Posts with the Radio and TV Arts tag

Barris Beat

A Frightenstein who done it

Written by Ted Barris on . 1 Comment

The reporter had asked her final question about my appearance at a regional theatre in Alberta that afternoon. Jana Semeniuk turned her camera off. But she gestured for me to stay put for a second. She had one more question to ask, but she wanted to be sure it was OK to ask it on camera. I nodded.

“Have you ever heard of the TV show The Hilarious House of Frightenstein?” she asked. I nodded again. “Is it true you wrote that show?”

“Half true,” I said. “I co-created it with my writing partner Ross Perigoe. Want to know more? Roll your camera and I’ll tell you.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Speaking truth to power

Written by Ted Barris on . 1 Comment
Ross Perigoe criticizes a major Canadian newspaper for its commentary after the 9/11 attacks.
Ross Perigoe criticizes a major Canadian newspaper for its commentary after the 9/11 attacks.

In the days following 9/11, the West had revenge top of mind. Within days of the terrorist attacks, U.S. President George Bush promised his armies would avenge the deaths of the 3,000 Americans killed, claiming that the perpetrators were “Islamists commanded to kill Christians and Jews” and that they were therefore “wanted dead or alive.” Most in North America accepted his Wild West form of justice.

At the time, however, a professor at Concordia University in Montreal did not. Almost at his peril, journalist and educator Ross Perigoe criticized the powers that be, in particular the Montreal Gazette, for what he called its racist response to 9/11.

“I am in the Place des Arts metro station,” Perigoe cited a Gazette editorialist on Sept. 19, 2011, “I see three men, one wearing a turban. I start to shake.”

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Barris Beat

Freedoms in a crisis

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Royal 22nd Regiment soldier stands guard on a bridge in Montreal following the implementation of the War Measures Act, Oct. 16, 1970 (photo courtesy Canadian Press).
Royal 22nd Regiment soldier stands guard on a bridge in Montreal following the implementation of the War Measures Act, Oct. 16, 1970 (photo courtesy Canadian Press).

The other night, I sent a couple of dozen of my journalism students out into the night. They had to go to one of the municipalities where the public was voting for mayors, councillors and/or aldermen. Their job was to get the perspective of the loser and the reaction of the winner in their chosen ward for the record. The reaction I got from one or two members of my class of practising reporters amazed me.

“Why is it so important to do this?” one student asked.

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