Simmons and Bruce Arthur, sports columnists for the Toronto Sun and Toronto Star respectively, as the only panelists. Hodge was deeply unhappy about the loss of Farber and made that clear on the first show without him, telling the viewers it was a cost-cutting move that would not help the show.
Along with the move back to Sundays, the show was moved to TSN's radio studio to save money on the technical staff. The radio studio has cameras that do not require operators. The show was now on TSN's radio network and simulcast on television but it was plagued by technical problems. Typical of those problems was the first segment of the final show last week when both Simmons and Arthur had no audio on their microphones for 11 minutes.
While last week's trouble was not the final straw for Hodge, the culmination of all the technical issues, plus the loss of Farber, convinced him he could not continue as host. His chief regret, those close to him say, is that there was no chance for a fitting finale for a show he came to love.
Last edited by Retaw (November 9, 2017 9:07 am)
- unclefester
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Re: After 15 years on TSN, the Reporters sports round table show is done
Broadcasting insiders say Hodge grew increasingly unhappy with a series of budget cuts to the show that he felt compromised its quality. The situation came to a head last week in the wake of the latest round of cuts, which began in September, when Montreal journalist Michael Farber, a long-time panelist on the show, was dropped.
Hodge resigned as host of The Reporters and TSN quickly cancelled the show. While the show probably would have stayed on the air if Hodge had not resigned, he decided he could no longer stomach working on a show that, in his eyes, was a shadow of its original incarnation.
However, Hodge is not blaming TSN management for the show's demise. He is said to feel it is more a result of the state of the broadcast industry, which has been fighting declining viewership and advertising revenue for years.
The trouble started last year when the show switched to Monday afternoons from Sunday mornings. Then, for the first time since it started in 2002 running 52 weeks a year, The Reporters, took a hiatus this past July and August as a cost-cutting measure. When the show resumed in September, it was switched back to Sunday mornings but Hodge's unhappiness increased.
Farber, who was flown in from Montreal every Sunday to do the show in TSN's Toronto studios, was the next victim of the budget cuts, leaving Steve Simmons and Bruce Arthur, sports columnists for the Toronto Sun and Toronto Star respectively, as the only panelists. Hodge was deeply unhappy about the loss of Farber and made that clear on the first show without him, telling the viewers it was a cost-cutting move that would not help the show.
Along with the move back to Sundays, the show was moved to TSN's radio studio to save money on the technical staff. The radio studio has cameras that do not require operators. The show was now on TSN's radio network and simulcast on television but it was plagued by technical problems. Typical of those problems was the first segment of the final show last week when both Simmons and Arthur had no audio on their microphones for 11 minutes.
While last week's trouble was not the final straw for Hodge, the culmination of all the technical issues, plus the loss of Farber, convinced him he could not continue as host. His chief regret, those close to him say, is that there was no chance for a fitting finale for a show he came to love.
Thanks for posting that...
So the suits poked and picked away at the show until Hodge just threw in the towel...
Wonder what the suits will target next -- they do such great work
Last edited by unclefester (November 9, 2017 4:53 pm)