Karl Wells is retiring from the CBC

News flash: Veteran broadcaster, weatherman and all-round performer Karl Wells (photo by Randy Dawe) is retiring from CBC, effective August 1. I will have more on this later. In the meantime, the following internal memo from Janice Stein, Managing Editor for CBC NL, sums up this story quite nicely. I had noticed that Karl was becoming much more animated lately, reading the weather like he was calling the play by play in the Stanley Cup finals. Perhaps he was betraying some of that excitement that one must feel when surveying the new vistas that await in retirement. In this case, Karl plans to pursue his freelance writing career. Karl operates a great web site so if you would like to read more about him, click here. Here's the memo from Janice Stein:

Karl Wells, our colleague and Here & Now's weatherperson for almost 30 years, has decided to retire from the CBC.

With the approach of his official CBC retirement date of August 1, Karl has been thinking about a career change. He wants to pursue freelance writing. Karl already writes a regular column for The Telegram and he hopes to expand into magazine writing.

Karl began his remarkable 31-year career with the CBC in 1976 as an announcer in radio and television. In radio he was the first host of Weekend AM and the voice of the Morning Show’s satirical segment, His Worship, an impersonation of former St. John’s mayor John Murphy. In 1978 he moved to television to begin his Here and Now weather assignment and to anchor the very successful late night news program, Newsfinal. In 2001 he went national for two years as the Country Canada channel’s morning weatherperson on CountryWide.

During the past 31 years Karl has spent almost 30 years reporting the weather on Here and Now, becoming an icon across the province for his weather knowledge. During that time he became one of our most visible CBC personalities, in large part because of the highly successful live community segment he helped develop during the early nineties, reporting from winter carnivals, fire stations, church basements, fishing boats and live from the Hibernia platform, over 350 km offshore!

As well as the weather, Karl used his passion for arts and food to bring many arts personalities to our show and to launch the popular ‘Cooking with Karl’ series. And he has always been an ambassador for the CBC at community events, including his role as volunteer host of the CBC Janeway Telethon.

It will be a challenge to find a replacement for Karl. Karl will remain with us as we search for a new weather person and help with training. Our search will begin immediately. We hope to have a new weatherperson selected and trained soon.

Karl’s commitment to his work at Here & Now and to his role as a representative in the community is something we appreciate and will miss. Please join me in congratulating Karl on a wonderful career with the CBC and wish him all the best in exploring his new adventures in writing.

CBC Here & Now could use a makeover

Heads are being scratched at the CBC, wondering why the new hour-long format and substantially improved program hasn’t resulted in better ratings for Here & Now. There’s no question that it’s a great program. The question now seems to be: are the viewers ever going to come back?

Part of the problem is, the show still looks very much the same as it did two years ago. The only major cosmetic change has been the addition of Jonathan Crowe as co-host, but his face is not exactly new. Therefore, when viewers come by to ‘sample’ the program, nothing leaps out and grabs them… it feels very much like the “same old”. Redesigned sets and new music are not enough.

Here & Now has some great talent, but things have gotten stale. They can shake things up partly by moving people around.

The first move should be a new assignment for Karl Wells. He has been doing the weather for as long as I can remember, and it’s time for a change. Karl is great when he interviews people, and would have made a good co-host of Living NL. Is it too late to rethink this, and move Erin Sulley back into news?

Here & Now lost a great opportunity when they let Krissy Holmes go last year. She filled in as weather host for a vacationing Karl Wells last summer, and positively sparkled. She had a quirky sense of humour and a great presence in front of the camera. Alas, she is gone now, over to Out of the Fog. For an excellent profile of Krissy, written for The Independent by Susan Rendell, click here.

Then there’s the anchors. I suggest moving Debbie Cooper into another role, one that takes full advantage of her journalistic skills (her interview last year with the Withers, about the loss of their daughter Renata, was mesmerizing). Debbie is warmer and more natural when inter-acting with people, as opposed to reading from the tele-prompter, though overall I make this suggestion primarily because change is good. Sometimes you just have to rotate your hosts.

As an alternate host, I would strongly recommend reporter Lynda Calvert, who has performed the anchor role many times in the past and is outstanding. They might even consider hiring someone completely new and totally unknown if they truly want to put a fresh face on the show.

I have no complaint with Jonathan Crowe. He has only been in the anchor chair for a little while so, if other changes are made, it would make sense for him to stay to lend some consistency.

The rest of the news team is great and the quality of the reporting is first rate. I do have one minor quibble with the new sportscaster, Jason Turnbull. He is certainly competent and there are no issues with the quality of his work. But his ascension means we no longer see any reporting by veteran sportscaster Don Power, who is not as young or handsome as Jason but has much more depth and experience.

Here & Now moves along at a pretty steady clip, but the show’s intro is lackluster and doesn’t build excitement. I have some ideas on how to fix this, but I’ll save that for another day. I will close by mentioning that, when Here & Now was at its peak, it aired at 6:30 pm. Viewers could watch NTV for half an hour, then switch to CBC at 6:30. I certainly wouldn't complain if Here & Now dropped back to this time slot, because I would like to see both programs. And it would definitely help to boost ratings.

When journalists go undercover (Sept 2004)

You wouldn’t expect an article about the convention business to spark a frenzy in local media.

Yet that is what happened when the August issue of Atlantic Business went into circulation. It contained an article about the convention trade in Atlantic Canada, with some findings about which cities were better equipped to pursue and host convention business.

Of the nine cities surveyed, Corner Brook ranked the lowest in a number of criteria, which generated some controversy.

But what really stirred things up was the way in which Atlantic Business generated its information. Through an email message, editor Dawn Chafe posed as a convention planner for Animal Aid, a fictitious group, and asked the various cities to make their pitch. The staff at these offices had no idea that this was a journalistic enterprise.

Some cities handled it very well, while a few – most notably Corner Brook – let their guard down and did not follow up on the request for information. No doubt the result would have been different if the city had known they were dealing with a journalist.

And that, said Dawn Chafe in an interview, is precisely the point of the exercise. “If I had said ‘Hi, I’m a reporter doing an article on the conventions market’ I would have come back with something less than the truth and more a packaged, public relations-approved response, as opposed to finding out exactly what they do,” she said.

CBC POLICY

The Atlantic Business article received coverage in The Western Star and The Telegram as well as on CBC radio and television. Interestingly, CBC’s policy is that all reporters must clearly identify themselves before any interview.

“We have a policy that’s pretty strict on this,” said Paul Hambleton, Managing Editor for News and Current Affairs with CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. “When we’re doing our job we have to be up front with what we’re doing, and that’s a public right. Deception must not be used to get information. That’s our guiding principle.”

There are exceptions to this rule, Hambleton explained, but these would be pretty exceptional circumstances, usually involving a serious legal matter. “The guiding principle is, is there is an overriding public interest at stake that we feel, as a journalistic operation, we should find out more about this? This has happened in investigative circumstances. Certainly ‘the fifth estate’ has used hidden cameras to investigate (certain stories). And you need the highest level of approval to go forward on these things.”

However, Dawn Chafe sees nothing unethical about going under cover for her research. “I don't believe my story or methods were unethical, but I can also appreciate the other point of view,” she said.

“I wasn’t trying to trap them into doing something. I was only asking then to do what they normally would do – what they’re supposed to do – and then analyze (the results). So I didn’t think it was unethical and I’m kind of surprised to hear that because certainly no one hinted at that to me, and it’s something I’ve seen done many times.”

In this case, Chafe says that an “objective, documented, gathering of facts” offers greater insight and truth. “It's also interesting that another media organization which might balk at such methods itself has no problem with reporting on the results.”

Chafe said her review was based on responses given in the context of what is, for the subjects, their “public persona”.

“As public representatives of their respective organizations, they are regularly asked to respond to the types of questions I posed in my email. In that sense, they should always be prepared to take advantage of the opportunities that knock on their doors.”

Chafe said she placed follow-up calls to those subjects who did not respond immediately, giving them a second chance to deliver the goods. “And in publishing the article, I didn’t hide anything. I published copies of the letter and thoroughly explained the process I used.”

Chafe said this is the first time she has gone under cover for an article in her magazine. “Is this something I would do all the time? Probably not. I just thought that this type of article was the best way to get what I consider to be the truth. My reaction is that it worked.”

DINING IN DISGUISE?

I worked at The Sunday Express from 1988 to 1991, and though the paper was perceived by some as a muck-raking scandal sheet, it’s policy was similar to that of the CBC. We always had to identify ourselves clearly as journalists, and were never allowed to pose as someone else.

There was some internal debate about this, since we knew we could get some really juicy stuff by going under cover. But the underpinning rationale was fairly simple. If journalists are going to lie for the sake of a story, why should we expect our interview subjects to tell us the truth?

There was one exception to this policy. In order to be treated like any other diner and avoid getting preferential treatment, our restaurant critic was expected to make reservations under a companion’s name or a pseudonym.

If the restaurant owner knew a reviewer was on the premises, that person would get perfectly prepared food, gargantuan portions and the finest service… and readers would not get an objective review.

Clearly, there are no easy answers to this ethical dilemma.

Karl Wells of CBC Canada Now has recently started writing a freelance dining out column for The Telegram. This presents a dilemma for Wells, who has one of the most recognizable faces in the province. How can he expect to receive non-preferential treatment? I put this question to Wells via email.

“Anonymity is ideal, in my view,” he replied. “However, because of my profile, I knew this was not something I could do anything about. I do the best I can to make sure a restaurant is not prepared for me. If I need a reservation I get someone to make it for me in another name. Quite often I will just walk in without a reservation, and I usually order straight from the regular menu… I also try to be as low-key and inconspicuous as possible.”

Wells said he has never been convinced that his celebrity results in special treatment at restaurants, and has seen his share of bad food and service. That may be the case. However, I caution him that this will change as word of his new column spreads. Some restaurant owners will tape Wells’ photo to the wall inside the kitchen door, hoping that staff will recognize him in time to avoid a bad review and even kindle a good one.

Long-time viewers of CBC TV will recall that Karl Wells is a master of disguise, a skill he demonstrated every Halloween. I asked (only half-jokingly) if he has considered using this technique.

“I briefly considered disguises, but quickly abandoned the idea after recalling numerous occasions when people would recognize me while wearing all manner of caps, hats, scarves, and glasses. I remember being shocked when, despite my different appearance, people would shout, ‘Hey Karl! How's it going?’”

Wells stressed that he pays for his own meals and is not subsidized in any way by a meal allowance.

“It is very important to me that I maintain credibility with the people who follow the column. I want to avoid the slippery slope of taking favours from restaurateurs. When people read the column to find a nice place to eat, I want them to know they can trust what I'm saying.”