09.06.2016 07:36 AM

Mansbridge

Great newsreader. Hard to believe he won’t be there anymore.

But – and it’s a big but – I don’t know many folks who actually watch TV news programs anymore, whether they be on CBC or something else on the dial. Instead, we watch particular news clips on the Internet, we use Twitter as a news feed, and we scan Google News (or its equivalents) in the way that we used to scan newspapers. Oh, and a web site like this one – which is free, accepts comments, and is quite open about its biases – attracts 3.5+ million visitors every year.  Which is more readers than most newspaper columnists get, I’m told.

I don’t know who Mansbridge’s successor will be. I’m not sure it matters, either.

New-Yorker-cartoon-news

18 Comments

  1. BillBC says:

    A wise observation, and somewhat depressing for those of us who were brought up watching CBC news when it was the only Canadian channel available…remember Larry Henderson? I gave up watching the CBC national news about 25 years ago when its Liberal bias became too much to take. (I realize that Liberals don’t find it biased at all, and far Lefties find it fascist…bias is in the eye of the beholder). Makes me a bit sad, because it really was a glue bonding the country, even though it was remorselessly central Canadian. I don’t watch any national news now…I get my information the way you describe. Just local news here….

  2. Steve T says:

    My wife and I watch the evening news every weeknight. Perhaps we are dinosaurs (at 49 years old?), but I find TV news a good complement to internet news. First, it digs deeper into stories, and gives a POV that the internet is often missing. Second, it provides information that I might not pro-actively seek out myself.

    Mansbridge (and Lisa LaFlamme on CTV) are much better newspeople than most of what the internet offers. I’ll continue to watch TV news for as long as it’s offered.

  3. Michael Bluth says:

    I thought it was pretty much a given that Hanomansing is the successor. Agreed that it may not matter too much.

  4. Aongasha says:

    This guy’s take shows why the media in general may not be doing well. I’d say some of the criticism suits the Ottawa Press Gallery to a T. Particularly the part about everybody chasing the flavour of the day.
    http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/a-farewell-guide-to-political-journalism/498494/

  5. Charlie says:

    I’ve been watching Peter my whole life; he’s essentially been a fixture of Canadiana for so long.

    I wish him the best in his future endeavours/retirement. I think he had a long and successful career.

    Him leaving marks an important turn for the CBC and television news in general. Its the end of an era and it will be interesting to see how the CBC goes with the National in terms of content and delivery. I think they have a real opportunity for audience captivation with the panel-form discussions they do. Whether its on politics or medicine, Canadians like interactive nature of their nightly news and its something the CBC (in my opinion) should capitalize on). Ultimately, viewers felt comfortable with a familiar personality like Mansbridge; him departing means they need to compensate by making their coverage and content a little more engaging and informative.

    As far as successor goes, obviously Wendy Meslie is the way to go.

    • dave constable says:

      a lot of the message/comment/chat boards on the internet have trained us value that interactive engagement. As well, some alternate news sites leave less time for the monopolies that traditional news and information outlets used to have.

      • Charlie says:

        That is true, but message boards and alternative websites come at a significant cost: credibility.

        We come here to post on Warren Kinsella’s blog because we have opinions on what speaks; may often agree or disagree; but most importantly, we know what we’re getting here is a personal opinion.

        The problem we get into with alternative news sites is if they aren’t bound by Press Gallery decorum or the standard practices of Canadian media, then they essentially operate on their own whim. This is the case in the US where a lot of “alternative” sites create and exacerbate a lot of fallacies for viewer traffic. Instead of reporting on things that inform the public, some choose to report on things that feed the public: one being productive, the other exploitative.

        Thats not to say there isn’t value to the interactive nature of these non-traditional boards. The sharing and debating of competing opinions on this particular blog has forced me to articulate better arguments for the things I believe and to open up to dissimilar perspectives. Humans who yearn for knowledge enjoy engaging exercises where we can listen and process new thoughts.

        That is where I think the CBC, if it so chooses, has a role to play. It has the credibility and the responsibility of being a major news outlet and thus can foster incredibly captivating and informative discussions for Canadians. People like you and I don’t always require a comment section to pontificate in as long we feel like the discussion that we are viewing/listening to is engaging our minds.

  6. I haven’t watched The National in years.

  7. Dave Breukelaar says:

    Someone should start a petition for CBC to Nationally livestream his final performance. Commercial free.

  8. harvey bushell says:

    I got a live interviewer phone survey a number of months ago asking about my thoughts on a replacement for Mansbridge (although they didn’t explicitly say that, they just wanted my opinion on the eventual possibility of a new anchor). They dropped a number of names including Wendy Meslie and a local Toronto announcer I wasn’t that familiar with but the focus of most of the questions centered on Ian Hanomansing which obviously led me to believe he was the top choice. I tried to make it clear my choice would be Meslie but I didn’t outright say that Hanomansing would be a bad anchor because he wouldn’t.

    They seemed to be particularly interested in my impression of who would have the most gravitas and who I’d trust more which clearly are two obvious requirements for the job.

  9. Mike says:

    Accepts moderated comments.

  10. Mike says:

    Accepts only moderated comments.

  11. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    How about The National, with Warren Kinsella!?

  12. Kevin Scully says:

    They have a wealth of talent to choose from: Wendy Mesley, Ian Hanomansing, Suhanna Meharchand, Andrew Nichols and on and on. My money’s on Rosemary Barton, however.

    Aside: watch out for Katie Simpson. Impressive reporter. She’s going places.

  13. Al in Cranbrook says:

    The only time CBC darkens my living room now is for a Canucks hockey game…which of late, admittedly, also has had few redeeming qualities.

    Same for CTV.

    And don’t even get me started on the “Everyone Loses This Election, Folks” coverage in the US. What an unholy disaster that’s turned into!

  14. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    I like Wendy Mesley but she doesn’t have the traditional newsreading style of the ex. I like to hear only thee before a vowel and thuh before a consonant. Same thing with eh before a vowel and uh before a consonant. Call me dépassé.

    However, my $ is on Mark Kelley.

  15. Jean A Paterson says:

    I watch CBC news locally and also the National when it has an interesting theme, but the best international news coverage is BBC. I agree with other commenters that the panels on CBC for economics, for medical news, for political headline news, and for “insiders” of politics are all interesting. Their foreign correspondents (Nahla, etc) are outstanding. And Frederic Zalac has investigated tax havens and other fascinating stories. Susan Ormiston is insightful.
    Changes I would make, in my humble opinion: move Rex Murphy to a Sunday 4 pm seniors’ panel; shorten the night news to 30 minutes and make it up to date rather than a 5 pm thing: have a different panel every day for 10 minutes, with a really experienced moderator like Rosie Barton; give us a year with your three best newsreaders until one of them takes over.
    Thanks for letting us all express our ideas!

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