When Louise Cousineau or Réjean Tremblay appeared in the La Presse newsroom, she smoking, he with his motorcycle helmet, we always felt a wave of excitement among the journalists, a kind of excitement mixed with admiration and a little jealousy, yes.
Published at 12:47 am. Updated at 7:01 a.m.
These flamboyant news stars like Nathalie Petrowski and Pierre Foglia showed up and spoke loudly (especially Réjean on the cell phone), went into shock (Nathalie, of course!), railed against rival colleagues (all guilty!), shared juicy gossip (Hello, Louise!) and attracted attention from ten meters away.
It impressed me the whole time. Seeing that I was breathing the same air as Nathalie, Pierre, Réjean and Louise that I had read for so many years. Impossible !
The media celebrity system has changed since these current affairs commentary legends were published. And such larger-than-life characters no longer exist, except perhaps Patrick Lagacé, whose face obscures 98.5 FM’s giant billboards along the highways.
Today’s columnists are far more numerous than before the Internet, drink artisanal wines, stop smoking cigarettes, and run marathons across North America (hello, Yves!).
Observation: The profession has become calmer, healthier and tends towards multi-platform hyper-performance: Who has the time to put on a brush with warm beer on a weekday evening when there are three columns to write and two shows to co-operate with? Host and a green juice to squeeze?
On Apple TV+, The Morning Show – La matinale, in the French version – introduces a kind of journalistic star that doesn’t exist here, the multimillionaire journalist, always super-busy and healthy, who carries an entire news network on his shoulders.
Despite its shortcomings, I swallowed the ten episodes of the third chapter of The Morning Show in one sitting, the privilege of a columnist who likes natural wines that aren’t too fancy but who doesn’t concern himself with his stats on Strava. This is the best of the three seasons, with a touch of Succession that isn’t unpleasant at all.
Still set in the heart of the news department of the fictional broadcaster UBA, the main intrigue of The Morning Show 3 revolves around a techno-billionaire like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos, played by Jon Hamm, who tries to buy a television station in two rides on a rocket in penis shape. A telling picture.
At the same time, a computer attack on the UBA station’s servers exposes all of its employees’ emails and text messages, including, very compromisingly, those of star presenter Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon), who is bathing in hot water. of the Grand Cup, which served as the backdrop for the fictional show The Morning Show.
My two favorite characters remain the drooling, ranting boss Cory (Billy Crudup, who steals the show) and the news director Stella (Greta Lee), whose airtime has finally been extended, what a fascinating woman.
Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston), now a presenter on the UBA+ platform, (finally) emerges from the #metoo uproar, but finds herself embroiled in another controversy over media ownership and the independence of newsrooms, topics that make this dazzling series more exciting than everyone else Let’s say the FPJQ convention.
A racial discrimination scandal in which black employees earn less than their white colleagues will also reach the board, still led by the imperial Cybil (Holland Taylor), who hides corpses in her email inbox, well, hold onto.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY RADIO-CANADA
Journalists Isabelle Richer, Marie-Maude Denis and Patrice Roy
Still on journalistic television, RDI presents the first episode of its documentaries “Les interns” on Thursday, October 5th at 8 p.m., in which six reporters learn the profession of Céline Galipeau and Sophie Thibault.
At the top of the eight hour-long episodes, Enquête’s Marie-Maude Denis embodies the ideal mentor: caring, dedicated, funny, brilliant, this role suits her perfectly.
The same goes for the juror-evaluators Isabelle Richer and Patrice Roy, who are never mean but fair and relevant in their comments. We like to see them in a less formal setting than a newscast.
However, the first episode of Interns, which shows the recruit selection camp, is long and focuses on candidates we won’t see again throughout the season. We should have jumped onto the field quicker.
And in contrast to La une or De garde 24/7 on Télé-Québec, Les internes remains too theoretical and does not put its reporters to the test sufficiently. Yes, the new kids simulate a mini-téléjournal in the sixth episode, but the fact remains that this exercise does not replicate the enormous pressure that comes with producing a real television show. Anything they produced was never broadcast by Radio-Canada or posted online.
We also often tell these trainees how important rigor is! Accuracy! Impartiality! Conciseness! and balance! which in the long run sounds like preachi-preacha.
The Interns’ best moments come when the reporters experiment with super-concrete things. For example: how to shorten a text by 15 seconds, how to avoid a controlling publicist, how to control your body language on camera, or how to adapt your smile to the seriousness of the news you read on the teleprompter.
I would have followed that and the advice of Patrice Roy and Isabelle Richer more. A slightly more practical, slightly less theoretical course, thank you.