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The 1960s were a decade of ferment in television journalism, and nowhere was this more evident than in “This Hour Has 7 Days”. The brainchild of Douglas Leiterman and Patrick Watson, its stated ambition was to produce a show of such urgency and vitality that it would recapture public excitement in current affairs television and become mandatory viewing for a large segment of the nation. Any and all approaches were fair game, as long as they produced an engagement between the subject and the viewer. Inventing techniques which would become part of the grammar of current affairs broadcasting, it achieved its goal of becoming “must-see” television, with over 3 million viewers near the end of the show’s run. The epic battles with network management and the government that resulted in the show’s cancellation only added to its legendary status as one of the most influential Canadian television programs ever made.
Clip courtesy CBC Television
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