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-- Another one bites the dust. Rogers' house cleaning of CityTV
Another one bites the dust. Rogers' house cleaning of CityTV
After hearing the sad news that Silverman Helps would no longer be a part of the CityTV format, out came another blow to the CityTV that we currently know. Now, I'm by far not a huge CityTV fan/viewer myself... maybe because over the last few years it's gone south as far as content and turned itself into a joke, but still. I can't stop thinking about how much I watched it back in the day (80's), and the format that they used which wasn't a typical NEWS broadcast format, something that was unique and helped distinguish it from the rest.
Anyways... thought I'd share this:
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| Speakers Corner given the gag HOT BOX, TV TO TALK ABOUT Rogers pulling the plug on the Citytv show that has let Toronto sing or vent for 20 years Jun 12, 2008 04:30 AM ROB SALEM TV COLUMNIST Speakers Corner has been silenced. Rogers Television, current owners of the local Citytv station and its cross-country cousins, has effectively pulled the plug on the venerable Toronto institution, a conduit for the community for the past 20 years. The street-corner public-access video booth, established in the late 1980s, has provided a platform for anyone with a loonie and 120 seconds to spare, from former prime minister Jean Chrétien to the Barenaked Ladies, to vent or praise or promote their issues – or themselves. The original Speakers Corner at Queen St. W. and John St. was shuttered within days of the CTV purchase of CHUM almost two years ago, before the Citytv franchise was split off by government decree and sold to the Rogers conglomerate last year. Even last night, the City website was still touting the booth's temporary relocation to the Rogers Centre and, eventually, to the new Citytv storefront studio in Yonge-Dundas Square, now under construction. That would appear to no longer be the case. "No, it isn't," confirmed Citytv vice-president and general manager Jamie Haggarty. "But our plans are evolving every day. The (Speakers Corner TV) program will stay on the air till August, so we're not pulling the plug right away. But the plans for Dundas Square were just that, plans. We have nothing committed, nothing announced." Back on Queen W., the Barenaked Ladies got their earliest exposure by cramming themselves into the tiny booth to sing "Be My Yoko Ono" (the 1990 clip can still be seen online, at tinyurl.com/56p772). A decade later, then-prime minister Jean Chrétien made an election-year appearance to promote the vote, which he subsequently won by a considerable margin. A young Mike Myers travelled frequently from Scarborough to the Corner to refine his act. An unknown Scott Speedman, with no prior performance footage, drove down from Thornhill to use the booth to audition for TV's Felicity, the role that kick-started his career. Madonna, Harrison Ford, Timothy Leary, Irving Layton, Stephen Baldwin, Kim Campbell, Pinball Clemens, Maury Povich ... all have stopped in at some point to speak their piece. Even the elusive Prince, when he was living in Toronto, became an avowed enthusiast: "I love Speakers Corner," he told The Canadian Press in 2004. "I just love the idea of it. I am so tempted when I go by to stop the car and go into the booth and say what I have to say." He never did. And now it's likely he'll never get the chance. An internal announcement yesterday informed Citytv staff that the weekly Speakers Corner compilation show would not be renewed for fall. Should the concept be revived, it will likely be as an online entity. "We like the brand," insisted Haggarty. "It's a great brand. It's just that viewership isn't coming through on TV. Our wireless guys and our digital team are looking at how we can evolve it to the digital media. We may still have the booth, but it'll be more of a Web presence than a television presence." The Speakers Corner controversy is the second in as many weeks for the Rogers-run Citytv news operation, which just as abruptly announced the immediate cancellation of Silverman Helps, the station's 19-year viewer advocacy unit, fronted by veteran broadcaster Peter Silverman. "I told them, time and time again, that I wanted to do one more year," protested Silverman, calling in from the cottage. "Twenty years of Silverman Helps had a nice ring to it. That would have been August of 2009, which would at least have given us the chance to tell the audience, `Look, he's retiring. He's an old crow now. He's done his bit. Don't write in any more, because the program is ending.' "That would have been the decent thing for the people who relied on us to help them, and we had about 20,000 requests a year. That would have been the dignified way to go. Instead, we were called downstairs into the boardroom and told that, as of that moment, we were closed down. "When we asked what the rationale was, we were told, `We don't have to give you a rationale.'" A cloud of helpless resignation now hovers over what's left of the Citytv news team. Many despair over what they see as the abandonment of everything that originally defined the station and its two-way connection to its audience. "We have more user-generated content than ever," argued Haggarty. "We're not any less committed to defending the consumer. We're reviewing and relooking at everything. This is all just a part of the process." |
heh good old Rogers.. though I felt that ChumCity started going downhill with the departure of Monica Deol, but Rogers' takeover put the nail in the coffin ..
so long Silverman, so long Amber Mac.. in fact I feel strongly about how Silverman was dismissed, typical Rogers handling
whether you watched CityTV or not, you can't deny the concept that Moses Znaimer brought especially to a city that often lacks any much needed creativity, originality and vision..
tho in fairness, YouTube seems to have usurped Speaker's Corner
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CityTV is no longer the heart and soul of Toronto since its takeover. CityTV was about connecting with people that featured real stories and shows dealing with everyday people in our city. Silverman Helps was an excellent show that fit into this mantra of reaching out to the common citizens of Toronto. I also heard that Speaker's Corner is also getting the axe. What is Roger's going to cancel next? Are they going to get rid of CityLine and Breakfast Television too? Unfortunately, it's now all about money and ratings and CityTV will no longer be a unique media outlet for Toronto. It will just become another soulless and boring television station.
Posted by: Benny at June 12, 2008 9:03 AM
http://blogto.com/city/2008/06/silverman_helps_no_more/
Screw you, Ted Rogers.
Slowly killing one Toronto institution at a time.
The way they dismissed Silverman is disgusting.
Killing speaker's corner (which I still watch if it's on)is unforgivable. For starters, it all went to charity. Second, it was a brilliant idea that followed the original speaker's corner podium at Nathan Phillips Square.
Who ever came up with this, I hope they die horribly in a fire.
PEACE!
I didn't think I could hate on Rogers more but I guess I was wrong. The term 'unforgivable' is spot on. End of an era.
This is my first time hearing of the cancellation of Silverman Helps and am having a hard time believing that as well.
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| Originally posted by kotsy This is my first time hearing of the cancellation of Silverman Helps and am having a hard time believing that as well. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by kotsy This is my first time hearing of the cancellation of Silverman Helps and am having a hard time believing that as well. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Dr. DAS Screw you, Ted Rogers. Slowly killing one Toronto institution at a time. The way they dismissed Silverman is disgusting. Killing speaker's corner (which I still watch if it's on)is unforgivable. For starters, it all went to charity. Second, it was a brilliant idea that followed the original speaker's corner podium at Nathan Phillips Square. Who ever came up with this, I hope they die horribly in a fire. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by kotsy I didn't think I could hate on Rogers more but I guess I was wrong. The term 'unforgivable' is spot on. End of an era. This is my first time hearing of the cancellation of Silverman Helps and am having a hard time believing that as well. |
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