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W5

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'''''W5''''', also known as ''W-FIVE'' or ''W5 with Eric Malling'', is a Canada Canadian news magazine television series which has aired on the CTV Television Network since 1966. The title refers to the Five Ws of journalism: Who, What, Where, When and Why? Its magazine format is considered an inspiration for a number of similar programs, including the American ''60 Minutes'' which premiered two years later. ''W5'' came under controversy during the 1970s when it aired a feature called "Campus Giveaways" that used incorrect statistics to conclude that foreign students were eroding white Canadians' opportunities for a secondary education and benefitting from public universities funded by Canadian taxpayers, without exploring the statement's backgrounds. The host of the program stated: : ''...there are so many oriental foreign students that they rarely mix with their Canadian classmates. It's as if there are two campuses at Canadian universities—foreign and domestic. Certainly this Chinese theatre attracts a full house, but not one Canadian student attended.''¹ It has been alleged that the feature was specifically directed to form a negative view towards Chinese race Chinese and Chinese Canadian Chinese Canadians. As well, it did not determine if the people filmed in that particular episode were actually Chinese or Chinese Canadian. After protests by Chinese Canadians, including Dr. Joseph Yu Kai Wong Joseph Wong (later founder of the Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care), ''W5'' retracted this statement and apologised. The president of CTV of the time, Murray Cherover, issued the following statement on April 16, 1980: : ''...our critics—particularly Chinese Canadians and the universities—criticized the program as racist; they were right...We share the dismay of our critics that this occurred. We sincerely apologize for the fact that Chinese Canadians were depicted as foreigners and for whatever distress this stereotyping may have caused them in the context of our multicultural society.''² This event also led to the formation of the Chinese Canadian National Council in order to form a stronger voice representing Chinese Canadians nationwide. Hosts and reporters associated with the show have included: * Ken Cavanagh * Henry Champ * Wei Chen * Tom Clark * Bill Cunningham * Frank Drea * Tom Gould * Helen Hutchinson * Doug Johnson * Peter Kent * Ken Lefolii * Michael Maclear (1977-78) * Victor Malarek * Eric Malling (1990-1996) * Christine Nielsen * Susan Ormiston * Jim Reid * Morley Safer * Elliott Shiff * Sylvia Sweeney * Patrick Watson The addition of high-profile journalist Eric Malling in 1990 led to the series being renamed ''W5 with Eric Malling'' during his tenure with the program. For several years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the program used a portion of Supertramp's "Fool's Overture" as its theme music.

References
¹ 1979a "Campus Giveway." ''W5'' Transcripts. September 30, 1979 (Released October 4, 1979). ² "News release: Statement by President and Managing Director, CTV" April 16, 1980.

External links

- Show website Category:News television series in Canada Category:CTV network shows {{tvseries-stub}} {{canada-stub}}

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