Tuesday 26 October 2010

SUN TV: WTF

SUN TV's shoestring budget was never more evident than last night.

Ontario voters settling in front of the TV at 8 p.m. expecting blanket coverage by the Quebecor station were left unfulfilled an hour later when SUN TV switched to a movie.

A movie?

No live coverage of acceptance speeches; no interviews with winners and losers; no footage of campaign workers celebrating in ballrooms; no street interviews; no interviews, period.

Just Rob and Christina and Sue-Ann and other Sun regulars in the studio, with brief reports from  Hamilton and Ottawa. 

No budget - or television equipment - for live reports?

You would think with the amount of ink devoted to Toronto's mayoral campaign, the bean counters would have loosened the purse strings to provide something resembling professional election coverage.

Five minutes of CBC TV coverage at 9 p.m. made up for the one-hour snooze fest on SUN TV. 

And who do we spot on CBC walking in front of Rob Ford in the crush of well wishers? None other than Toronto Sun photog Michael Peake, a 333 vet caught up once again in the drama of an election.

Guess it was cheaper for SUN TV to switch to a movie - FX - an hour after the polls closed than investing in something resembling big city TV coverage of a major election. 

It is not the fault of SUN TV or Toronto Sun panel contributors. You work with what you are given.

If Fox News North receives the same financial backing as the current SUN TV effort, it will quickly fade into the sunset.

Meanwhile, speaking of Rob Ford, he should make one post-election promise - to lose 25 pounds in each of his four years in the mayor's chair.

He did not look the least bit comfortable during his acceptance speech.

Losing weight while in the public eye would be a plus for him and give weight-conscious men, women and children motivation to do the same.

7 comments:

  1. http://www.mediajobsearchcanada.com/job_view.asp?jobID=19372

    They're looking for a "Senior News Producer" which includes "Develop potential news specials (i.e. election coverage) for future broadcasts"

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  2. I was more annoyed by a lack of updates on any of the wards. Really bizarre coverage.

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  3. Does Sun TV even have a license to do that kind of news reporting tho?

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  4. Further proof why they should never be given a standard licence for their proposed news station. They clearly demonstrated their lack of effort for the current station and they occupy an excellent position on the cable band. I scratch my head every time I flip through the stations that they are given cable 15 when a real station like CTV Newsnet is given a stratosphere position of 62

    Sun TV is a joke and feel sorry for the people that work there as it is an embarrassment on the TV dial

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  5. ... and if the so-called Fox News North should ever become a reality, I'm sure the sentiment echoed by 6:50 AM will apply to the proposed new station, i.e. Right-wing-nut news done on the super-cheap ...

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  6. BIG NEWS....word is that Wild Rose leader Danielle Smith has said, as well as sources from Global TV, that her husband has taken an executive position with the future SUN TV.

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  7. If PKP can't even run 1 TV station in the largest city in Canada occupying a prime spot on the cable band, he does not deserve a license for a nationwide news station. It is a privilege not a right. Just like in sports, you have to prove yourself in the minors before you are promoted to the major leagues. PKP and SUN TV have not demonstrated that they even deserve to be on the top tier of the cable band. The station is a joke and I feel sorry for the people that work there. It must be embarrassing for them to tell people where they work.

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