The final numbers from the civic elections are in … and, no, I’m talking about the mail-in ballots.
This is about the IMPORTANT numbers … if you’re in the media, a media junkie …or an advertising buyer: election night TV ratings.
CBC had a HUGE advantage, going to its election coverage Saturday right out of Hockey Night in Canada …so in the opening moments the local Vancouver CBC outlet led all other stations … and then tanked, reportedly ending up third out of the three local network stations.
And that’s REALLY bad when you consider that Global TV didn’t even bother offering full election coverage on its CHAN flagship, but relegated it to its sidebar cousin BC1 , which isn’t even offered to Telus or Bell cable subscribers. (By the way, why is that? Corporate censorship? Or just a competitive snit?)
The winner: CTV … drawing 133,000 viewers… peaking at 183,800 at one point. And even I’m impressed with that …considering it was, after all, civic election results and on a Saturday night to boot.
What the numbers also showed is how Global continues to pay a price …lower ratings … for its dismissal of local election coverage.
Not only did they relegate their comprehensive coverage to BC1, they didn’t even bring in Chris Gailus to anchor the results, analysis. Surprising for a station that advertises itself so widely as “BC’s News” station.
I guess not … if it involves weekend overtime for its prime-time anchor or interferes with Saturday night American programming.
Or was this just a stage rehearsal for some Shaw Global plan to eventually relegate all or most of its news coverage to BC1, so it can cash in by putting MORE dramas, reality shows and American programming on CHAN.
And the worst part of it all…the CRTC is complicit in allowing … even in my view encouraging …the billionaire media corporations to slash and kill off local news coverage.
But here are the BBM results for the “Special” election night programs, in the all-important 25-54 years old demographic:
CTV’s Election 2014 … a 3.1 rating; Global’s BC1 News Special … 1.3 rating; and, CBC’s Election Special … a 0.7 rating.
And the unkindest wound?
It was CTV that was up on the big screens and most widely watched at various civic party election headquarters.
Lucky I’m retired.
If I was still working for Global …I would have been devastated by that and any decision to NOT carry an election special on our major station.
But the saddest part: I’m not sure that anyone cares anymore.
Harv Oberfeld
I can understand why BC1 didn’t bring in Chris Gailus to anchor the election results. It’s because it didn’t involve any bear or dog stories.
Puts paid to all the local media “agony aunts” who prior to E-day decry the low turnout, yet on the night itself show a decidedly lack of interest in giving folks the result. They’ve become nothing more than pet finders and government press release “rip-n-readers”.
BTW, Harv, the time on your comments section is 1 hour ahead. DST while you were cruisin’.
(Response: I’m in Florida … where it is raining! h.o)
TV has changed and we are watching less TV and more internet. The Millennials and post Millennials even watch less.
My regime on TV yesterday. Al Sharpton on MSNBC for 30 minutes and the next guy for 20 minutes, 2 reruns of MASH, a half hour sit com that was so full of retreads it was embarrassing to watch and Elementary (which has lost its edge), which I slept through!
The local TV stations have grown lazy, very lazy and they have completely lost me.
This must be worrisome for advertisers and by extension, political party’s will have to rethink television advertising because I don’t watch the local stations.
The sad thing is, local TV stations are not even trying, they have given up and I am afraid I have given up on them.
Note to the CBC: You are a parody of a TV station, I know its not your fault because Herr Harper and his band of thugs are afraid of you, but you guys really must try harder.
Shaw cable locally and Global, owned by Shaw were terrible in their coverage. As a former broadcaster it does not show us in a “good” light.
Old days … everyone covered the election.
Global going down slowly …
(Response: I blame the CRTC. They have been letting the corporations that own the media do more with less for decades because the corps cry the revenue blues … but then issue annual reports to their own shareholders saying how well they’re doing. h.o)
Why the T.V. option of news is beginning to diminish – we have persons who would spend 30 minutes listening to the racist rants of the likes of the Al Sharptons of the world, on such nonsensical channels as MSNBC. (apparently, it still exists!). That said, I must confess to watching such goofy shows as America’s Favorite Videos (there is something about children and animals that is endearing) , even if I cannot say the same for young males trying to skateboard down railings, thus endangering their ability to reproduce in later life. And of course there is the mesmerizing effect of Emperor Obama relating how he intends on breaking the laws of the Republic to satisfy his sensitive ego. I believe it was Chesterton (who else?)who noted that when you nullify the big laws, you don’t get freedom, you get small laws!
Shocking coverage from global. Tired of watching breaking new on bc1 with all the crap running down the side and on the bottoms specially if you have an old shaw pvr that doesn’t give u high definition. Yes I couldn’t believe they went with two anchors that hardly anybody knows, except for Ted field who we haven’t seen for so long.
Thank god for CTV!!!!!!
Two of the old reporters I actually dealt with (while working the Surrey Law Courts) were Ted Field and George Garrett – both professionals and gentlemen – they could always get a little info from me that various others went without because they treated you like and idiot or talked down to you.
Quote: “the racist rants of the likes of the Al Sharptons of the world, on such nonsensical channels as MSNBC. ”
Really Larry? I find that the Rev. Sharpton quite level headed, considering the entrenched racism that afflicts the USA today.
Try listening to FOX news, which is stomach churning in its arrogance and ignorance.
I watch US news to try to understand the American way of doing things and their corrupted political system. Knowledge is power.
That being said, GLOBAL wins the wet noodle award for being the most irrelevant Vancouver TV Station around, with the CBC being a close second.
The Knowledge network is my favourite local TV network.
S orry Harvey but it seems that Shaw/ Global is finished. The two leaders in lower mainland information and entertainmnet are quickly becoming has beens. NW has finaly come up with a format that has me thinking about at satalite radio subscription. We havent watched Galius and company for a couple of months.
On TV you have to put up with running ads or other news scrolling across the bottom. On radio NW has decided to play loud background shoulder music. It plays overtop of the shows host while he/she yaks with the producer. I cant believe that racket plays while Mcomb tries to converse with Jessica Garres. He must meet Galius for drinks and lament that they are both in a death spiral of ratings and ad revenue. I wonder how long before the advertisers on NW figure out listeners simply hit the mute button to avoid the louder than need be ads and the dribble between radio staffers.
LARY BENNNNNNETT 7 is almost certainly a FOX [FAUX] NEUS and/or SUN SNOOZE fan for their ”fare and balllanced” reportage
D.M. Johnston
Not that I have much of an opinion on anything but I can mange to comment on a few things here.
Any one that cannot see that Al Sharpton is nothing more than a “Race Pimp” requires a very serious cleaning of the Lens of their “Rose Coloured Glasses”!!
D.M. says “I find The Rev. Sharpton quite level headed” Really?!! That is quite laughable because I find that statement to be incredibly funny, sorry! As a matter of fact I personally find Rev. Al about as level headed as Katherine Hepburn’s head on a Helicopter ride!!!
No offence meant to anyone there, I am sure KH would appreciate my attempt at humour.
As to MSNBC – Not much more I can say to you there than just look at the Ratings!!
As to America and Racism. Yes it is there Racism there but it is much better than before. In fact it is probably less Racist than much of The EU!!
Please do not forget the fact that The U.S. (much of it evil in your eyes) have and still always taken in more Visible Minority Immigrants/Refugees than any other Country in the World!
Yes they have their Warts but ask almost anyone anywhere that wants to get out of a S*** Hole of a Country and they want to reach the shores of The U.S. Talk to anyone in Cuba they will confirm that fact. Before someone jumps in here and accuses the U.S. of harming Cubans in Cuba with the embargo keep in mind that Cubans in The U.S. Citizens and Residents alike endorse the U.S. Policies on Cuba!!
By the way, when was the last time you saw a group of Visible Minorities in the U.S. run down to the Beach in Miami, cobble a Raft together by using Old Cigar Boxes and then “Row off to Cuba”? Please send me a Pic if you see that happen..
My son is a Visible Minority, he played College Golf in The U.S. and yes did experience some mild Racism. But unlike in The EU and UK no one ever threw a Banana at him!!!!!
Just look at the last Bush Administration a Republican and the Obama Cabinet Members. There were and are many Minorities in some of the most important posts. I am almost sure that Bush had them there because of their abilities. Much the same for Obama I would guess although I believe Holder and Susan Rice were there partly for other reasons. Eric Holder has probably been the weakest, most Political Attorney General since WW ll. Much too dishonest and far too Political for me!!! Susan was and is just plain a Failure”!!
By the way please also keep in mind that The Bush Administration did more for Africa than any other Administration or Country for that matter than at any other time in History!!!
Having said that I am quite sure that other than Vancouver, much of the rest of Canada and perhaps Honolulu there are not many better places to live if you are a Visible Minority or in a mixed Marriage. Affording it of course is another thing!
I found Global and NW coverage of the municipal Elections to be absolutely inept, incompetent, and just plane lousy! Was not too impressed with The Vancouver Sun and the way they provided Election numbers on various Cities, Parks, School Boards etc. One of the local give away papers had a much better format. I was however very happy/satisfied with some of The Sun/Province Columnists and their analysis of the election. H.O. may not agree with my assessment but then he knows more about Media Coverage than I would.
I am sure that one day soon many of the NW Advertisers will realize that the Demographic that the Genius of a Program director there is attempting to attract do not purchase what they have to sell.
Millennials do not purchase……..
Metro Fords, Fireplaces, BMW, Mercedes, Roofers, Funerals, Vacations to Hawaii, Fortis, B.C. Ferries, Financial Planners, Emco, etc. etc.
The only things Millennials are interested in are powered by two thumbs!!
NW should be after folks 45 years and older, retired people, people that consume and spend money on other things.
I agree 13, McComb must be sickened by the new changes. I have already renewed my Satellite and I do not listen to NW between 10:00 AM and 4:55 AM when I head off to work each Morning. I do listen from 12:00 PM through Bruce Allen if I am in the Car.
Simi, Eck, Rex, Ted,? Do not quite get any of them!!! But then what do I know?
D. M., you would probably really enjoy Ted!! Yikes!!!
I must comment that I find it interesting about 90% of Posters here are somewhat Left of Centre yet the overall opinion of “The New World” at CKNW and their Left of Centre Programming/Agenda does not play well with many. Interesting!! Am I reading this wrong?
What’s a TED?
Poor old Rev. Sharpton, seems he has his detractors in Canada.
Racism is endemic in the USA and the blacks are at the bottom of the food chain so to speak. I am not qualified to make the observation of who has failed under the Obama administration, but when the opposition is made of largely of racist Tea-Party types and evangelicals, who would rather cripple the government and see the poor do not have a medical plan and rather have them die, makes for interesting theater.
Good lord, the Tea-Party still think that Obama wasn’t born in the USA, they deny climate warming, think women should stay at home and have babies and mostly, that god is on their side.
As for NW, I still yearn for the golden age of Webster and Mair, and as they are but history, so is ‘NW, don’t watch, don’t listen.
I was wondering where the election news coverage was on Global….
I have a Telus subscription ( soon to be cancelled when the contract runs out).
I thoght it was a tad bizzarre that there was no coverage after the election at 8pm so I went searching. Lousy coverage. And as pointed out, somewhat ironic when all the media were chastizing the public for low voter turnout. They seem to want US to “walk the walk” but not report it.
As for the 6pm “News”. I was watching the same “cute puppy” stories the other noight when Gailus introduced the Late news host so she could cover the topics of the 11pm news.
They topics were ALL very interesting and I would have loved to have heard about them at 6pm!
Is this what has happened? All controversial stories are bumped to the 11pm news so that no one watches to save the govt( aka Globals largest advertising client) embarrassment?
Pathetic.
Good submission BMCQ, especially re: Sharpton and others of his ilk, along with the usual anti-Americanism found here and throughout the internet, but especially self-righteous Canadian liberals. I remember years ago when the great athlete Charles Barkley let it be known that he would be backing the Republicans in the next election. His grandma became upset, saying that them Republicans were only for the millionaires – to which Charles replied “Grandma, I AM a millionaire”. Just recently in the National Review he is heard claiming that unless you’re either an idiot or a you are thug, Blacks will accuse you of not being “Black” enough. Course, that is not all Blacks, as most are too busy working and raising their families to have much to say.
Sharpton level headed? Cant wait to hear Al when the grand jury rules on the cop that shot the 18 yr old black kid
I sure hope that the program director at NW reads Keeping it Real.
45 and older have disposable income. They need what NW s advertisers are selling.
45 and older dont want to hear Eckfords left wing opinion on drugs (pots a okay) or climate change. ( buy a hydrogen powered toyota $60g)
For purely selfish reasons I hope kornexpress gets canned.
Al Sharpton has used the word “homos” to refer to Ancient Greeks and “hymies” to refer to modern day Jews living in Manhattan. His race baiting with respect to Trayvon Martin was absolutely disgusting. Same goes for his fanning the flames of racism every time a young black is shot and killed in America, regardless of whether that black youth may have been a street thug. In both the cases of Trayon Martin and Michael Brown, Sharpton intentionally lied about their backgrounds and distorted the facts of both cases. In addition, he is woefully under qualified to speak on legal matters, as he spent the earlier part of his career as a pimp. Yet, I am to listen to his opinions and take them seriously when he talks about advancing the cause of young women? He even tried to commit Michael Jackson, an inveterate pedophile, to an apotheosis while the body was still warm. Al Sharpton is not someone who deals in facts. Then again, neither is anyone here who has defended him. Tough to have a reality check when you know nothing about reality.
As for election night coverage, I was embarrassed for Global. I stopped watching half way through as Charlie Smith’s performance was so utterly embarrassing, I couldn’t take it. Most disappointingly, my old pal Ms. Sara was dreadfully prepared and continued to make statements which were demonstrably untrue, both about Vancouver and Surrey results, in particular. I switched to CTV, which is the station I watch every day.
NW? What’s that?! Who bothers to listen anymore? It’s become a complete joke. Call me when you’re back from the Florida rains, Harv. I’ll buy. It’s been too long.
(Response: I am well aware of Sharpton’s past when I regarded him more as an opportunist and rabble rouser than a religious or activist leader. But I sense he has changed (if George Wallace could, why not Sharpton too?) and I must admit I enjoy watching him occasionally on MSNBC and I agree with much of what he says …and so do many others, armed with powerful stats, that the rich are getting richer and the middle class and poorer people are sharing less and less in the profits of our society. As for my former alma mater , Global, there are still many people there who care and decry what management have done to that once-venerable news champion. h.o)
D.M.
Ted is a NPR Show imported from NPR that NW Broadcasts on the weekend. I cannot listen to it at all. As I stated you would most likely quite enjoy it.
As I stated further up the page here Al Sharpton is nothing more than a “Race Pimp” plain and simple!! Same goes for Jessie Jackson!!
Tavis is a much better person for African Americans to identify with. At least the man has some Integrity and strength of Character. I do not agree with everything he says but he is doing his to be genuine and still support the Black Community. About 70% of African Amerians are born out of wed lock and as a Community they need good roll models like Tavis and what we once thought Bill Cosby was. Very sad that that seems to be ending badly. Let us hope it plays out better than it looks at this time.
Sorry about Sharpton D.M. it is obvious his detractors are not just in Canada!
I find it interesting that you claim not to be qualified to comment on failures in the Obama Administration yet you feel more than qualified to comment and paint with a very broad brush anything and everything on The Tea Party. Really?! Many of us tend to do that when we do not want to face or admit the truth when pointed out!
Please try to remember that Lincoln was NOT a Democrat!!
The Tea party is certainly not perfect and yes there certainly is a lunatic fringe but most here would probably agree with about 80% of what they say. Once again it is the Lunatic fringe that cripple them. As a matter of fact in spite of the Democratic stumble in the mid-terms I doubt very much that we will see a Republican President for another generation. Fact is Hispanics, Mexican and Cubans are naturals for the Republican Party. They are Industrious, believe in Families and are religious.
Problem for the GOP is that between The Tea Party mistakes and The Democrats ability to paint them as the Boogey Man in the closet the Hispanics are afraid of the Republicans and do not support them. Liberals at once did the same thing to Conservatives in Canada. New comers finally figured that out.
It may have been a totally different situation in The U.S. if Condoleeza Ricce was the V.P. Candidate for either McCain or Romney. I still feel that she would have eventually made a great President and she would have secured much of the Womens Vote as well as the votes of many Minorities. Now instead of President of The U.S. she may be the next President of The NFL.
Simi
Disingenuous at best. She attempts to look balanced yet she does everything she can to court and interview those that criticize or oppose any legislation or action taken by the Federal Conservatives or the B.C. Liberal Governments. I freely admit I support both, but I still have many concerns with much of what they do. The big thing for me is I usually am more concerned about the alternative!! That is very important to me. If she is 100% against everything they do I can live with that but do not pretend that you are “Fair and Balanced”!! She actually attempted to tell me one time that she gets complaints from NDP supporters telling her she is biased toward the B.C. Libs. That is almost as silly as someone here trying to tell us that Al Sharpton is level headed!!! Wow!!
In the past I have called into Simi about a half a dozen times, painted her into a corner regarding her points or prejudices at the time and found she simply turned the volume off on me when I was attempting to challenge what she was doing. Once when she had David Eby as guest I challenged the both of them on a point or two just after her pre amble with him. It got somewhat heated, she put me on hold, went to break, went to break and came back without her guest Eby and then went onto another topic. He was actually in Studio and simply vanished! I was merely questioning his credibility in reference to his cooperation with the anarchists the day before the opening of the 2010 Olympics.
Will not bore anyone here with details but I find her impossible to listen to. As stated up the page somewhere I find NW is on a very slippery slope and the Genius P.D. is Greasing the Skids internally. Where is Station management?
What is an “NPR” show? Lord, BMCQ, you got me liking programs I have never heard of?
Should I raise to the bait, no. I let closets racists embarrass themselves as they always do.
What I do see is American style hate leaching into Canada in the most unsavoury ways, mostly by the right wing types who still can not get over “coloured” entrances in stores.
American gun laws such as “stand your ground” designed to murder blacks or American police officers who believe that they shoot innocent blacks because they reprieve them to be a threat.
I have seen racism first hand in Vancouver and I do remember separate entrances for “coloured” people and a “coloured” section in a department store cafe in the late 50’s in Portland.
As for political reporting, I think it is time to do it the British way – no reporting of the vote until every vote is counted and the winner is to be announced.
I think it funny that there are so many Rev. Al Sharpton haters here (can’t have a black man not know his place and all that), so much time wasted by hating, but I think H.O. will have enough of this, while Larry, Mr. B, et al, go listen to their idol Donald Trump pontificate just where Obama was really born. Now is that on TED or NPR?
We shouldn’t be rough on Simi Sara.
We all know what CKNW is so it should be no surprise, that a host in her early 30s with a family to feed would listen when management had a little chat with her.
Really, all that’s on her resume, is host of a cooking show that she was canned from. If ‘NW let her go at this point, that would be 3 axes to fall in 6 years. That’s not a bothersome stat among hockey coaches but in the regular workforce it doesn’t look good.
She had some hard hitting shows in the beginning but it didn’t take long for her show to become entertainment instead of news.
Obviously someone got to her and she took a long hard look at her options.
“Ted Radio” is a U.S. “National Public Radio” Program either Re-Broadcast or carried Live by CKNW at 11:00 AM Sat. and Sun. I really hate giving them any publicity but I suppose it is only fair to provide you with the correct information.
The reason I mentioned that is I thought you would enjoy. I was simply coming to that conclusion by what you comment in your posts.
Myself I heard it once for about 10 minutes, cannot listen any more, end of story.
Did not mean to bait you.
Said all I can about Sharpton.
When I refer to him as a “Race Pimp” it is much the same way I refer to too many like Vancouver’s Jean Swanson, Jenny Kwan, Townsend, his wife and many others that were involve with The Portland Hotel Society recent and past as “Poverty Pimps”, my opinion and I have many reasons and experiences to say that.
I hope the closet Racist shot was not directed at me. You know nothing about me, my family background or personal relationships.
As to your comment about seeing Racism. I touched on this earlier up the page somewhere but I will expand somewhat. My 25 year old Son who happens to be Adopted and a Visible Minority Played College Golf in California.
Until local Police got to know him he was pulled over and searched 9 times the first two or three months he was at the University. Profiling. He had and has no Criminal Record or arrest in his life, past or present. Profiling.
On the other side of things. Crime dropped dramatically in New York under “Stop and Frisk”, something like 60%. Since new Mayor DiBlasio has taken Office and done away with “Stop and Frisk” Crime is once again climbing at an alarming rate.
You fancy yourself as an expert on Race perhaps you can offer President Obama and that Genius Eric Holder some input on how to solve it!!
Its hard to control the name calling when people dissagree with you, isnt it DM? To label people as racists because they dont hero worship those that you do reminds me of a school teacher that decided I was a troll because I dissagreed with her over the teachers strike/lockout.
All of your history lessons about racism arent lost on anyone. To dredge up that back of the bus crap is a very weak argument. Its the past, and places where it isnt yet past are fewer and harder to find.
Once again try to make your point without labeling people racists
Very disappointed in the comments on this story.
How did Harvey’s astute reporting on the civic elections turn into such a stinking pile of goo?
Some of your commenters should have a long look in the mirror…and park your ideologies at the door.
No one cares except you – trust me.
(Response: Thanks. It is amazing, isn’t it! Some people have ideological agendas or biases or even bigotries that so pervade their lives, they interpret EVERYTHING to fit into some context where they use the freedom of the blogosphere to let it flow… no matter the topic under discussion And they don’t realize how transparent it all is … leading most to dismiss whatever they say. Thankfully, though there are LOTS of others who contribute great thoughts and ideas, from varying points of view, who still make the discussions quite interesting. h.o)
Sorry, but does ideology not play a “HUGE” part of our philosophical view point on almost every decision/ belief/aspect of our daily life?
You yourself challenge some here including myself because of the very simple fact that your ideology is quite possibly “Polar Opposite” to mine!! So what!
I find what D.M. said up in post 10 crazy!! That does not mean I begrudge him his opinion!! Yes I will challenge and argue against the “Warped Logic” he employs in believing Sharpton is level headed but I would never tell him to look into the mirror and park his ideology at the door.
H.O. is obviously the Moderator/Host here and I respect that. He can be the Judge as to whether we make Bigoted or Hate type comments. I am willing to live with that.
Having said that we all have our Biases, that is why many of us are here!! We ae to argue discuss debate, and that is what makes much of this exchange of ideas educational, insightful, entertaining, and just fun!!
Yes, some of us including myself step over the line but for the most part we are individuals and we quite often have differing opinions on topics presented here!!
Some including myself seem to go on longer than we should and in fact wander a little bit off topic. That is when H.O. should step in and bring us back to reality.
Feel free to tell me just how wrong I am here Bean.
I get attacked and challenged on almost everything I post here. I am very well aware that you are most likely referring to me with some of your comments.
(Response: Ideology does affect the way people look at various issues and ideas, but for some, whatever the topic, they USE the discussion to bring in all kinds of personal ideology, bigotries and biases that have absolutely nothing to do with the issue at hand. For example, if someone writes a blog about the civic election turnout ..I believe it’s a ridiculous, even a pathetic stretch if somehow uses/twists that topic somehow, to mock let’s say, the way some people pronounce the word “tomato”…unless they’re writing from Riverview. h.o.)
Basic common sense, should be for everyone here to understand and accept.
Thank you!
Harvey – I wonder how many people will GET this…..
“You’re so vain…you probably think this song is about you….”
(Response: Exactly. h.o)
trying to stay on topic here. yes I agree, the reporting was less than stellar. Broadcasters do have a public duty to report the news and that is not happening in any professional manner. well, in my opinion, comparing it to reporting of even 20/30 yrs ago.
if broadcasters can not deliver the news in a meaningful manner than perhaps they ought not to be in the business. they are using the Canadian “air waves”. They do stand to make a very tidy profit from it all.
Oh how I do yearn for the days of Knowlton Nash and Walter Cronkite. Now we settle for what passes for news, is more like a version of the news, frequently slanted with the usage of words to convey an opinion. What passes for news frequently can be covered in less than 10 minutes. the rest is just “filler” and not entertaining at that. It takes up 2 hrs every late afternoon. I would much rather watch or read something interesting, like the comic books or paint dry.
(Response: Of course, if you want “stellar” reporting, you have to hire people who have background in the area you want covered: clearly does not seem to be happening anymore at Global when it comes to political or investigative reporting. Management have gone for something else and are paying the price in their ratings….which are a couple of hundred thousand below what they used to be consistently. And by not even having a program on their main channel, they showed their disdain for covering election night at all.At CBC , my impression is they went for glibness, flash and almost a patronizing attitude …and even with a head start after Hockey, went downhill …losing out to CBC. As for staying on topic, perhaps I have been too kind, too easy …and am now considering not publishing comments that just use ANY topic to write about totally irrelevant other topics. h.o)