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CBC Television Network

People Talking Back

Network: CBC Television Network

Broadcast Run: 1979

Broadcast Medium: Television

Aired every other Sunday afternoon from February 25 to April 22, 1979.
This series of five programs was produced as a  follow-up to a 3 hour interactive telecast hosted by Gordon Pinsent. That first show, presented live from a high school in Edmonton, used satellite feeds, phone calls and computer polls to link viewers from coast-to-coast. The program addressed itself to a range of issues about the way Canadians live and how they feel about their jobs, the economy, and politics. Guests included journalist, Ken Lefolii, who used to work on The Way It Is for CBC; sociologist Tim Tyler and Glen Milne, a “futurist”.
The CBC co-produced the program with the CAAE, Citizen’s Association of Adult Education. The three hour show was extremely popular with high participation and audience response. The five half-hour follow-up programs were presented on Sunday afternoons, and concentrated on more specific issues, such as politicians and the media, jobs and work and unemployment, the role of the economy in meeting the desires of Canadians, and prospects for the future. The host was John Hanlon and the executive producer was Dolores MacFarlane.