This Hour Has Seven Days was a controversial CBC Television newsmagazine, which ran from 1964 to 1966. The show, inspired by the British satirical series That Was The Week That Was, was created by Patrick Watson and Douglas Leiterman as an avenue for a more stimulating and boundary-pushing brand of television journalism. CBC executives believed the show went beyond the limits of journalistic ethics and cancelled the show, leading to allegations of political interference. Current CBC Television logo. ... A newsmagazine, sometimes called news magazine, is a usually weekly magazine featuring articles on current events. ... 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... Satire is a literary technique of writing or art which exposes the follies of its subject (for example, individuals, organizations, or states) to ridicule, often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. ... That Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, was a satirical television comedy program that aired on the BBC in 1962 and 1963. ... Patrick Watson, C.O.C. (born December 23, 1929) has been a prolific and outspoken Canadian broadcaster, author, commentator and television producer for five decades. ...

The show debuted on October 4, 1964, with hosts John Drainie, Laurier LaPierre and Carole Simpson. Simpson was soon replaced by Dinah Christie, and Watson himself replaced Drainie in the show's second season when Drainie (who died in 1966) was too ill to continue with the series. October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in Leap years). ... 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Laurier L. LaPierre (born November 21, 1929) is a retired Canadian Senator and former broadcaster, journalist and author. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ...

The show used a one-hour newsmagazine format which combined satirical songs (performed by Simpson or Christie) and sketches with hard news interviews, reports and documentaries. Personalities associated with the show as reporters, interviewers or documentarians included Beryl Fox, Donald Brittain, Allan King, Warner Troyer, Jack Webster, Larry Zolf and Pierre Trudeau. Donald Code Brittain (June 10, 1928 – July 21, 1989) was a Canadian documentary filmmaker. ... Allan King (born February 6, 1930, Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian film director. ... Jack Webster (1915 - March 2, 1999) was a Canadian journalist, radio and television personality. ... The Right Honourable Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, PC , CC , CH , QC , MA , LL.L , LL.D , FRSC (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was the fifteenth Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 3, 1979, and from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984. ...

One documentary commissioned by This Hour, Fox's Vietnam War film Mills of the Gods, became one of the most famous Canadian documentary films ever produced. The Vietnam War or Second Indochina War was a conflict between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN, or North Vietnam), allied with the National Liberation Front (NLF, or Viet Cong) against the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, or South Vietnam), and their allies—notably the United States military in support of...

One of the most dramatic techniques was to ambush politicians and other figures at their homes or on their way to work and ask them difficult questions. Many leading figures were very poor at these unrehearsed-for interviews.

The show was also instrumental in news coverage of the Munsinger Affair, a 1966 sex scandal involving former federal Minister of Defense Pierre Sévigny. When Zolf showed up on Sévigny's doorstep in pursuit of the story, Sévigny whacked Zolf on the head with his cane. The Munsinger Affair was Canadas first national political sex scandal. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... Pierre Sévigny, Officer of the Order of Canada (September 12, 1917 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada-March 20, 2004 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) was a Canadian politician and war hero. ...

Among other controversies inspired by the show, LaPierre was once shown wiping away tears on the air after a filmed interview, a report on the Miss Canada pageant was criticized as journalistic "poaching" because the rival CTV Television Network had exclusive coverage rights to the event, and an interview with members of the Ku Klux Klan was deliberately engineered to provoke an on-air reaction when a black civil rights activist was brought in, unannounced, to join the interview partway through. Venessa Fisher, Miss Universe canada 2004 comes from Waterdown, Ontario. ... CTV is Canadas largest privately owned English language television network. ... Members of the second Ku Klux Klan at a rally during the 1920s. ...

Cancellation

Concerned about the show's approach to the news, the CBC cancelled This Hour on May 8, 1966. This resulted in a public outcry, perhaps the largest for any program in Canadian television history. The show remained in the news for weeks as viewers demonstrated, wrote letters and made angry phonecalls, CBC staff threatened to resign, newspaper editorials fulminated about political interference in the decision, and politicians demanded a parliamentary inquiry. The show remained one of the most popular on television. May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... The Parliament of Canada (French: Parlement du Canada) is Canadas legislative branch, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. ...

The show's coverage of the Munsinger Affair, just weeks before its cancellation, was believed by some observers to be a major reason for the CBC's efforts to shut the show down.

A parliamentary committee hearing was convened, and Prime Minister Lester Pearson appointed a special investigator. The final reports chastised both sides in the dispute, but was particularly harsh with the CBC for its heavy-handedness and bureaucratic timidity. The Prime Minister of Canada, the head of the Canadian government, is usually the leader of the political party with the most seats in the Canadian House of Commons. ... The Right Honourable Lester Bowles Mike Pearson (April 23, 1897 - December 27, 1972) was the fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada from April 22, 1963, to April 20, 1968, and also a 1957 Nobel Laureate. ...

Legacy

This Hour Has Seven Days is still considered one of the most important and influential productions ever aired by a Canadian television network, bringing new and innovative creative techniques into the mainstream of television journalism.

In the initial aftermath of its cancellation, Canadian journalists were often intimidated by the prospect of taking on controversial issues. However, the show inspired both the American newsmagazine 60 Minutes and the 1990s Canadian satirical sketch comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes (in name only). The ticking TAG Heuer stopwatch from 60 Minutes. ... // Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but otherwise retaining the same mindset. ... This Hour Has 22 Minutes is a Canadian television comedy. ...

Watson continued to produce programming for the CBC, including the 1988 documentary series The Struggle for Democracy and the public service vignettes Heritage Minutes. In 1989, he was named chairman of the CBC, a position he held until 1994. 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Heritage Minutes are sixty-second short films each illustrating an important moment in Canadian history. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ...

LaPierre, who also continued to produce CBC programming and authored a number of books on Canadian history, was named to the Senate in 2001. The Senate of Canada is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

Christie continued to work as a singer and comedic actress.

In 2001, the CBC reaired a number of old episodes of This Hour as a summer series. 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...