Comments on: Analysis: Who will fill the Politics chair?

By: Jeff Radford

Jeff Radford — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:53:03 +0000

I realise this is rather a late comment, but I asked a similar question to the CBC via their website (I was going through Don Newman withdraws when Parliament was back in session!). The response I got was two fold – they will not be bringing the Politics program back, as it was retired with Don Newman. They then said that Evan Soloman will be hosting his own political themed show sometime soon… personally I found this depressing and had really hoped for someone like Chris Hall or Susan Bonner to take on a project. I suppose it is just a further dreary change to the CBC… first Henry Champ, then Don Newman, and now this?

By: wml

wml — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:25:47 +0000

Hello,,,I posted once before on this subject. It is now Sept.20th,2009.

Susan Bonner is my priority pick. Next in line is Steve Paikin.
Why hasn’t this been fixed yet? Politics as we currently see it is not very exciting to say the least. It’s obvious that Mr. Newman is going to be a tough act to follow, but (assuming she wants it) Susan Bonner is tough, disciplined, knowledgeable, and would be a perfect fit in my opinion. Hurry, get it done now!

By: Who can fill Don Newman’s Politics chair at CBC? | Newslab.ca

Who can fill Don Newman’s Politics chair at CBC? | Newslab.ca — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:21:50 +0000

[...] Capstick of MediaStyle.com (and a NDP political adviser) runs the roster of potential replacements, ranging from the go-to heavy hitter, Susan Bonner, to the wild-card, George Strombouloupoulous. He [...]

By: Matt Rose

Matt Rose — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:10:13 +0000

Julie Van Dusen and Don Newman do a 15-minute politics segment on the CBC drive home show, and they’re *fantastic*, funny, knowledgeable, and eminently listen-able. I’ve seen both on TV and they know what they’re doing there as well. You could do far worse.

By: _v

_v — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:19:09 +0000

Susan Bonner is great, but I think Julie Van Dusen would be heads and shoulders above her. Would she enjoy sitting down every day instead of reporting “from the field”, though? Ottawa politicians would be happy to see her leave the scrums.

Steve Paikin is great, but he has the patina of a private broadcaster more than CBC. He is also somewhat condescending and relies too much on setting up his guests with stupid hypothetical questions.

Avi & Ezra: Remember Jon Stewart’s criticism of Crossfire? Still valid here.

Jesse Hirsh is super smart (and telegenic!) but does he have the in-depth political knowledge necessary to fill in Don’s shoes as Newsworld’s political anchor?

George? Seriously? Moving him up the chain is not going to increase his points rating…

The only thing I’m thinking about is if they’re retiring Newman to save money, they wouldn’t turn around and hire some expensive person to replace him, unless they were just being classy about getting rid of him.

By: A reader

A reader — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:11:32 +0000

I like the suggestions of Wells and Paikin, although I admit I don’t have much exposure to Kathleen Petty. The others don’t know that much about politics to be honest, and would become victims of the spin-whiplash … with the exception of a Lewis-Levant combo, which would raise my blood pressure more than is good for a person of my age, and who needs that?

By: Robert Paterson

Robert Paterson — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:56:55 +0000

I do not wish to be a cynic, but given the past history of these things at the Corp, the show might be completely remade, moved to Torontt, cancelled, or some other unexpected and unpopular choice. The CBC (excepting Radio One) has the unerring talent of doing the one thing that might drive their remaining audience away. Then, of course, there’d be no need of a new host.

By: Ian Capstick

Ian Capstick — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:47:09 +0000

John, I really think we would be shocked abotu Avi and Ezra…they could agree on more than one issue. And, Avi can keep a dispute civil. No need to screaming, it would be the *Canadian version of CrossFire, eh.

By: Dave Loan

Dave Loan — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:29:59 +0000

I would like to see Chris Hall take it – he was overlooked when The House was recast. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ian Hanomansing is in the running, too – he may be ready to return to the national stage.

By: John Bowman

John Bowman — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:20:46 +0000

Avi and Ezra? What, to create a Canadian Crossfire? That worked out so well for CNN…