NOW and NEXT

Today on NOW and NEXT:

John Tory's endorsement of Ana Bailao as the next mayor of Toronto may not be a surprise but it is the most noteworthy announcement we've heard during the course of this campaign. Is it too little too late?

Not at all. This campaign would need a supercharged dose of adrenalin to be considered anything more exciting than "sleepy". Up until now, Olivia Chow's name has been top of mind for many, thanks in large part to the media's willingness to report on the robo-polls that simply measure name recognition. Chow has received endless earn media and increased name recognition because the reporting has primarily focussed on the horserace numbers.

But as of Wednesday afternoon, Bailoa's name is in every headline and news story about the campaign simply because John Tory has given the former Deputy Mayor his blessing. Considering the short attention span of the electorate in this campaign, being the top of mind name heading into the final four days before election day can't be a bad thing for the Bailao campaign.

ALSO:
We feature episode 6 of the first show we produced at Story Studio Network. In this edition of The Next Normal we explore the post COVID Innovation Culture.

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Today on NOW and NEXT:

Who does Toronto need in the Mayor's chair for the next three and a half years?
What does Toronto need from its next Mayor?

We look at the top 7 candidates running to succeed John Tory.

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Today on NOW and NEXT:

While the Assignment Desks and show producers in Toronto newsrooms focus on who's name is at the top of the wanna-be-mayor's list of candidates, very little attention is being paid to to the number of Torontonians who will actually cast a ballot in the June 26 Mayoral byelection.

The eventual winner could succeed John Tory with fewer than 30% of the popular vote. That's bad enough. But's it's only made worse if the voter turnout is in the 20% range. It means the next mayor of Toronto could win with the support of 5-10% of the eligible voters in the city.

Dave Hardy, President of Hardy Stevenson and Associates, is among a group of community leaders organizing efforts to GET OUT THE VOTE for the byelection, particularly in Scarborough.

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Today on NOW and NEXT:

The interview table gets turned on me. I had the opportunity to sit down in studio at CIUT FM University of Toronto Community Radio and talk about my first gig in radio as a founding member of the station.

Thanks to Steve Fruitman and Peter Stamp for the opportunity.

We talk get into the work that went into putting an FM application together, making our formal pitch to the CRTC, the decision, the launch and ALL the mistakes we made along the way. There's even a confessional moment when I talk about the people I fired.

It all started forty years ago this September and I'm still loving it.


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Today on NOW and NEXT:

Award winning broadcast journalists Barb DiGiulio and Kym Geddes join the show to pronounce Chris Licht "Dead man walking."

It's become abundantly clear that Licht's short tenure as CEO at CNN Worldwide has been an unmitigated disaster for the network and, more broadly, for the state of journalism. A 15 thousand word "profile" of Licht was published last week by the Atlantic. It's a brilliant piece of journalism by Tim Alberta and worth the 45 minutes or so to read.

Alberta was given extraordinary access to Licht in and away from his office. The piece portrays a news media executive who can't seem to get out of his own head, let alone out of his own way. He has no rapport with his team or his staff and is unable to articulate or execute any kind of vision for the news network.

Semafor is reporting on the fallout of the Atlantic story saying "During a Monday morning call with staffers, Licht acknowledged that The Atlantic story had caused issues for the network, calling the experience “tremendously humbling” and saying he did not recognize himself in the profile“I fully recognize that this news cycle and my role in it have overshadowed the incredible week of reporting we just had and distracted from the work of every single journalist in this organization,” he said.

Licht should have finished the sentence by offering his resignation. He has compromised the integrity of the network and every journalist at CNN.

And what does that say about the mainstream, legacy media to be able to function in a world of extreme partisan politics and social media sniping fueled by short attentions spans and misinformation?

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Today on NOW and NEXT:

Political science professor and US constitutional law expert, David Schultz joins us from Hamline University in Minnesota.

US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have reached a deal to suspend the Debt Ceiling for two years. The short term effect is allowing the government to move ahead an borrow more money to cover its budget spending. But does that solve longer term economic or political issues? And why have the debt ceiling at all? David says there is one way to suspend it permanently, but that can't happen until 2025.

ALSO, David says the Roberts SCOTUS is increasingly signalled its willingness to allow prayer in schools and other public institutions.

AND did the GOP Never-Trumpers learn anything from the 2016 campaign to lead the Republican Party. The party never thought Trump could win in 2016. In 2023, party forces know he can win and don't want that to happen.

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Today on NOW and NEXT:

We're keeping an eye on the developments in the Halifax wildfires. Good news is the fires aren't expanding. Better news is there's a lot of rain in the forecast in the coming week. The worrisome news is today's high is 30 celcius and there are high winds expected. So, things could take a turn for the worse in a hurry.

Also, the Stanley Cup Final and the Memorial Cup will be front and centre for hockey fans this weekend. By the way, the red poppy is part of the Memorial Cup logo BECAUSE it honours our Canadian Forces vets who've died in the service of this country.

AND, it's Feed Drop Day!

Today we feature episode 5 of the Next Normal. We explore the changing meaning of self-care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we adopted puppies, scheduled sessions on the exercise bike, and developed at-home spa rituals but the definition of self-care remains misunderstood.

(Originally published August 4, 2021)

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Today on NOW and NEXT:

Canada's federal government is weighing whether to include Senate amendments to Bill C-22 - The Canada Disability Benefit Act. Critics say the amendments are unconstitutional because they handcuff the provinces' authority set criteria for their own disability benefit plans.

Neil Hetherington is the CEO at the Daily Bread Food Bank. He testified before the Senate committee when it reviewed the legislation in Ottawa.

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Today on NOW and NEXT:

David Coletto, CEO and Founder of Abacus Data offers analysis into the Alberta election results. Polling numbers in December 2022 suggested the New Democrats were on track to return to government. But Danielle Smith led the UPC to a majority win this week. What turned the polls?

Also, Ontario Premier Doug Ford should use the Toronto Mayoral byelection as an opportunity to reform elections in large muncipalities across the province. The criteria for candidacy needs to be more robust. Ranked ballots should be standard. And run-off elections would certainly sharpen attention and engagement among eligible voters.

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Today on NOW and NEXT:

US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have reached a compromise deal to raise the country's debt ceiling. It still needs Congressional approval and a number of Republican members of the House say they'll vote to kill the deal. If that happens, the US would default on its loans.

Finance expert Preet Banerjee, founder of Money Gaps says the Debt Ceiling is an arcane mechanism for Congress to limit its spending but it's become a political cudgel that threatens economies around the world.

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