Source : National Post

CTV, Citytv, CBC and Global fight to be Toronto's top local news program

Toronto news junkies have had the luxury of choice when it came to their local suppertime news in recent years. Global NewsTV's local newcast was at 5:30. Citytv and CTV weighed in with theirs a half-hour later. And CBC aired its show at 6:30.

The only problem was that most people have it fixed in their minds that 6 p.m. is when they want their local supper-hour newscast, whether or not they happen to be preparing their meal or eating it at that time.

Both CBC and Global have now acknowledged that viewers want their suppertime local news at 6 -- not 5:30, not 6:30. CBC moved its half-hour show last month, renaming it News at Six. Global (which is owned by CanWest Global Communications Corp., which also owns the National Post) is shifting Global News from 5:30 to 6 this coming Monday. The changes come at a time when all four local newscasts are vying for a larger share of the market.

"It's simply Canadian viewer tradition to want their local news at 6 p.m.," says Sophia Hadzipetros, managing editor at CBC's Toronto bureau. She says the decision to run local news at 6 was the result of an internal study: "People have jobs and work and don't look at the news all day. They want to know what happened when they get home, and they turn to local newscasts at 6."

Global News anchor Leslie Roberts says he heard recurring complaints from viewers that they missed features they had meant to watch because of the early time slot. "The most frustrating thing was to hear that viewers say they missed a story because they weren't home yet," he says.

CTV has been the dominant local news source at suppertime for more than four decades and, as anchor Ken Shaw, says, "We want to stay that way."

Global says that even with a 5:30 slot it was closing in on CTV. It hopes the new time slot will go a long way toward a knock-out punch -- but of course that's exactly what all the stations are looking for: More suppertime viewers.

Bottom line: Never before has the battle for Toronto's eyeballs on local news been so intense. Herewith, then, is a menu of information sources while you eat your dinner.

GLOBAL NEWS

ANCHOR Leslie Roberts

SUPPORTING CAST Michael Kuss (weather), Jim Tatti (sports)

ON THE MENU Global, along with a new look, is moving its local news show to 6 p.m. on Monday from the 5:30 time slot. Global National With Kevin Newman is moving to the 5:30 slot. Over the past 10 months, Global staffers say they've been fine-tuning coverage. Now more of the news will be reported on the street rather than the studio (producers are proud they broadcast the show live from a different neighbourhood each night over the course of a single week last June and again in October). Because Global's Toronto affiliate broadcasts throughout Southeastern Ontario, the scope of the news is necessarily broader. Currently in second-place in the Toronto market, Global News hopes this and its new time slot will give CTV a run for the crown.

SAMPLE STORIES

Contest for the city's favourite Toronto Maple Leaf

An investigative story on how Canadian police officers are teaming up with Jamaica's forces to battle crime in both countries.

WHY WE'LL WATCH Leslie Roberts says there'll be fewer "bystander" stories of crime and car accidents than its competitors, and it will focus more attention to features that span Southeastern Ontario. "I'm a 'new school' anchor," says Roberts. "I'm not anchored to the desk. I go to the scene."

WHO WILL WATCH Those who want elements of CTV's traditional newcast and the hyper-local approach of Citytv.

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CBC NEWS AT SIX

ANCHOR Dianna Swain

SUPPORTING CAST Natasha Ramsahai (weather)

ON THE MENU When CBC started airing the News at Six last month, it shifted the national news program, Canada Now, anchored by Ian Hanomansing, to 6:30. The local newscast has a greater focus on local arts reporting than the competition. Its coverage will increasingly expand beyond the traditional downtown focus of the past. "We're going out further into the GTA, broadening out of the downtown," says Sophia Hadzipetros, managing editor of the Toronto Bureau. "That's where we have the huge viewer opportunity."

SAMPLE STORIES

"Making the Grade," a series in which high school students pitch private members bills to Queen's Park MPPs

"Six in the City," which highlights local cultural events

WHY WE'LL WATCH "Our guiding philosophy is to be a navigational tool," says Swain. "We're a service to find out what's happened and forecasting what's going to happen, and we approach the story in a more clever way than traditional local TV news."

WHO WILL WATCH Those interested in the local arts scene -- and who don't care much for sports at dinnertime. It will also be popular among those who want their local news in a half-hour package (CBC News at Six is the only local news show that ends at 6:30 p.m.). There's no highlight reel on this broadcast.

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CITYNEWS AT SIX

ANCHORS Gord Martineau, Anne Mroczkowski

SUPPORTING CAST Jim McKenny (sports), Harold Hosein (weather), Larysa Harapyn (entertainment)

ON THE MENU Citytv regards itself as the local gold standard because of its proud history as the scrappy independent network. "We were the first newsroom focused on local news, and within the Toronto audience we're perceived as Toronto's main local newscast," says Steve Hurlbut, vice-president of news programming for Citytv and all-news channel CP24. That means more features like "Liveable City," which profiles the charity work of local people. Citytv doesn't have correspondents in foreign capitals, but Hurlbut says the station still reflects international news by covering the impact on local immigrant communities. "We still have to pay attention to news around the world because it speaks to people's homelands," he says, adding that CP 24 would be undergoing an overhaul in its presentation that will likely be unveiled in March. "We're working on a multiple version of the screen, different ways to present the traffic, weather and other info that we have."

SAMPLE STORIES

Consumer watchdog Peter Silverman helps viewers in a feature titled "Silverman Helps"

JoJo Chintoh profiles ordinary citizens in "Day in the Life."

WHY WE'LL WATCH "At the end of the day, your primary concerns are your home, your job, your family, your community. We address those backyard concerns first," says Martineau.

WHO WILL WATCH Those who like their news close to home.

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CTV NEWS

ANCHOR Ken Shaw, Christine Bentley

SUPPORTING CAST Lance Brown (sports), Dave Devall (weather), Jacintha Wesselingh (entertainment)

ON THE MENU CTV, the leading dinner-hour newscast, is relying on its tried-and-tested formula and veteran staff (some have been on the job for 25 years) to keep its pole position. Unlike City and Global, CTV sticks to the traditional U.S.-style format of dinner-hour news shows, beginning the hour with local stories, then branching out to include national and international news along with health and consumer features. "We're very fortunate to have tradition on our side, being the suppertime staple since the 1960s," says Paul Rogers, vice-president news for CTV News Toronto. He also says size matters in local news: "We've tremendous resources that the competition can't match. We've got more cameras and reporters than the others."

SAMPLE STORIES

"Lifetime," a feature-length health report by Monica Matys

"Consumer Report" with Pat Foran.

WHY WE'LL WATCH "There's the sizzle and there's the steak. The sizzle (the presentation and look) will change, but the steak (the heart of the news) that doesn't change. We're a full-service, suppertime newscast," says anchor Ken Shaw.

WHO WATCHES People who want a broad overview of local, national and international news, delivered by familiar faces.

TORONTO'S SIX ANCHORS AT SIX O'CLOCK

CTV

ANCHOR: Ken Shaw

CAREER PATH: Anchor since April, 2001. Before that was weekend anchor at CTV Newsnet and worked in CHFI Radio newsroom.

ANCHOR: Christine Bentley

CAREER PATH: Has been at CTV since 1977. Prior to getting behind 6 p.m. anchor desk, was co-anchor of CFTO News at 11:30 p.m. and anchor of weekend newscasts.

GLOBAL

ANCHOR: Leslie Roberts

AGE: 43

CAREER PATH: Has been anchor since September, 2001. Previously worked for Fox News in New York City, Global Quebec and CFCF in Montreal.

CITYTV

ANCHOR: Gord Martineau

AGE: 57

CAREER PATH: Anchor at Citytv since 1977. Prior to that was anchor at CFCF in Montreal.

ANCHOR: Anne Mroczkowski

AGE: 52

CAREER PATH: Anchor of Citytv's supper-hour news since 1988, and Citytv Weekend before that. Has been at Citytv since career started in 1978.

CBC

ANCHOR: Diana Swain

AGE: 40

CAREER PATH: Became anchor in September, 2004. Worked at CBC since 1990, including stints with The National and Disclosure.

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