TVO’s Steve Paikin, left, most recently moderated the English-language federal leaders debate.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
TVO journalist and host Steve Paikin has announced that The Agenda, the long-running current affairs show he co-hosts on Ontario’s publicly funded English-language educational television network, will end in June.
In a blog post, Paikin wrote that TVO’s flagship current 19th season of would be the last – and, with his 65th birthday impending, he would soon no longer be a full-time employee at the network.
“As much as I have loved hosting The Agenda for the past 19 years (and hosting four other programs for TVO over the past 32 years in total), anchoring a daily program is a seven-day-a-week job,” he wrote.
“I realized that if I ever wanted to tackle some of the other things on life’s to-do list, I just couldn’t do them and host a daily show at the same time. Something’s gotta give.”
In a press release, TVO said that Paikin – who moderated the English-language federal leaders debates last week – would continue to be involved with the broadcaster in a number of ways, including as co-host of the weekly #onpoli podcast and writer of a weekly online column.
Nam Kiwanuka, who currently co-hosts The Agenda, will remain at TVO and assume other hosting duties.
In the place of The Agenda this fall, TVO will launch a new show in its time-slot called The Rundown . According to a description provided by the broadcaster, it will feature “a single topic in multiple ways using a mix of hosted studio interviews and field segments, ‘streeters’ and explainer-style videos to bring in different and diverse perspectives.” No host or hosts for the new program have yet been announced.
“”The editorial standards that we are bringing to The Rundown will be similar to what our audiences have come to value on The Agenda, although the production style will be more varied,” John Ferri, VP of Programming and Content for TVO, said in a statement. Ferri describe the decision to end The Agenda now as a collaborative one made three years ago when Paikin’s current contract was signed.
The last episode of The Agenda is scheduled to air June 27.
