Click on Steve Paikin’s blog and you can see the anchor of TVOntario’s flagship current affairs show giving a tour of its brand new studio. The Agenda with Steve Paikin now has a bright backdrop, multiple sets, and a massive audio-visual screen, all of which was made possible by a personal bequest.
“Donald Pounder loved the show and remembered us in his will. The new sets are fantastic. They give us flexibility and utility,” Paikin said in a recent telephone interview.
The new look of The Agenda – it airs on TVO week nights at 8 and 11 p.m. – is one of several changes that have been made as the show marks its 10th anniversary.
Paikin, 55, said there’s also a new format. Instead of devoting one hour to a single subject, The Agenda will now air smaller segments on multiple subjects. “The original format was a one-on-one interview and a 40-minute debate. It was good for 9-1/2 years.
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“You have to change before people tell you you’re stale. Not everyone wants to watch a 50- or 60-minute interview. Sometimes they want something bite size.”
But he stressed that this change does affect the quality of the content. “I don’t want to give the impression that we’re not having in-depth discussions and interviews. We still do the longest interviews on television.”
Paikin acknowledged that the format changes were made to appeal to a younger audience. “We keep tweaking the show to attract younger viewers,” he said. “We’re always trying to find new voices to reflect the province.”
He said the new format is better suited to digital platforms. “I don’t care if people watch us on TV, smartphone or computer. We’re platform agnostic.
“Unlike other shows, we don’t lose money if you watch us online.”
The Agenda does not depend on advertising dollars, as TVO is a public broadcaster. “It’s nice not to have to look at the ratings.” It is actually the fifth current affairs show Paikin has hosted at TVO.
Back in 1992 he was a news anchor on CBLT and a rising young star at CBC, when Howard Bernstein, his executive producer at CBC, introduced him to Peter Herrndorf, then chair and CEO of TVO. They thought Paikin would be the right person to host a new current affairs show being developed at TVO.
“I had been at CBC for seven years and worked my way up to anchor,” Paikin said. “I thought it was what I wanted, but it turned out it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I was reading scripts that other people wrote. It was more performance than journalism.”
Paikin jumped the ship for TVO in 1992.
“Peter (Herrndorf) told me it would take awhile to get adjusted and that I would always miss working at the CBC, but I would not regret leaving.
“He was absolutely wrong. After four days, I felt at home and I did not miss the work at the CBC. Working in depth was so interesting… It’s all about good story telling and analysis. I devoured that mission from the moment I got here.”
He hosted Between the Lines until the 1994 debut of Studio 2, a magazine-style, current affairs program, he co-hosted for 12 years. He also co-created and hosted the Queen’s Park magazine, Fourth Reading, as well as Diplomatic Immunity, a weekly foreign affairs commentary show.
Paikin said his work at TVO has been a foundation to do many other “fascinating projects.” He’s moderated six political leadership debates (three federal and three provincial), he’s produced six feature-length documentary films, and he’s now writing his seventh book.
He’s also a visiting professor at Ryerson University and the chancellor of Laurentian University in Sudbury.
In 2006, The Agenda replaced Studio 2 to save money, he explained. “One anchor was cheaper than two.”
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When TVO’s current CEO, Lisa de Wilde, announced the cancellation of Studio 2, there was a risk this change would alienate Studio 2 viewers, Paikin said.
“Someone [working on The Agenda] asked, ‘What size audience will we need to remain on the air?’”
De Wilde responded by saying the show’s success would be measured by fulfilment of its mission to educate viewers, he recalled.
“She said our mission was to raise the important issues… and if we’re engaging with the issues in depth and in a meaningful way, we’ll deserve to be on the air.
“Well it’s our 10th season. So far, so good.”
