CFCF’s new cozy corner

CFCF's new "cozy corner"

Those of you who watch CFCF’s noon newscast might have noticed something looking a bit different. The “cozy corner” (as Todd van der Heyden calls it) looks dramatically different.

The set before (Sept. 6)

Gone are the vertical columns of dull blue, purple and grey. Instead, a solid blue wall and shelves which feature red highlights and a CTV logo. The chair are the same style, replacing black with bright red to match the set. The table and floor are unchanged.

This set is used rarely during the evening newscasts, but is where sit-down interviews with guests and columnists are shot. As we learned from our visit in May, the set sits in a corner of the set just next to the anchor desk.

My first impression looking at pictures of this new set is that it looks like a low-budget TV set, like something setup in someone’s mother’s basement. The colours are bold, but bold can be distracting, when you’d want your attention focused on the subject and not on the background.

Interviewer side, after

Interviewer side, before

The colours give the background a darker look, especially on the side of the interviewer. I’m not sure if that makes me feel more comfortable – like it’s two people chatting in a living room somewhere – or if it just looks odd, especially when most people will see it at noon when a dark, comfortable room is not where they’re likely to be.