“Eyewitness News” format: Yes, it sucked back then too
UPDATE: The “starts right now” intro was curtailed in October. The corrected text below reflects change.
Pity Natalie Clancy.
She’s one of CBC TV News’ rising stars — formerly a reporter in the CBC Vancouver newsroom; today, after a stint co-anchoring at CBC Newsworld in Calgary (and before Calgary turned into Toronto), she’s anchoring the late-night Vancouver at 11 newscast. And she does a stellar job at it.
The CBC has been using Vancouver as a kind of testing ground for launching new ways of programming and promoting its newscasts.
Several months back, at the top of the show (after what we in radio call the “billboards” — I have no idea what you TV people call them), the camera would cut back to Natalie, zoom in dramatically in Colbert Report style, and she would deliver the line “Your five-minute B.C. news, weather, and sports starts right now!”
Dear God. (This practice was curtailed back in October.)
It’s not Natalie’s fault, of course. I’m sure she loathed saying it as much as many cringed when they heard it. It was said to be part of the Frank Magid school of programming. Magid developed the Eyewitness News format years ago in the U.S. and has been retained by CBC to consult on our newscasts.
Even David Letterman, years ago, warned Canadians about this “eyewitness news” format in an interview on CBC when Carole Neilson Taylor (who would go onto to become CBC/Radio-Canada’s chairperson).
But maybe it’s our best option. If all the other networks and stations are going with this style of “everything is breaking news” breathless urgency, perhaps we need to compete with them? That argument really is at the heart of so many CBC policies these days: Do we:
- Program more American shows and compete thematically with private stations and networks so our ratings go up… we prove we’re being watched by more Canadians…. and thus are more relevant… and thus need more funding; or
- Stick to programming in the school of sober second thought, where our modesty stands out among the clutter… meet (arguably) our responsibility to the Broadcasting Act to reflect Canada and its unique nature… and thus deserve more funding.
Say what you like about the policy choices being made at the top floors of the Death Star. You have to admit the decisions are not as cut-and-dried as some out there would have us believe.
What do you think?
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I noticed something similar with CBC News “The National”, and it annoyed me enough that I decided not to watch the program. After introducing the news items for the broadcast, a deep voice (seemingly imitating James Earl Jones) cuts in and introduces the host for the evening; it is way too melodramatic. I preferred it when the host simply introduces him/herself.
I don’t think the CBC has to use this style to compete with private stations, especially with established programs like “The National”. I find it demeans the quality and intent of the program.
There are very few changes to the CBC that I have approved of over the past five years, it really seems they are out of touch with their audience. And I am in the 25-35 year-old demographic!
Sorry to say that your link to Ms. Clancy is broken.
The real challenge should not be how to make ourselves more like the other guys….it should be, in a highly competitive news culture, how to make sure we are not just like them.
wait, never mind the format, we’re going back to local news at 11:00 PM again? We’re not even supporting the 6 PM news well enough.
Further, if we’re really going to have 11pm local news, why make it just like the privates? It’s pointless.
Actually Vancouver isn’t all that bad. If you want watch an overly Magidized (yes I used it as a verb) newscast, watch Newfoundland and Labrador. At least there were murders in Indianapolis, in Newfoundland, lets focus on fender benders and tell people how we were “first on the scene”.
Or how about a story on picking out a Christmas tree. Like American news we’ll promise to tell you the secret to getting a great tree and then tell you nothing you didn’t know anyway.
Vancouver at least has a blend of story telling formats…sometimes there’s a live reporter off the top . Other times for a softer people story (which can be just as compelling) the reporter may only show up in a standup or even *gasp* not at all.
Nope in Newfoundland the reporter is always the centre of attention. Every story has the reporter off the top and then they pop up to give the final word. It’s not about the story it’s about the talent, and they better be walking, pointing to something or warning everyone that the world is coming to an end.
Don’t get me wrong, the traditional CBC story could be presented in a lot more upbeat way, and god forbid we actually produce promos that make people want to tune in. But it’s gone too far when presentation trumps solid journalism. There are too many stories that I would call junk food. You’ve eaten something but it’s empty calories. We don’t have to serve our audiences a solid diet of bran, but lets mix it up. It can’t be a solid diet of eye candy.
I think there needs to be a balance. We learn what we can from our American Magid folks, then say bye bye and decide for ourselves what will work for us. It saddens me when solid journalism is no longer the most important thing in our stories. The understaffing of the regions, er “centres”, is part of the problem, because it’s easier to fill time with reporter hits on the best way to shovel snow than it is to produce original journalism, but under funding is a rant for another day.
Oh and for the record I actually like Vancouver’s 11pm. It gives people a slick 5 minute news package, there’s usually a live in it, and it touches on most of the top stories without beeing too sensational (ok sometimes it steps over the line but on balance they do OK)
It’s a good way to remind people right after The National that we do local news (a surprising number of people don’t even know there is still local TV news on CBC) and the ratings show that people like it. And a condensed news package at 11 is something the privates aren’t doing.
Amen. You want a hook that makes your newscasts stand out in comparison to the private networks’ approach. And makes’em look like so much mulch from the lawn mower in the process. Not simply copycat their standard tactics and procedures manual. If I want that style, I’ll watch that on the other networks. Not planning to anytime soon, though.
There has been a voice introducing the anchor on The National for as long as I can recall, but it had been a female until recently.
While I can’t comment on CBC in particular, many local newscasts seem to rely on police reports for too many of their story ideas. (I sometimes play a game of counting the number of consecutive stories involving death, disaster, or crime. KING in Seattle has the record of over a dozen, beating a previous record set by Global-Halifax, whose top story was almost invariably death-related.) I honestly don’t understand why people report those stories–they generally have zero impact on the lives of most viewers, and are depressing too.
Small correction: It was Carole TAYLOR who went on to be CBC chair (and BC’s finance minister).
I have almost entirely given up on CBC television, and hardly watch at all anymore. If it wasn’t for the At Issue panel on the National, I wouldn’t even watch the news on CBC. They’re so much like the private stations these days that there isn’t any point to choosing the CBC over Global.
The breaking point for me was a year ago when the Simpsons movie came out – the National ran a 10 minute promo for the movie (captioned at the bottom; courtesy of 20th Century Fox). I suppose the producers figured it to be a cultural phenomenon, and therefore pertinent. I just saw it as an embedded commercial masquerading as news. What I’d like to know is if the CBC was paid for running that tape. I asked by email, but received no response.
With the proliferation of garbage reality shows, poorly conceived/written/performed dramas and the recent swapping of Marketplace for ubiquitous game shows, I’ve lost all hope.
Dear god please don’t let these people near CBC Radio!
Don’t need to publish my comment since it’s not really a comment, just a correction. The former chair is Carole Taylor, not Carole Neilson.
Still a fan of CBC Vancouver here! All it takes is me randomly watching KIRO, KOMO, or KING … or KCPQ to remember why I like watching “CBC News: Vancouver” at 6 instead of any of my other choices.
It is happening in Radio. I notice they use radio to pimp the TV news. I guess cause radio has more listeners so it’s free advertising for them.
You just have to go back to Ralph Benmurgui’s Friday Night ! show on CBC TV – the catch phrase was…
your weekend starts right here
or maybe it was ‘starts now’.
same diff.
Please, please, please get rid of these Magid people. They are ruining the news.