We talk to former CBC and CTV reporter Kai Nagata, who wrote a scathing blog post about his disillusionment with TV news, which has set off a heated debate about the state of the field.

---

Today's guest host was Jim Brown.

Part One of The Current

Satire

It's Wednesday July 13th.

According to a new poll, a move to abolish the Senate would be backed by 34 percent of Canadians.

Or as the Harper government calls it, a majority.

This is The Current.

Kai Nagata: Whither TV News

Kai Nagata gave a pretty simple reason for walking away from his job as Quebec City Bureau Chief for CTV News. In a blog post titled Why I Quit My Job, he said it was not the best use of my short life.

Then, over the course of the next 3,000 words, he laid-out a scathing critique of the television news industry, accusing it of being a largely vapid, over-sexualized wasteland incapable of demanding serious political accountability. Since then, his blog entry has been re-posted tens-of-thousands-of times on Twitter and Facebook, catching the attention of people as far away as Australia. Even legendary movie critic Roger Ebert has weighed in. And here in Canada, it has sparked a lot of talk among the country's journalists.

We aired some reactions from Canadian journalists to the recent blog post written by Kai Nagata.

Until last week, Kai Nagata was the Quebec City Bureau Chief for CTV News. He's also a former CBC News reporter and he was in Chicago today. And Jessica Hume is a reporter for the National Post, and she recently wrote a column entitled Kai Nagata does journalism a favour. We reached Jessica Hume just outside Toronto, where she's on assignment this morning.

We did request a comment from CTV and the network provided us with this statement:

Kai was with us for 10 months. Had he stuck with it a little longer, he may have come to appreciate the impact and influence that television journalists make every day. We wish him the best for his future.

The CBC, where Kai Nagata worked before CTV, declined comment.

Related Links:

• CTV news reporter quits plum post By Bruce DeMara - Toronto Star
• Why I didn't quit my job By Sandra Thomas - Vancouver Courier
  

  
  

Other segment from today's show:

• Somali Famine