Citizens' Forum (TV series)

Citizens' Forum
Presented by Gordon Hawkins
Country of origin Canada
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 7
Production
Running time 30 minutes
Release
Original network CBC Television
Original release 25 October 1955 – 29 April 1962
Chronology
Followed by The Sixties

Citizens' Forum is a Canadian current affairs television series which aired on CBC Television from 1955 to 1962.

Premise

Episodes in the first season of Citizens' Forum concerned social topics such as the prison system, whether Canada could be considered a Christian nation, unemployment and various current news stories.[1] A panel conversation was followed by discussion from a studio audience. A subject could be presented for three weeks, followed by feedback from viewers in a follow-up "What People Say" episode.

In the second season (1956–1957), the series aired on Sunday afternoons instead of prime time and the episodes no longer adhered to a strict panel and audience format. The initial four episodes of that season featured debates on a particular resolution in each episode. Another set of episodes, named "You Be The Critic", allowed viewers to mail in their views on particular topics. "Take It From Here" was another set of programs which presented a subject as a short drama followed by a discussion. During the series run, the series used telephone call-in segments and sometimes originated in different Canadian cities.

Citizens' Forum was a co-production between the CBC and the Canadian Association for Adult Education (CAAE), adapted from a similar series which was broadcast on CBC Radio since 1943.[2][3] After this series ended in April 1962, the next CBC/CAAE co-production was the The Sixties (1963–1966).

Les idées en marche on Radio-Canada was a more successful French-language version of Citizens' Forum. Like the English series, it was also a co-production with an educational body.[1]

Scheduling

This half-hour series was broadcast as follows (times in North American Eastern):

Day Time Season run
Tuesdays 10:00 p.m. 25 October 1955 27 March 1956
Sundays 3:00 p.m. 28 October 1956 31 March 1957
Sundays 3:00 p.m. 27 October 1957 30 March 1958
Sundays 3:00 p.m. 26 October 1958 29 March 1959
Sundays 3:00 p.m. 25 October 1959 3 April 1960
Sundays 4:30 p.m. 5 November 1961 14 November 1961
Sundays 5:00 p.m. 21 November 1961 29 April 1962

References

  1. 1 2 Rutherford, Paul (1990). When Television Was Young: Primetime Canada 1952-1967. University of Toronto Press. p. 171. ISBN 0-8020-5830-2.
  2. ↑ Corcelli, John (April 2002). "Citizens' Forum". Canadian Communications Foundation. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  3. ↑ Rutherford, Paul (1990). When Television Was Young: Primetime Canada 1952-1967. University of Toronto Press. p. 151. ISBN 0-8020-5830-2.

External links

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