Michel Godbout has been hosting CBC News Montreal at Six alone since 2006. (Fagstein photo illustration)
Thomas tips me off to a job posting from the CBC for a co-anchor for its weeknight Montreal newscast (the only remaining local programming on CBMT).
The posting doesn’t make it clear, but I’m assuming the co-anchor will be added to the desk next to current anchor Michel Godbout, who has been hosting the newscast since he replaced longtime Newswatch anchor Dennis Trudeau.
I’m not quite sure about the strategy behind this. Dual anchors are at best redundant, and while a lot of News at Six involves Godbout speaking, he does it well enough. Especially considering the current firing craze at the network, it seems silly to hire someone new for purely aesthetic reasons.
And even then, what’s the point? Silly host banter? We already have that with Godbout and “weather specialist” Frank Cavallaro.
Besides, the studio space allotted to CBC News at Six is so tiny, it would be cramped with two people inside.
Applications are due by June 10. Any takers?
In this time of CBC staffers losing their jobs is putting another hair doo on the set a good idea?
Although knowing the CBC having 2 white guys hosting the news must be driving the CBC PC police crazy.
Maybe Frank can become a cross dresser.
I wonder if I’d have a chance if I cross-dressed. “The CBC News at 6 with Michel Godbout and Tranny Bandito” has a nice ring to it. I could also read the news in my broken Creole. Maybe I’ll apply.
Dude it’s obvious. They need to put a woman up there. The dude isn’t man bait and isn’t chick bait either. So they’ll hook him up with a woman to balance things out.
If you look at the RDI ad promoting their service, you’ll spot maybe 1 or 2 men in there, the rest is all women. SRC has been criticized lately for not having enough women now it’s mostly women. With men hosting the less favored time slots, possibly with the exception of the Finance newscast.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
That guy is on the English news? I saw him once but couldnt understand a word, assumed he was talking French.
How about Mosé Persico? Didn’t his show get cancelled by CTV? So I guess he’s free.
Or Mado Lamotte? I’d love to see Mado doing the news.
Mosé still works for CFCF. In fact, he’s a production assistant during the newscasts, so he’s busy between 6 and 7.
Even though CBC New At Six may not be the “1-2 Watch” for many viewers, at least it you could take it a little more seriously than what moonlights as a newscast on CTV. So, first Frank Cavallaro (Check out http://www.frankcavallaro.ca) jumps ship and now there’s a search on for what will surely be a female co-anchor. Memo to CBC folks: Todd, Mitzi and the entire Pulse news operation are examples of what NOT do to!
I’m not quite sure on what you base your assertion that CBC’s newscast is better than CTV’s. Not only does CTV produce many more newscasts than CBC does (15 hours a week compared to five), but it has a more professional operation with more experienced journalists and a better studio.
This isn’t to knock anyone at CBC. CFCF’s Pulse and CBMT’s NewsWatch were once neck and neck fighting for viewers, but then CBC made the ill-fated decision to dramatically slash local television newscasts with their “Canada Now” concept. They’ve since gone back to an hour-long newscast and are putting more effort into them, but they have a lot of ground to cover.
As for Cavallaro, he didn’t jump ship, CTV let him go when it didn’t renew his contract, thinking he was too expensive compared to the less experienced but prettier female weather presenters.
I wouldn’t say CBC is is better but it certainly less of a joke than CTV. The CBC desk is a tiny piece of real estate in an otherwise cavernous newsroom that is Radio-Canada HQ. So. yes, stylistically-speaking, CTV wins hands down.
The irony is that it’s the very same “experienced” CTV journalists who are the problem. Mutsumi Takahashi, Stephane Giroux, Anne Lewis, and Randy Tieman are just some of the names that spring to mind. Like tenured professors, they’re there for life. I actually find the younger contingent of reporters (who haven’t yet been welcomed into the “old boys club” to be the most engaging.
Yes, I know Frank Cavallaro was let go from CTV (I shouldn’t have said “jumped ship”). My point was that, by trying to follow in CTV’s footsteps, CBC is succumbing to personality-driven news. And yet they would have a perfectly good role model to follow in Le Telejournal. I don’t know how Patrice Roy manages to host the whole hour by himself….
We are looking for a candidate with the following:
– Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.
– Five (5) years’ on-air experience or equivalent.
– Excellent command of the working language (English).
– Very good knowledge of the other official language (French).
– Extensive general knowledge.
– Extensive knowledge of current affairs, in particular of Quebec public affairs.
– Understanding of the culture of French Canada.
– Strong on air presence and performance.
– Strong interviewing skills.
Oh COME ON!!!! I could Co-Host and interview with my experience. AND if you really want someone with 5 YEARS of ON AIR experience you just move someone from somewhere within the network around.
I hate these ridiculous Job Posting.
Especially since Godbout is doing a GREAT job.
Not ONE mention of the word JOURNALISM
I still miss Pascale Nadeau at 6. :(
I remember when the Telejournal was cut to 30 minutes and had Véro Cloutier’s stoopid interview show on.. I watched the 1st broadcast after that mistake was fixed, and she said that she was “glad tobe back”, I told her (well, I told her image on the tv screen) that I was glad too. I don’t like Patrice Roy’s delivery as much….
I think Godbout has been hauling the load for CBC since all the changes they made in 2006. He’s plowed through it and managed to improve and actually grow on me. Apparently CBC News Montreal at Six has consistently been chewing away viewers (reliable inside info) from CTV. Will a co-host format help them gain more ground or alienate the gained viewers? Your guess is as good as mine. But I hope Godbout stays and gets rewarded for his hard work.
It’s no secret that CBC’s News at Six has been gaining on CTV since it went back to the hour-long format. But it has huge ground to regain from the days when CBC and CTV were seriously competitive with each other. I’m not sure how much adding another anchor will help, compared with spending that money adding another reporter, a columnist or someone who can do proper TV news graphics.