''Benmergui Live'' was a Canadian television

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk S ...

, which aired daily on

CBC Newsworld CBC News Network (formerly CBC Newsworld) is a Canadian English-language specialty news channel owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). It broadcasts into over 10 million homes in Canada. As Canada's first all-news channel, it is th ...

in the 1990s."Benmergui finds niche, rising ratings as phone-in TV host". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The newsp ...

'', December 1, 1995. Hosted by

Ralph Benmergui Raphael "Ralph" Benmergui (born 1955) is a Canadian television and radio personality, a writer, an ordained spiritual director, and a strategic advisor in political, environmental, and academic realms. Early life and education Born to a Sephard ...

, the series centred on discussions of political, social or cultural topics with panel guests, studio audience discussion and phone-in segments."Benmurgui receives another shot". '' The Globe and Mail'', September 12, 1995. The series aired at noon

Eastern time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...

daily, and was filmed live in the atrium of the

Canadian Broadcasting Centre The Canadian Broadcasting Centre, also known as the CBC Toronto Broadcast Centre, is an office and studio complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It serves as the main broadcast and master control point for the Canadian Broadcasting Corpor ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. It debuted in 1995, following the cancellation of '' Friday Night! with Ralph Benmergui''. In 1996 and 1997, Benmergui hosted a series of prime time specials under the ''Benmergui Live'' banner."Benmergui broadcasts show live from prison". ''

Saskatoon Star-Phoenix ''The StarPhoenix'' is a daily newspaper that serves Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is a part of Postmedia Network. The ''StarPhoenix'' puts out six editions each week and publishes one weekly, ''Bridges''. It is also part of the canada.com ...

'', October 29, 1996. The first, an exploration of crime and incarceration, was broadcast from the

Warkworth Institution The Warkworth Institution is a medium-security prison facility located in the municipality of Trent Hills, Ontario, between the communities of Meyersburg and Warkworth. The prison is the largest federal correctional institution in Canada ...

; the second, on art, was broadcast from the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the ...

. In the 1997 season, Newsworld shifted the program's timeslot to 3 p.m. Eastern time, in a bid to accommodate Western Canadian viewers for whom the show's original time slot was 9 a.m. In October 1997, Benmergui did a week of shows from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

, exploring distinctly Western Canadian issues."Pot, Moose 'n' myth bringing Benmergui to West Coast". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', October 25, 1997. Newsworld cancelled the show in 1999, amid a decision to refocus the network's daytime programming."CBC Newsworld cuts 32 jobs". ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'', June 26, 1999. Benmergui continued with the network as a contributor to '' CBC Morning'' and ''On the Arts''.

References

{{Portal, Television, Canada 1995 Canadian television series debuts 1999 Canadian television series endings 1990s Canadian television talk shows 1990s Canadian television news shows CBC News Network original programming Television shows filmed in Toronto