Your Questions: Ask CBC

1. Who do you most want to interview this season? (someone who you don't have lined up for an interview yet)

2. Will you be doing any shows from Ottawa this season? :)

George Stroumboulopoulos: This season I would love to interview Neil Young and Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Those are the two people who I think we really need on this show.

Neil, because Neil has never been irrelevant. Neil is arguably the greatest artistic contribution Canada has ever made to the world. We’ve made a lot of great contributions, but Neil I think is at the forefront of that. He did it when it wasn’t easy. He did it when, his contemporaries - when he had to compete you know, when musicians come out and you see who are on the charts at that time. Look at the charts at the time Neil Young came out. Neil Young came out when the greatest of all time were out and he was part of that group.

And, obviously the leader of the Conservative Party, Stephen Harper, because he’s the leader of the country, and if you want to have a fight, or if you want to have a conversation, don’t talk to the bank teller, talk to the bank manager, and Mr. Harper is bank manager of this country. And plus, I’m really curious about the human side of it. About being the Prime Minister and how hard it is to the job, but more specifically how he gets up in the morning and problems solves some of the profound issues in this country. I think he’s a incredibly smart man and it would be nice to have him in the show again.

What's your favourite song or artist that you've discovered when you couldn't sleep?

George Stroumboulopoulos:Yeah, I discovered Bonnie Prince Billy — that was a few years ago though because he had this beautiful song called The Way, which really stuck with me. But, when it comes to finding the right song to listen to at night I used to just have a band I was into, and I would listen to that band, so when I was 15 it was Pink Floyd or Zeppelin, but now when I go to sleep at night, it’s a band called Spiritualized. They just have the perfect tones. They’re like the Flaming Lips in that they’re perfect at 3 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon — and it’s hard to find a band that can do both but they are that band.

But what I do now, I start to play the YouTube game, and if there’s a song I like, and a lyric in that song I like, like: “Come on baby stop your crying” I then start using the internet and my own relationship with music and I go back, and try find what influenced that part of that song, and what influenced that influencer, so with YouTube and Myspace and the rest of the internet and my understanding of different bands, I try to take each song I listen to at night, right back to the beginning, so I understand where the song comes from. I find that at night, when I can’t sleep is a beautiful thing because you don’t have the anxiety and frustration of not being able to sleep because you’re experiencing so many different things and music all at the same time. That’s just what I do.

George, The Hour couldn't have been returning at a more exciting time. Will you have the chance, with the Federal Election near, to have all major party leaders (and that includes Elizabeth May) on The Hour? If so, I'd love to hear how they perceive either a McCain or Obama administration can work together to improve N. America's stance on healthcare, climate, immigration and security.

George Stroumboulopoulos: Yes, of course. We have put requests out for all the party leaders, including Gilles Duceppe to appear on our show. Elizabeth May has already been on our show in the past, and we have requested her again.

How have past encounters with guests shaped the way you will approach the new season?

George Stroumboulopoulos: I treat everybody like it’s the first time we’ve had a conversation. Every time you interview somebody you just gain a new perspective on how to interview somebody else. You begin to see patterns develop in answers and you begin to see when someone is answering a question truthfully and when they are answering the way their publicist wants them to. Past encounters just give you more in your arsenal, in terms of how to deal with these interviews.

You've been working in the media business for quite some time now. Do you feel the media, more specifically television, has gotten better or worse?

George Stroumboulopoulos: I believe we are in the golden age of television, as it relates to television shows. I think that television shows now are better then they’ve ever been, that news shows now are better then they’ve ever been, and talk shows are as good as they’ve ever been. That being said there are so many choices out there that while there are so many great shows there’s a lot that perhaps just don’t live up to expectations.

But, I don’t look at the media as a whole. I don’t look at the media as one thing. I look at whatever show is on at that time. I can’t compare today’s version of the media to media 50 years ago. Media is one word and within that so much is happening at one time.

I do think television has gotten way better. The other side of the coin is that there are so many channels, owned by a few networks and you end up still having an enormous amount of shit on offer, even though there are still are quality shows being made.

The biggest problem with media is multiple-ownership. The majority of the media being owned by a few companies is horrendous for the people. Still within that universe some amazing shows are being made both fiction and non-fiction.

Do you think the Canadian news media are doing a good job (in comparison to our southern neighbours) at cutting through the "crud" being generated by the American-style political campaign ads that are polluting our TV's, computers, and mailboxes? (and will you be doing another show in Vancouver?)

George Stroumboulopoulos: Yes. I think the Canadian news media is some of the best in the world. Both public and private media in this country do an amazing job of cutting through all of the garbage. The Canadian political parties are not much different than the American parties and the way Conservatives, Liberals, New Democrats are attacking each other is pretty much in line with the Americans, so there is no reason we can be smug.

The networks here do a much better job in covering it. What we don’t do here is get caught up in the theatre of it. That’s a fundamental difference. We still get caught up in the drama, but we don’t get caught up in the theatre of it. Here, what you say is more important than how you say it.

You are a Habs fan. How do you think they will do this year? Oh and for those long suffering Leafs fans, how will the leafs do?

George Stroumboulopoulos: 106 points this year! I cannot not predict about how they will do in the playoffs, because that would be bad karma. I am too superstitious about hockey to do that. I just don’t want to play Boston in the playoffs again. I’m so sick and f*&^in’ tired of playing Boston in the playoffs. I want to beat Philadelphia. Badly.

And the Leafs? Who?

Which guest has made the most impact on you since you've started with the Hour and why?

George Stroumboulopoulos: June Callwood. Interviewing a woman two weeks before she passed away. She was a magical person, she was so honest and so tender and so willing to talk about what she and her husband were going through. It was pretty special.

George... Will you take the show on tour this year? Pack up your gear and bring the show to different areas of Canada... and while your at it, bring the show to Kandahar too.

George Stroumboulopoulos: Yes and no, we are going to take our show on the road, the real challenge is that it’s very expensive to do a road show. We’ve already broadcast from St. John’s, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Yak, B.C., Las Vegas, London, England, we will add more cities to that.

As for Kandahar, I don’t know. I wrestle in my head with what we would get from that experience. If we went there, we’d have to be at the military base and any time you broadcast from a military base, I just wonder if what we’d see would truly be what it’s like there. I think a news broadcast, and news journalists can do that, it’s a different relationship. For a show like ours, that needs to get out there and see the people it could be difficult. Truth is, I would have trouble believing the Canadian military would invite us there. I know that the soldiers watch our show, but I’m not so sure the military brass would even want us there.