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|title=Layton slams massage parlour report as 'smears'|publisher=CBC News|date=2011-04-29|accessdate=2011-04-29}}</ref>
|title=Layton slams massage parlour report as 'smears'|publisher=CBC News|date=2011-04-29|accessdate=2011-04-29}}</ref>


On April 30th an investigation into the leaked police notes was commenced by the Ontario Provincial Police. <ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/story/2011/04/29/cv-election-layton.html |title= Leak of police notes in Layton report probed publisher=cbc news|date= 2011-4-30}}</ref>The Toronto Police have asked the Ontario Provincial Police to conduct a criminal breach of trust investigation into the leak of official police notes cited in a Sun Media report This puts Sun News in a bad position, it is possible they face criminal charges or a law suit from the NDP Camp.
On April 30th an investigation into the leaked police notes was commenced by the Ontario Provincial Police. <ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/story/2011/04/29/cv-election-layton.html |title= Leak of police notes in Layton report probed publisher=cbc news|date= 2011-4-30}}</ref>"The Toronto Police have asked the Ontario Provincial Police to conduct a criminal breach of trust investigation into the leak of official police notes cited in a Sun Media report"
This puts Sun News in a bad position, it is possible they face criminal charges or a law suit from the NDP Camp.


===Content and programming===
===Content and programming===

Revision as of 06:19, 1 May 2011

Sun News Network
CountryCanada
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario
Programming
Language(s)English
Ownership
OwnerQuebecor Media
TVA Group Inc. (51%)
Sun Media Corporation (49%)

Sun News Network (commonly shortened to Sun News) is an English language Canadian television news and opinion channel owned and operated by Quebecor Media through a partnership between two of its subsidiaries, TVA Group Inc. (51% ownership) and Sun Media Corporation (49% ownership).[1][2] The channel launched on April 18, 2011Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). under a Category 2 specialty channel licence granted by the CRTC in November 2010,[3][4] after the network aborted a highly publicized attempt for a Category 1 license that would have given it mandatory access on digital cable and satellite providers across Canada.

Sun News is currently available on a handful of cable and satellite systems across Canada, with Quebecor currently seeking to expand distribution.[5] The channel is also being simulcast (at least initially) on CKXT-TV, an over-the-air station (formerly known as the generally-formatted Sun TV) available in Toronto and portions of southern and eastern Ontario, which benefits from mandatory carriage on analog cable throughout those areas, but is also carried (at the provider's option) on the digital service of several other cable and satellite providers.

Programming and content

Sun News' schedule is modeled after Quebecor's French language news channel, Le Canal Nouvelles, featuring news reportage during the daytime hours (6AM to 5PM) and personality-driven analysis and commentary programmes in the evening hours (5PM onwards).[6] The network's general on-air attitude, its founding executives have claimed, is lively, "unapologetically patriotic," and "less politically correct" in comparison to the well-established English-language national news networks in Canada, CTV News Channel and CBC News Network.[7]

Sun News also aims to take a populist, conservative-leaning approach that mirrors the namesake Sun chain of Quebecor-owned tabloid newspapers; that, and its employment of conservative commentators and operatives in key on-air and off-air positions, have led media reports, pundits, and critics to bill the network as "Fox News North."[8] Sun News management has openly bristled at the comparisons to Fox News, saying that they only intend Sun News to mimic the Sun chain's “irreverent” and “provocative” approach, and that though some conservative voices would be prominent, a "range of [political] opinion" would be offered.[1][9][10]

After originally intending for a New Years' Day 2011 launch (a date pushed back due to several start-up and staffing challenges),[11] Sun News would not commence programming until April 18, 2011; on that date, a 10-hour graphic with a countdown clock ended at 4:30 PM (ET) with the playing of O Canada followed by a half-hour launch preview special hosted by Canada Live host Krista Erickson (the Sun newspapers' "Sunshine Girl" for the day). The special was followed by the premiere of The Source with Ezra Levant and the remainder of the network's prime-time talk programming (daytime news programmes debuted on April 19).[5] Sun News is based primarily from studios in Toronto, with additional studios located in Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Calgary.

Staff

An image of Sun News Network's Krista Erickson appeared on the 4/18/2011 front page of the Toronto Sun to herald that day's launch of Sun News Network. The Sun newspapers have served as both a promotional tool and content source for the network.

Sun News is currently headed by Kory Teneycke, VP of development for Quebecor and a former director of communications and chief spokesperson for Prime Minister Stephen Harper.[12] Teneycke briefly left Sun News after a firestorm erupted over his criticism of Sun News' critics (see below); during that interim (September 2010 to January 2011), Sun News was headed by Luc Lavoie, a long-time Quebecor executive and, like Teneycke, a former Prime Minister's spokesperson (he served under Brian Mulroney).[citation needed]

At its June 2010 launch announcement, Sun News tabbed David Akin and Brian Lilley as national bureau chief and senior correspondent, respectively;[7] both men serve as on-air hosts. Sun News' first significant on-air hire was nationally-syndicated talk show host Charles Adler; the Winnipeg-based Adler was tapped in September 2010 to host a nightly analysis/opinion show on the network. During summer 2010, Sun News made an overture to comedian Rick Mercer (who declined), while also denying rumours of an offer to Kevin Newman, who left his anchor position at Global National in August 2010.[13]

In addition to the on-air staff listed below, Sun News relies in part on staff and resources from the Sun chain and other Quebecor-owned newspapers; a number of Quebecor's print journalists have been trained on the TV newsgathering tasks they will perform in addition to their regular newspaper and website duties. (Sun News logo is patterned after the Toronto Sun's long-time circular insignia, which was re-applied to the Sun tabloids and websites a day after Sun News' debut.[14]) Additionally, Sun News will rely on an international content agreement with CNN.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).

On-air personalities

Former on-air staff

Licencing and carriage

Original pre-launch logo for the channel while under its tentative name Sun TV News Channel. It was used in 2010 during its licencing campaign and never employed on-air.

From the start of its licencing attempts for Sun News, Quebecor intended for the network to replace the company's existing licence for general entertainment station CKXT-TV (Sun TV), which is available over-the-air in Toronto and through relayed through translators in Hamilton, London, and Ottawa. In its initial submission to the CRTC in spring 2010, Quebecor requested that Sun News be awarded a Category 1 digital specialty channel licence that would revert to Category 2 status after three years.[18] Category 1 status, if the CRTC had approved it, would have given Sun News the same status as CTV News Channel and CBC News Network, in that it would have required all Canadian digital television providers (both cable and direct broadcast satellite) to carry and offer Sun News to their customers should those carriers have the capability to do so.[1][7] However, unlike CTV News Channel and CBC News Network, carriers would not have the ability to distribute Sun News via analog cable, only digital. (Category 1 would not have made the channel, contrary to common belief, a compulsory part of every customer's basic digital package; however, it could be placed in digital basic packages subject to negotiations between Sun News and individual television providers)[19]

Quebecor initially requested Category 1 status for Sun News on the insistence that the channel's combination of news, analysis, and opinion programming would create "a completely new [TV] genre" different from the other all-news channels in Canada. The CRTC disagreed, however, and turned down the application in a July 5, 2010 letter to Quebecor. In its letter, the CRTC noted that Sun News was being promoted in part as a news channel, and suggested that "news and analysis are sub-categories of the information programming category," which therefore would not, in the CRTC's eyes, make Sun News unique.[20] Additionally, the CRTC had stated earlier in 2010 that it was not planning to entertain any new applications for Category 1 licences until at least October 2011.[21]

After the CRTC's decline for Category 1, Quebecor resubmitted its Sun News application under Category 2 status. Though Category 2 is officially non-mandatory (cable and satellite carriers are not compelled to carry such channels), Quebecor included in its resubmission a request for a Category 1-style "mandatory access" period of no more than 3 years, insisting that the network would need that period of time "to effectively expose and promote its programming to viewers across Canada" without obliging cable and satellite customers to add it to their package;[22] without mandatory access, Quebecor added, cable/satellite carriers could choose not to offer Sun News to their customers, which could lead to Quebecor pulling the plug on the project.[23]

On October 5, 2010, Quebecor announced that it would withdraw its mandatory access request and apply for a normal Category 2 status without any special exceptions or carriage conditions.[24] The move was widely considered an easier avenue for Sun News' licence approval (Category 2 licences are routinely granted by the CRTC unless it is for a format considered a protected genre, of which all-news is not included). Indeed, the CRTC granted Quebecor a five-year Category 2 licence for Sun News on November 26, 2010.[25]

After earning the Sun News licence, Quebecor would then proceed with negotiations with cable and satellite providers on an individual basis; Quebecor's own Vidéotron will carry the network, as will Bell TV, Rogers Direct, Cogeco, and Shaw Communications (the deal with the latter carrier is for a free, 6-month trial period on Shaw Cable systems in Ontario and Western Canada).[26] Sun News is also being made available over-the-air (for the short term, at least) via Quebecor's CKXT-TV in the Toronto, Hamilton, London, and Ottawa areas;[27] Quebecor originally intended to return the CKXT licence in exchange for Sun News, but made a February 2011 filling to the CRTC to continue CKXT's operations past the August 2011 digital conversion.[28]

Controversy and criticism

2010 licencing campaign

In his August 19, 2010 column in The Globe and Mail, Lawrence Martin claimed, citing "insiders", that CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein was under pressure from Prime Minister Stephen Harper to resign from the commission and take another government position, such as an ambassadorship, in order to facilitate Sun News getting its desired licence.[29] In a letter to The Globe and Mail, von Finckenstein "categorically" denied any government interference regarding Sun News or his tenure as CRTC chair.[30]

An online petition titled "Stop Fox News North" was established by the international activist organization Avaaz.org. The petition claimed that Prime Minister Harper seeks to "push American-style hate media onto [Canadian] airwaves" with Sun News, and that the network would be "funded with money from our cable TV fees" (in contradiction to the "mandatory access" request in Quebecor's 2nd CRTC application); the petition also cited Martin's column as evidence that von Finckenstein was the "one man" standing in the way of Sun News getting a preferential licence.[31] Avaaz's petition would garner 30,000 signatures, 21,000 of which Avaaz delivered to the CRTC because they had individual appeals added.[32] Author Margaret Atwood was among the petition signatories, revealing she signed it not as a criticism of Sun News' possible rightward agenda but as a criticism of Harper's style of government, particularly perceived attempts by his government to expedite Sun News' licence approval.[33]

Quebecor immediately dismissed the Avaaz petition against Sun News, alleging Avaaz to be an "American special interest group funded by U.S. billionaire George Soros."[34] (Avaaz has staff in Canada and several other countries, but was co-founded by MoveOn.org,[35] a U.S.-based political advocacy group to which Soros has contributed in the past.[36] However, it is not clear whether Soros has ever directly funded, or otherwise been directly involved with, Avaaz.) Sun News supporters and noted employees piled on as well; Sun News Ottawa bureau chief David Akin, for one, accused Margaret Atwood on his Twitter account of attempting to squelch Quebecor's free speech rights by signing the petition,[33] while Ezra Levant, a future Sun News hire, wrote in a column that ran in the Sun newspapers, not only criticized Soros' perceived direct support of Avaaz but brought up Soros' background as a survivor of Nazi-controlled Hungary ("false, defamatory and offensive statements," according to a spokesperson for Soros, who considered legal action against Sun Media before they apologized, retracted, and removed from its websites Levant's column; Atwood also considered a lawsuit).[37][38]

Quebecor VP of development Kory Teneycke, who was heading up the Sun News project, also took aggressive stands against the network's opponents. In a September 3, 2010 opinion piece that ran in Quebecor-owned newspapers, Teneycke accused Atwood of "[putting] her political agenda ahead of principles and patriotism;" he also criticized Avaaz and challenged the legitimacy of the signatures on its "Stop Fox News North" petition, specifically citing "signatures" from fictitious characters including "Boba Fett" and "Dwight Shroot" (sic).[39] In the same manner as those fictitious monikers, names of real-life journalists were signed to Avaaz's petition, with the journalists actually receiving automated "thank you" e-mails for signing a petition that they never actually signed.[40][41] Teneycke revealed on his Twitter feed (since deactivated) that not only did he also receive a "thank you" for "signing" the petition, he also had been in contact with a prankster who submitted the signatures. Teneycke's posting piqued Avaaz, which noted that the signature list was not viewable to the general public[40] and called the "fraudulent" signatures the work of "a deliberate and illegal effort" meant to discredit the organization. Avaaz investigated further and traced most of the suspect signatures to a single IP address in the Ottawa area;[41][42] Avaaz forwarded its findings to RCMP and Ottawa Police investigators on September 14, 2010, and requested that they look into the matter.[43] (Ottawa Police, after reviewing Avaaz's request, decided in November 2010 not to proceed with an investigation.)[44]

On September 15, 2010, one day after Avaaz's request for a police investigation, Kory Teneycke abruptly resigned from his position at Quebecor and Sun News. Avoiding specific references to the petition controversy in his announcement, Teneycke admitted that his presence and acts while at Sun News had played a part in "debasing" the debate over the network, and that he hoped his departure would lessen the impression of interference by the Harper government and increase civilized debate on Sun News' licensing attempts. Quebecor immediately replaced Teneycke with longtime Quebecor executive (and former Tory operative) Luc Lavoie;[42][45] Lavoie would serve as Sun News head until Teneycke quietly returned to Quebecor and the network in January 2011, two months after Sun News was granted its Category 2 licence.

An October 2010 memo obtained by Canadian Press the following December under the Access to Information Act suggested that Quebecor withdrew its special status requests for Sun News in an effort to appease not only the CRTC but those within the Canadian broadcasting industry who intervened with concerns about the Sun News licencing efforts. Quebecor did not officially divulge the reason for the application change, but then-Sun News head Luc Lavoie acknowledged that the interventions played a part and hoped it would be a sign that Quebecor wanted to "negotiate [carriage terms] in good faith" with cable/satellite carriers.[46]

Michael Ignatieff and Iraq

"A key strategist for Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has been dropped after he was exposed as the source for a Sun Media story alleging Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff played a role in the Iraq war." "Muttart supplied a photo that included a man "very closely resembling" Ignatieff, according to Peladeau, dressed in military fatigues and holding a rifle that was apparently taken in 2002." [47]

Layton and the bawdy house

Sun News ran a story on April 29th, supported by a 1996 Toronto Police report, about Jack Layton and a massage he received in 1996. Layton had gone to a massage parlor, he was warned by an officer that the place was either under investigation or a place to stay away from. Layton was never charged, his wife took no issue with it. [48]

"The facts are that Mr. Layton had obtained a massage from a massage therapist, but had no knowledge whatsoever that the therapist’s location may have been used for illicit purposes," Brian Iler wrote in a statement. [49]

On April 30th an investigation into the leaked police notes was commenced by the Ontario Provincial Police. [50]"The Toronto Police have asked the Ontario Provincial Police to conduct a criminal breach of trust investigation into the leak of official police notes cited in a Sun Media report" This puts Sun News in a bad position, it is possible they face criminal charges or a law suit from the NDP Camp.

Content and programming

Before Quebecor withdrew its mandatory access request for Sun News (see above), the public interest group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting issued a briefing to the CRTC recommending that Sun News' application be rejected, believing that Sun's mandatory access request was "highly unfair" to other licence applicants. However, Friends recommended that if Sun News did win licence approval, Quebecor should be required to commit revenue to Canadian programming (equal to that of CTV News Channel and CBC News Network) as well as adhere to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Code of Ethics for balanced news coverage and programming.[51] The CRTC's November 26 approval specifically included requirements that Sun News would adhere to the RTNDA Code of Journalistic Ethics and the Journalistic Independence Code as a member of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council.[2] Sun News was regarded to be a possible benefactor of a proposal by the CRTC to give licenced broadcast stations more leeway to broadcast false and misleading news (the CRTC dropped the proposal in February 2011).[52]

The content of Sun News' early hours and days did receive some criticism and a little bit of controversy. A few critics wondered about the network's heavy self-promotion and choice of opening night topics, including several critiques against the Crown-owned CBC (a frequent Sun target in print) and little talk about the ongoing political campaign (by coincidence, Sun News' debut occurred 2 weeks before a federal election).[53][54]Ezra Levant was panned for reliance on "old news" during the first edition of The Source, including showing a controversial 2005 cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad.[55][56] An editorial in the Winnipeg Free Press remarked that the network "lacked the ideological zeal and the financial wherewithal to achieve its self-stated goal of changing TV history."[57]

Sun News' perceived sex appeal has received attention during its first week on the air, with both Rick Mercer and Ottawa Citizen columnist Dave Dutton among those tweeting about the "babe shots" during Sun's first day.[58] Later in the week, conservative-leaning columnist Tasha Kheiriddin of the National Post slammed Sun News over the "low cut, sleeveless" attire of the network's female anchors;[59] Maclean's Washington bureau chief Luiza Ch. Savage agreed with Kheiriddin and billed the network as "Skank TV" on her Twitter feed (a comment she has since retracted). Sun News management has defended their anchors' "right to bare arms," as did NDP Member of Parliament Olivia Chow—who unveiled a sleeveless look during an April 21 appearance on The Roundtable, stating that "It’s not what [women in politics] wear that matters, it’s the ideas they bring forward."[60]

Ratings and viewership

On Sun News's first night of broadcast on April 18, 2011, 37,000 viewers nationwide tuned in to the half-hour preview show; 31,000 viewers stayed to watch the first regular program, The Source with Ezra Levant. After the first night, viewership had fallen considerably -- on April 20, 12,000 watched Sun News, only 1000 of them within the key 25 to 54-year old demographic group. Outside the first night, viewership was as high as 19,000 for Ezra Levant's show, to as low as 4000 for Charles Adler's program. On Friday, April 22 at 7pm ET, 11,000 viewers were watching Sun News, while 263,000 watched CBC News Network, and 38,000 saw CNN.[61]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Quebecor fires warning shot at all-news networks", from Globe and Mail, June 15, 2010
  2. ^ a b Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2010-882, published 11/26/2010
  3. ^ "CRTC gives green light to Sun TV," from The Globe and Mail, November 26, 2010
  4. ^ "Sun TV’s conservative 24-hour news service gets the green light", Toronto Star, November 26, 2010
  5. ^ a b "Sun News Network launches with anchor as Sunshine Girl," from The Globe and Mail, 4/18/2011
  6. ^ "Sun launches ‘hard news, straight talk’ TV network", from Toronto Star, June 15, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c "Quebecor to Launch English News Channel", from Broadcaster Magazine, June 15, 2010
  8. ^ LADURANTAYE, STEVE. "Sun News Network hits the airwaves with a hard right". Globe and Mail.
  9. ^ "'Fox News of the North' to launch in Canada", National Post, June 15, 2010
  10. ^ "Dawn breaks for right-wing television," from National Post, 4/18/2011
  11. ^ "Timeline: Sun News," from National Post, 4/18/2011
  12. ^ New Harper spokesman to make PMO more political
  13. ^ "‘Fox News North’ primed for launch", from Globe and Mail, June 14, 2010
  14. ^ "Thumbs up.com," from TorontoSunFamily.BlogSpot.com, posted 4/20/2011
  15. ^ a b "SUN TV NEWS Announces New Additions", October 22, 2010
  16. ^ "Former Miss Canada to host Sun News Network’s morning show". Winnipeg Sun, March 17, 2011.
  17. ^ "Right-wing Sun News Network loses prime-time anchor on eve of launch," from Canadian Press via Toronto Star, 4/13/2011
  18. ^ Simon Doyle (June 15, 2010). "Quebecor asks CRTC for limited, three-year 'must carry' licence for Sun TV News, offers to give up analogue Sun TV". The Wire Report. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  19. ^ Public Notice CRTC 2000-6, January 13, 2000
  20. ^ "CRTC refuses Sun TV’s bid for preferred status on dial". The Globe and Mail, July 15, 2010.
  21. ^ Broadcasting Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-198, March 31, 2010. This bulletin's references to "Category A" licences are in relation to a proposed new category which would include both legacy analog and current Category 1 digital services (see also Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2008-100).
  22. ^ "Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2010-649", from the CRTC website, posted 9/1/2010.
  23. ^ "Quebecor not giving up on application for must-carry Sun TV News", from The Wire Report, posted 9/1/2010 and accessed 9/9/2010
  24. ^ "Sun TV gears down licence application", from globeandmail.com, 10/5/2010
  25. ^ "Sun TV News to cater to conservative viewers, new channel's head says", from Financial Post, 11/26/2010.
  26. ^ "Sun News Network to Launch Today," from Broadcaster, 4/18/2011
  27. ^ Sun News Network (2011-03-31). "from Sun News Network Twitter feed, c. March 2011". Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  28. ^ Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2011-95 from the CRTC website, posted 2/14/2011
  29. ^ Lawrence Martin (2010-08-19). "Is Stephen Harper set to move against the CRTC?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
  30. ^ Konrad von Finckenstein (2010-09-08). "Letter to the editor: CRTC independence". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
  31. ^ "Canada: Stop "Fox News North"". Avaaz.org. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
  32. ^ "Activist group Avaaz files 21,000-name petition against Sun TV", from Canadian Press via cbc.ca, 10/1/2010
  33. ^ a b "Margaret Atwood takes on ‘Fox News North’", Ottawa Notebook blog posting by Jane Taber from globeandmail.com, 9/1/2010
  34. ^ "AMERICAN PETITION AND MARGARET ATWOOD: BUZZ OFF!". Sun TV News. 2010-09-04. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
  35. ^ "About Us". Avaaz.org. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
  36. ^ "Democrats Forming Parallel Campaign". Washington Post. 2004-03-10. Retrieved 2010-09-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  37. ^ "Retraction and apology to George Soros," from Toronto Sun, printed 9/18/2010 and accessed 4/18/2011
  38. ^ "Billionaire Soros threatening to sue Sun Media", from The Globe and Mail, 9/17/2010
  39. ^ "Atwood sells out to the Yankees", opinion piece by Kory Teneycke as published in Sault Star, 9/3/2010.
  40. ^ a b "'Stop Fox News North' petition? We didn't sign it", from CBC News' Inside Politics Blog, posted 9/3/2010
  41. ^ a b "Avaaz.org vs. Sun TV vs. Unwitting Hill Journalists...", from CBC News' Inside Politics blog, posted 9/3/2010
  42. ^ a b "Executive’s abrupt departure raises questions about Sun TV’s future", from The Globe and Mail, 9/16/2010
  43. ^ "Avaaz vs. Sun News TV Redux: Hey, remember that whole petition kerfuffle?", from CBC News' Inside Politics Blog, posted 9/14/2010
  44. ^ "Cops won't investigate fake names on Sun TV petition", from Canadian Press via cbcnews.ca, 11/8/2010
  45. ^ "Former Tory spokesman exits Sun TV", Ottawa Notebook posting from globeandmail.com, posted 9/15/2010
  46. ^ "Sun TV believed changed application would answer concern of objectors:documents", from Canadian Press via cbcnews.ca, 12/9/2010
  47. ^ "Tory strategist dumped over bogus Ignatieff photo". CBC News. 2011-04-27. Retrieved 2011-04-27.
  48. ^ "statement-from-olivia-chow". oliviachow.ca News. 2011-04-29. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  49. ^ "Layton slams massage parlour report as 'smears'". CBC News. 2011-04-29. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  50. ^ "Leak of police notes in Layton report probed publisher=cbc news". 2011-4-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing pipe in: |title= (help)
  51. ^ "Reject Sun TV Application Says Friends", from Broadcaster magazine, 9/30/2010
  52. ^ "CRTC dumps proposal to ease rules on false news," from CTV News, 2/25/2011
  53. ^ "Sun News Network rises," from QMI via torontosun.com, 4/18/2011
  54. ^ Will Sun News have any real influence on the election?" from the "Election Chatter" blog of Ottawa Magazine 4/19/2011
  55. ^ "Sun News Network: Hard News. Straight Talk. Short Skirts." from MacLeans.ca, 4/19/2011
  56. ^ "Ezra Levant brings back Muhammad cartoons during Sun TV launch," from canada.com, 4/18/2011
  57. ^ Oswald, Brad (23-04-11). "Sun TV rises; is anyone watching?". Winnipeg Free Press. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  58. ^ "Sun TV News launches 'controversially Canadian' channel," from CTV News, 4/18/2011
  59. ^ "Skirts trump hard news," column by Tasha Kheiriddin from National Post, 4/21/2011
  60. ^ "'Skank TV' tag has Chow baring arms," from canoe.ca, 4/21/2011
  61. ^ Canadian Press, via Marketing Magazine: "Sun News drawing as little as 4,000 viewers during some time slots", April 27, 2011.
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