Sun TV launch
In the lead-up to its TV debut, Quebecor indulged in the joys of cross-ownership, using its papers to slag the CBC and promote Sun TV anchor Krista Erickson as a Sunshine Girl. By the end of launch day, early reviewers were disappointed by the lack of promised ‘hard news,’ as the fledging station spent its first broadcast hours attacking the CBC and showing three-year-old Muhammad cartoons. The National Post found incessant on-air self-promotion tough to take, while the Toronto Star winced at zooming cameras and annoying music. But it hit the right note with Toronto Sun readers, judging by online comments like: “It’s about time Canada had a voice that isn’t coming from the pinko, leftards namely the CBC.”
Who’s afraid of Sun? Not the Liberal Party, apparently – they booked ad space. And what can we expect in the future? In this interview, Sun TV head Luc Lavoei says Afghan detainees are not news, while waves of illegal immigrants flooding Canada are. Meanwhile, amid fears of reduced broadcasting accuracy requirements, Rabble.ca has set up a Sun media watch blog and twitter feed to monitor the broadcasts. If nothing else, it’s going to be an interesting ride.
In the lead-up to its TV debut, Quebecor indulged in the joys of cross-ownership, using its papers to slag the CBC and promote Sun TV anchor Krista Erickson as a Sunshine Girl. By the end of launch day, early reviewers were disappointed by the lack of promised ‘hard news,’ as the fledging station spent its first broadcast hours attacking the CBC and showing three-year-old Muhammad cartoons. The National Post found incessant on-air self-promotion tough to take, while the Toronto Star winced at zooming cameras and annoying music. But it hit the right note with Toronto Sun readers, judging by online comments like: “It’s about time Canada had a voice that isn’t coming from the pinko, leftards namely the CBC.”
Who’s afraid of Sun? Not the Liberal Party, apparently – they booked ad space. And what can we expect in the future? In this interview, Sun TV head Luc Lavoei says Afghan detainees are not news, while waves of illegal immigrants flooding Canada are. Meanwhile, amid fears of reduced broadcasting accuracy requirements, Rabble.ca has set up a Sun media watch blog and twitter feed to monitor the broadcasts. If nothing else, it’s going to be an interesting ride.
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Patricia W. Elliott is a magazine journalist and assistant professor at the School of Journalism, University of Regina. You can visit her at patriciaelliott.ca.