When viewers first tuned in to CBC Newsworld, they saw a slew of technical hiccups. Satellites lost their signals, audio crackled in and out, and hosts clumsily stumbled through their first demanding day.
But, for the first time in this country, Canadians had their own dedicated 24-hour news channel. Designed for “on-the-go viewers,” Newsworld offered frequent news updates and magazine style programming.
The network had an exhilarating if not perfect debut as shown in this television report from CBC Archives.
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| CBC Newsworld, Today In CBC History |
1989…the twentieth anniversary’s not too far off, is it?
Newsworld is a pretty slickly run machine now, compared to the “amateurish” look of those early days. I did like the idea of moving newsrooms based on time zones, but unfortunately budget cuts led to most production now coming out of Toronto. Still, I think it serves Canada and its people very well.
As I recall, we had aborted virtually every trial run we began in the weeks leading to launch. Nonetheless, the channel was up and on the air 15 minutes before it’s scheduled debut. If I am not mistaken, the first item that ran was from a Vancouver reporter named Tammy Tomlinson, about a woman who raised ducks for pets.
I think Tammy is now a high school teacher in suburban Vancouver. I don’t know what became of the ducks.
The ducks were part of the last round of cutbacks.
The orange sauce was delicious, however.
And whose idea was the purple and green globe?
I was thrilled with Newsworld on that first day, glitches and all. That purple and green globe, however, made me think it was the official news channel of The Joker.