George Stroumboulopoulos interviewed CBC News anchor Peter Mansbridge a little while ago and you’ll hear:

– How close he came to leaving Canada for a high-paying job for CBS

– How did the conversation with Knowlton Nash play out when Nash offered Mansbridge the anchor chair.

…and more.

Watch the video on The Hour’s recently redesigned web site.

According to Reuters, Tony Burman isn’t wasting any time getting things done in his new role as managing director of Al Jazeera English. Negotiations are pushing forward with U.S.-based cable companies to bring the Arabic news channel to wider distribution. Al Jazeera is also augmenting its Internet presence, including refining its YouTube channel which brought it 21 million views in its first year of operation.

The story that Tony Burman had recently joined the Arab world’s leading news channel, Al-Jazeera, has provoked numerous commentaries. When asked to comment on his new role for this Star piece, Burman said

“Without sounding like a typically self-righteous Canadian, we tend to view things with a detachment that in journalism is a very valued asset. Canadians are viewed in a very favourable way that I must say I find flattering”.

The darker side of commentary has been very busy as well, including this piece in the National Post which stops a hair short of calling Burman and the CBC anti-Semitic, and this one in which the headline denotes that “the rest of them” should be gotten rid of as well. Probably all to be expected, given the demonization of Al-Jazeera in some media after 9/11.

Yes, the rumours are true. Ian Hanomansing is an android with super-human anti-aging properties. How else do you explain this clip of him anchoring the Sunday Report nearly 20 years ago, in which he looks and sound nearly identical to today?!

CBC News Sunday co-host Evan Solomon has written a piece in the National Post about his favourite Toronto neighbourhood haunts.

The former editor-in-chief of CBC News has been hired as the managing director for Al-Jazeera Television.

Tony Burman was recently with CBC News until, according to a recent print article in Ryerson Review of Journalism, he clashed with CBC Vice-President of English services Richard Stursberg.

In an interview with InsideTheCBC.com shortly before his departure, Burman played down the idea of working for a private network:

It’s too early for me to shut any doors, but I doubt if there’s any possibility of me wanting to work for a commercial news organization in Canada. My tribal passions for CBC News are too strong. I respect CBC’s competitors but now is not the time for me to switch horses. However, there is a lot to private broadcasting than simply ‘news’ so I’m always open to stimulating, intriguing ideas and initiatives.

Burman’s job won’t be easy. A number of journalists have left Al-Jazeera recently amid claims of a revolt over working conditions. It is also facing a potential £1m discrimination case brought by the former English head of planning.

Former CBC host and journalist Avi Lewis went to the network last year to host a program about the U.S. election.

Robert Cooper, executive producer of opera and choral music will leave the CBC at the end of the summer. The program Choral Concert will continue. No replacement for Cooper has been named.

Don Cherry stayed true to form on his debut performance on ESPN on Friday evening. The star anchor of Hockey Night in Canada called Detroit fans “rednecks”, which generated a bit of controversy south of the border.

Cherry explained that he considers rednecks to be Irish and Scottish Immigrants working in construction, who literally get red necks from their profession. Cherry himself fits into this category by his own admission, as he worked in construction in his youth.

Raters on the ESPN site gave Cherry close to five stars overall for his debut performance.

Mitts off, Yanks; he’s just on loan.

Long-time CBC Television reporter David Roegele died late last week.

Born in 1923 in Saskatoon, he served in the Navy aboard a minesweeper before beginning his varied careers in truck driving, sales and his favorite, broadcasting for both radio and television.

His media career began in 1948 when he joined CKOK Radio and CHBC-TV, Penticton. In 1950, while continuing his work with CKOK and CHBC, Dave took on additional responsibilities as a Stringer for the Vancouver Sun and at the same time was Sports Editor and Columnist for the Penticton Herald newspaper.

He held several jobs with TV stations throughout B.C. and Washington state until he joined CBC Vancouver staff as a teporter in the TV Newsroom in 1966. He became a Journalistic Editor there in 1975 and continued in that role until his retirement in January, 1984.

From the NW Broadcasters’ obit article:

Dave was a member in good standing of the TV Newsroom Old Guard and like all of them, delighted in telling stories of the good old days in their cramped but happy quarters at 1200 West Georgia…. His family remembers that Dave was never at a loss for words, or without a joke to share.

Dave is survived by his wife of 64 years, Beverly, and several children. Memorial Services will be held Friday, May 16, 2008, 10:00 a.m. at Victory Memorial Park Funeral Centre, 14831 28th Ave. Surrey, BC. In lieu of flowers, Memorial contributions in Dave’s name may be made to your favorite charity.

George Stroumboulopoulos has people stopping him to shake his hand in many American states because of The Hour’s popularity due to widespread viewing on YouTube.

The Canadian Press reports that The Hour has been getting millions of hits on YouTube since the show started uploading segments last fall. The Hour is also one of the top video podcasts in Canada on iTunes. Strombo says that the show has a wide appeal since it fills a gap in late-night TV; unlike other late-night shows, it isn’t pure comedy.

Viewers as far afield as New Zealand and Australia are also members of the shows’ Facebook group.

The former captain of Canada’s soccer team, Jason DeVos, will be joining CBC Television as a soccer analyst, beginning in a couple of weeks when Toronto FC plays Columbus.

DeVos retired from international soccer in 2004, and since has been playing professionally with Ipswich in the English Championship League.

DeVos is moving back to London, ON. He is 34.

More than 200 journalists, politicians and community leaders attended a lunch Saturday to mark World Press Freedom Day. They also spent some time remembering former CBC executive Spencer Moore, who, according to the Ottawa Citizen, “transformed the annual lunch from a small event into an occasion of consequence.”

After organizers learned he had died, they briefly considered cancelling the event out of respect, but decided that Mr. Moore would have wanted the event to go on.

A brief bio from the Citizen story:

After attending the University of Saskatchewan, he went to work at CKBI, a private radio station in Saskatoon, before joining CBC Radio in Ottawa as a broadcaster and producer.

In 1958, he was sent to London to oversee the CBC bureau, returning to Canada in 1966 to organize the network’s Expo 67 coverage. From 1968 until his retirement in 1985, he worked at CBC headquarters in Ottawa, for part of that time acquiring the rights to Olympics coverage.

For the next 10 years he represented the CBC on the North American Broadcasters Association, where he developed his passion for press freedom, according to his son, Maj. John Moore.

Moore had been fighting cancer for several years.

Some memories left on an online memorial:

I have many fond memories of my collaboration with Spenser at CBC. He was a very dedicated CBC officer and a wonderful friend. We traveled together often and shared a lot of important events in the life of the Corporation. I know he will be sorely missed. Helen and I extend our sincere sympathy to Julie and the whole family. — Gerry Flaherty

The world of International Affairs and Broadcasting has lost a major pillar with this sad passing. While I followed Spencer by a few years, his name was always held high amongst our international colleagues. Spencer set the mark for professionalism, integrity and dedication at a high level, and challenged all those so inclined to match it, or better it, which few did. Toni and I have fond memories of the trips where we encountered Spencer at some function, and we both extend our condolences to Julie and the rest of the family. — Bob O’Reilly

Last week, Peter Mansbridge celebrated being in the main chair at CBC Television News for twenty years. To celebrate this anniversary, the producers snuck in a video of Mansbridge’s first broadcast twenty years ago in the following broadcast.

Video will pause for a bit at start. Surprise happens after Coyne’s comments.