''Tabloid'' is Canadian information television program that aired on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

. It was one of the earliest information television programs aired in Canada The program was broadcast weeknights from March 1953 to September 1960 after which it was renamed to '' Seven-O-One''.

Format

The program featured interviews, news and information. Its opening tagline was "a program with an interest in anything that happens anywhere, bringing you the news at seven." It was also promoted as "the nightly habit of nearly everyone". Gunnar Rugheimer compiled a newsreel for the program which featured stories from various international sources such as BBC, Movietone, United Press International, and the Canadian Forces. Discussions, interviews, demonstrations, reviews and weather reports from

Percy Saltzman Percy Philip Saltzman, (March 15, 1915 – January 15, 2007) was a meteorologist and television personality best remembered for being the first weatherman in English-speaking Canadian television history. As a pioneer in weather forecasting ...

rounded out the ''Tabloid'' episodes, resembling a "spoken-word variety show". Producer Ross McLean's catchphrase for ''Tabloid'' was "Facts with Fun", reflecting his approach that news and information programming should incorporate elements of entertainment. He acknowledged that the early episodes of ''Tabloid'' were "a bargain basement version of NBC's ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

''." The interviews, features and weather forecast were supplemented with informal conversations among the hosts.

Hosts

Dick MacDougal, a radio presenter, was a host of ''Tabloid'' from its first episodes in 1953 until his death in 1957. He was replaced by another radio host,

Max Ferguson Max Ferguson, OC (February 10, 1924 – March 7, 2013) was a Canadian radio personality and satirist, best known for his long-running radio programs ''Rawhide'' and ''The Max Ferguson Show'' on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). B ...

who remained until ''Tabloid'' became ''Seven-O-One'' in 1960.

was the only ''Tabloid'' host who remained through the program's entire run, and the extent of its successor, ''Seven-O-One''. He presented the weather forecasts as he did in the earlier CBC program ''

Let's See ''Let's See'' was a Canadian television series broadcast on CBC Television between September 6, 1952 to July 4, 1953. The segment, which had a running time of 15 minutes, was a puppet show with a character named Uncle Chichimus (voice of John Co ...

''. Viewers regularly saw Saltzman's signature tossing of his chalk after he was requested by producer McLean to make this a regular practice. Elaine Grand joined the show in early 1953 to conduct freelance interviews. She became a full-time host by February 1954, leaving the show in 1956 to work with

Associated-Rediffusion Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...

in the United Kingdom. Paisley Maxwell succeeded her as an interim host until Joyce Davidson replaced Grand on a full-time basis from 1956 to 1959. News reports were provided by Gil Christy (1953–1954), then John O'Leary for the remainder of ''Tabloids existence. Dave Price presented the sportscast. Other people seen on ''Tabloid'' include Allan Anderson, Gregory Clark, Earl Cox, Blair Fraser, Trent Frayne, Robert Fulford, Sydney Katz, Robert McKeown, Wilfred Sanders, John Saywell,

Lister Sinclair Lister Sheddon Sinclair, OC (January 9, 1921 – October 16, 2006) was a Canadian broadcaster, playwright and polymath. Early life Sinclair was born in Bombay, India, to Scottish parents. His father, William Sheddon Sinclair, was a chemical engi ...

, Jean Templeton and Bruce West. Approximately 6500 guests were featured on ''Tabloid'' as of June 1960. These included

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and Civil rights movement, civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring liv ...

Duncan Hines Duncan Hines (March 26, 1880 – March 15, 1959) was an American author and food critic known for his restaurant ratings for travelers. He is best known today for the brand of food products that bears his name. Early life, family and education ...

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist, author and speaker, who appeared frequently in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard Col ...

Nicholas Monsarrat Lieutenant Commander Nicholas John Turney Monsarrat FRSL RNVR ( 22 March 19108 August 1979) was a British novelist known for his sea stories, particularly '' The Cruel Sea'' (1951) and ''Three Corvettes'' (1942–1945), but perhaps known be ...

, and

Amy Vanderbilt Amy Osborne Vanderbilt (July 22, 1908 – December 27, 1974) was an American authority on etiquette. In 1952 she published the best-selling book ''Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Book of Etiquette''. The book, later retitled ''Amy Vanderbilt's Etiquet ...

Production

The program was produced in Toronto at

CBLT CBLT-DT (channel 5) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the English-language service of CBC Television. It is part of a twinstick with Ici Radio-Canada Télé outlet CBLFT-DT (channel 25). The ...

studios by Ross McLean. Ted Pope became producer in September 1958 when McLean concentrated on production of another CBC program, ''

Close-Up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, s ...

''.

Scheduling

''Tabloid'' was broadcast weekdays at 7 p.m. (Eastern) for most of its run, except from September 1954 to July 1955 when it was scheduled at 6:30 p.m..

Ratings

In the 1957–1958 season, CBC Audience Research ratings indicated that ''Tabloid'' had a 15% to 18% share of viewers in Toronto, versus the 35% to 45% share of viewers for ''Annie Oakley'' on Buffalo, New York's WBEN. Montreal's ''Tabloid'' ratings share was 11%, while

Radio-Canada Radio-Canada may refer to: * CBC/Radio-Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation *Ici Radio-Canada Télé, the CBC's main French-language television network *Ici Radio-Canada Première Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) i ...

's French-language '' Telejournal'' and ''

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'' drew a 67% share. A later ''CBC Times'' report indicated a rated ''Tabloid'' audience of 250,000 from Toronto's

Controversies

In 1956, Montreal doctor E. E. Robbins wrote a critical letter to ''Tabloid''. It was read on the show, accompanied by Robbins' home address and MacDougal requesting viewers to "cheer him up". Robbins sued CBC after he was deluged with disruptive letters and telephone calls and prank taxi calls. The case ended with Robbins winning a $3000 settlement against CBC from the Quebec Superior Court. Host Joyce Davidson expressed indifference towards a Canadian visit by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

during an interview on a June 1959 broadcast of NBC's ''

''. Following intense critical reaction to these remarks, Davidson resigned from ''Tabloid'' within a few days. The programme was retitled ''Seven-O-One'' in 1960 after a drug manufacturer which held a trademark to its "Tabloid" product pressured the CBC to change the news show's name. The last episode under the ''Tabloid'' name aired 9 September 1960.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tabloid (Tv program) 1953 Canadian television series debuts 1960 Canadian television series endings Black-and-white Canadian television shows CBC Television original programming Television shows filmed in Toronto