THE STROUMBOULOPOULI

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Behind the scenes at HNIC

On a personal note

As a fan of The Hour, later GST and of George Stroumboulopoulos the person, I sometimes feel a bit left behind since he has moved on to his weekend job as host of Hockey Night in Canada. I just loved his interview style and his down to earth friendly personality. He is always able to relate intelligently to each person on a variety of topics whether they were a guest, or a fan, or a passer-by on the street. Music, travel, motorcycles, sports, politics, business, spiritual issues, film and television shows. All of that was open for conversation on his talk show. For Hockey Night in Canada obviously the focus is on all things hockey. His talent translates well to hockey talk but you can't convince all hockey fans of that yet. It does not matter to them that he started in sports radio, is a seasoned broadcaster and a huge fan of the game..

I like hockey but have never been a dedicated, jersey wearing, statistics gathering, entire season watching fan. I have only been to one NHL game in my life because a friend gave me a ticket and I had a great time. I used to live one block away from The Forum in Montreal (when it was still The Forum) yet never went there for a game. Hockey was always a luxury out of reach for us common folk. The Expos, The Jays and the Allouettes just seemed more affordable and in touch with the people. I do remember watching Hockey on CBC as a child and wanting to be the camera guy; that was my connecting point. Live broadcasting...that's where sports finds her audience.

Blogging for George and The Hour, that's how I connected to 'infotainment' television. That's one reason I find this article from The Globe and Mail's media reporter, James Bradshaw, so fascinating. Connections...

Hockey Night confidential: A sneak peak at the controlled chaos of the country's most iconic show

JAMES BRADSHAW - MEDIA REPORTER

The Globe and Mail

Published Friday, Jan. 09 2015, 9:07 PM EST

To see what makes the revamped Hockey Night in Canada tick, media reporter James Bradshaw looks beyond the smooth-talking analysts, the spherical cameras and the gleaming, $4.5-million set to find controlled chaos – or what HNIC staffers refer to as ‘the zoo’

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