The journalist and broadcaster Wendy Mesley agreed to do an interview with me — her first since officially parting ways with the CBC last year following an internal office scandal involving her use of the “n-word.” The incident occurred in a Zoom meeting in the wake of the George Floyd protests during which Mesley was decrying the racist abuse endured by a junior reporter. Mesley understood in the meeting she’d caused offence and immediately apologised; she was later suspended pending an investigation and left the network in disgrace. She hasn’t appeared on air since then —until now.
Cancellation aside, Mesley is a legend — a bonafide national household name in a country that doesn’t have many. I grew up watching her ground-breaking show Undercurrents, which covered the rise of big data in the mid-90s, when “tech coverage” was barely a concept in the mainstream media. She began as a political reporter in Quebec went on to host a handful hard-hitting news shows, from investigative documentaries to anchoring of The National, the CBC’s flagship evening news program, which she occasionally co-hosted with her ex-husband Peter Mansbridge (apparently they’re still good friends). Most recently she was host of The Weekly with Wendy Mesley, a Sunday morning politics magazine show.
Mesley couldn’t really say no when I asked since she’d just interviewed me for her new podcast, Women of Ill Repute (which she co-hosts with the comedian Maureen Holloway). It launched this week and you can listen to it here.
In a relaxed, wide-ranging chat we talked about our respective encounters with Canada’s formidable deputy prime minister (and former journalist) Chrystia Freeland, the gig-economy, ring lights, pensions, news-withdrawal, the recent death of her mother, the interviews she regrets missing out on (Dolly Parton in Dollywood) and the ones she doesn’t (Pierre Elliot Trudeau in a hot tub), bullshit gag orders, moral panic, podcasting, culture warriors and, of course, how everything really went down at the CBC.
The full interview for paid subscribers only, so if you’re curious you can become a member by clicking below. It’s only $5 a week (£4 in the UK)
*All quote should be attributed.
