Stand and deliver

Last night’s CBC National news was the first with Peter Mansbridge standing. I found myself checking his suit for wrinkles far more than necessary. I found none, not even in the crotch area, the usual worst place.

In what is clearly a rip-off of Wolf Blitzer’s CNN Situation Room, the entire hour is done with everyone standing. At times, they went to ludicrous lengths to stick with the awkward format. Mansbridge and a reporter stood facing each other on a riser the size of a ping-pong table with a rear screen in between them that projected points they were making.

For other stories, the reporter joined Mansbridge at a high-boy desk that only works if you’re a certain height. I can’t wait to see what happens later in the week with the three-member panel (Gregg, Coyne and Hebert) standing in three different locations.

At the end of the newscast, I realized that I couldn’t remember the main elements of any story they broadcast. Did the long line-ups for flu shots all get inoculated? What was that about the amber alert? How close was Wendy Mesley standing to her ex?

Maybe tonight I’ll stand to watch.