At Queen Street and John in the heart of downtown Toronto, in front of the ChumCity broadcast facility, is a small booth featuring a video camera, sound equipment, and a coin slot that is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For a Canadian dollar (known affectionately as a Looney) you can look right into the camera and speak your mind about anything you want, from current events to shout-outs to your homeys. And, if you are very expressive, funny, poignant, or just pretty damn interesting, there is a chance that your pontifications will be shown on television to the Greater Toronto Area population.
The show you may be on is Speakers' Corner, which appears every Sunday at 7:30 on Toronto's Citytv. Speakers' Corner began in 1990 and has featured everything from requests for assistance in looking for missing children or pets, rants on the day's news stories, and even spontaneous stand-up comedy bits. It has also been used by various musical acts, including Canada's own Barenaked Ladies, to obtain exposure. According to the Speaker's Corner website the most compelling and topical entries are selected for broadcast. They also have a better chance of being aired if your views are concise and to the point.
So, the next time you're in Toronto and want to vent your spleen stop by the video booth, insert your Looney (which is donated to charity) and express your opinion. You may be an instant star . . . in Canada, at least.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-10-2006 @ 12:35PM
Nick Obi said...
They have a few Speakers Corner booths for CityTV Vancouver too, as well as one in Victoria for A Channel. I would think they have them in other canadian cities with CHUM affiliates, but I wouldn't know...
I've never used the faucilities, but it's nice to know that if you're an effective enough ranter, or are drunk, you can get your voice heard.
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7-10-2006 @ 1:03PM
Elliott said...
I spend the weekend in Toronto whenever possible. Everytime I've passed a Speaker's Corner, no Canadians are around. I think it's more of a tourist attraction than anything. I think it's been around for over 10 years since I visited it on my very first trip to the city. Perhaps the novelty has worn off for the locals.
The saddest segment I've ever seen aired: A child pleading for someone to return her missing puppy followed by a man pleading for his wife to stop cheating and come home. Of course this was followed by guy who did a short comedic routine. Good TV, and I would be super curious to see how it would work here in The D.
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