CTV, CBC producer Ron Carlyle dies at 78

Ron Carlyle, who produced a variety of programs at CTV, CBC and Dome Productions, died on Tuesday at age 78. One of his last gigs at CTV was on the lifestyle and consumer program Live It Up, where he produced segments and was the program's on-air "watchdog" who never showed his face but did tests such as how many lights do you get with a bic lighter as opposed to a cricket lighter.

Funerals services will be held on Tuesday, February 7, at 11 a.m., at the R.S. Kane funeral chapel, 6250 Yonge Street, south of Finch. Visitations are Monday 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.

Senior officials praised bureaucrat for phony Sun News citizenship ceremony

Two senior Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials — including the registrar of Canadian citizenship — thanked and congratulated a mid-level bureaucrat for organizing a fake citizenship ceremony broadcast on Sun News Network, internal department emails show.

“Thanks for the feed back (sic) and the quick fix to bring CIC staff,” writes Raylene Baker, registrar of Canadian citizenship, to Tracie LeBlanc, acting senior communications adviser for the department’s Ontario office, in an email obtained under Access to Information laws by The Canadian Press.

LeBlanc is the bureaucrat who, according to the emails, recruited six of her colleagues to participate in a citizenship reaffirmation ceremony at Sun News Network’s Toronto studio last October that purported to show 10 “new” Canadians “finally” attaining their citizenship.

“Tracie saved the day on this one! Merci mille fois Tracie!” Ian Darragh, director of communications for Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Ontario branch, writes in another email to a colleague.

Sun News interview didn’t violate ethics code, CBSC rules

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled Friday that Sun News Network’s interview last year with interpretive dancer Margie Gillis did not violate the group’s ethics code.

Krista Erickson, host of Canada Live, interviewed Gillis on June 1, 2011 as part of a series on taxpayer-funded arts grants. The network displayed the amount that Gillis and her dance foundation received in government grants since 1998.

Erickson questioned Gillis about why she received the funding, and grilled her for saying Canada was not a “compassionate society” while giving out arts grants and fighting in Afghanistan.

The CBSC says it received a record 6,676 complaints about the broadcast. Most said the interview was unfairly harsh, while others classified the figures as misleading.

The council’s release says that “although somewhat heated,” the interview did not violate the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ ethics code for balance and fairness.

“While Erickson was forceful, she did not make any nasty comments about Gillis personally,” the ruling said.

Sun TV's fake citizenship ceremony canon fodder for other media

 CP outed SUN TV's fake citizenship ceremony. Sun TV's competitors just love it.

 Here is Star columnist Heather Malick: 

Fake Sun TV segment has mocked our democracy

"When Stephen Harper’s government wants a happy clap-clap Canadian moment on Sun News, it goes the Full North Korean.

Yes, six of the “new Canadians” attending a “reaffirmation” ceremony for Citizenship Week in the Sun studios last fall turn out not to have been recently minted citizens after all. As The Canadian Press’ Jennifer Ditchburn has reported, they were actually federal bureaucrats told to smile and wave the damn flag like they meant it.

The thing looked like a school play with grown-ups. Sad frightened grown-ups.

According to CP, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s office had asked Sun News to do a soft news segment, at the network’s studio, on new citizens taking the oath. It does sound as though the Tories and Sun News are joined at the hip. I have never worked anywhere in journalism where the government phoned and asked you to do anything. Oh yeah, when an 8-year-old designs a Christmas stamp, we’ll be there.

But journalists and government never get together and fake stuff. That would be a firing offence, presumably on both sides. How times have changed. . .."

The full column:

Newspapers will remain in demand

Publishers of the four Toronto dailies agree that the newspapers have a future. “I feel very optimistic about the long term for our news organizations … the best of times are ahead for the best of brands,” said Toronto Star publisher John Cruickshank, during a panel discussion at the Four Seasons hotel on Thursday. Read it in the Star by clicking headline.