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The Fifth Estate (TV program)

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The Fifth Estate
Wordmark logo of The Fifth Estate
Title card since 2017
Genre
Starring
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons47
Production
Executive producerDiana Swain
Running time60 minutes
Production companyCanadian Broadcasting Corporation
Original release
Network
ReleaseSeptember 15, 1975 (1975-09-15) –
present

The Fifth Estate is an English-language Canadian investigative documentary series that airs on the national CBC Television network.

The name is a reference to the term "Fourth Estate", and was chosen to highlight the program's determination to go beyond everyday news into original journalism. The program has been on the air since 16 September 1975,[1] and its primary focus is on investigative journalism. The show was launched in 1975 by Ron Haggart.[2] It has engaged in co-productions with the BBC, The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, and often with the PBS program Frontline.

The Fifth Estate is one of two television programs (with The Twilight Zone being the first) to win an Academy Award, a prize presented to theatrical films: Just Another Missing Kid, originally a The Fifth Estate episode, was released in theatres in the United States and won the 1982 Academy Award for Documentary Feature.

Journalists

[edit]

Journalists associated with the show, past and present, include:

Episodes

[edit]

News reports aired on The Fifth Estate have included investigations into and reports about:

Season 34 (2008–09)

[edit]

The 2008–09 television season was the 34th season of The Fifth Estate.

Episode Title Original air date[5] Subject
1 Disappearing Act Interview with David Reiner, a bookkeeper who turned fugitive after stealing nearly a million dollars from nonprofit day-care centres.
2 Inside Room 222
3 Shadows of Doubt The death of Royal Military College cadet Joe Grozelle, whose disappearance in October 2003 launched a Canadian Forces National Investigation Service search.
4 The Girl in Saskatoon (Update) A follow-up on the unsolved murder of Alexandra Wiwcharuk, a former beauty queen in Saskatoon.
5 After the Storm The 2007 murder of filmmaker Helen Hill in New Orleans.
6 Overboard (Update) An update on the case of Laura Gainey, who was swept overboard while sailing on the Picton Castle in December 2006.
7 The Gospel of Green The efforts of German parliamentarian Hermann Scheer to increase his country's reliance on renewable-energy sources.
8 Head Games The short life expectancy of professional football players in Canada.
9 Where the Women Went
10 The Chess Master
11 A Death in the Family The case of Bill Mullins-Johnson, who served 12 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of the rape and murder of his 6-year-old niece.
12 Someone Got Away With Murder[6] January 21, 2009 Double murder of Andrea Scherpf and Bernd Göricke
13 Strangers in Paradise
14 Collateral Damage Two men who were implicated in the 2005 shootings of four RCMP officers in Mayerthorpe, Alberta.
15 Powerless
16 Black Widow
17 The Code Hockey's "unwritten law" about fighting.
18 Top Gun The potential dangers of video-game obsession.
19 Staying Alive
20 The Elephant in the Room The Airbus affair and Karlheinz Schreiber's dealings.
21 A Fight to the Death
22 Amazing Grace
23 Bad Day in Barrhead
24 Life & Death in Kandahar The war in Afghanistan through the eyes of the medical professionals serving at Canada's trauma centre at the Kandahar Air Base.

Season 36 (2010–11)

[edit]

The 2010–11 television season was the 36th season of The Fifth Estate.[7]

Episode Title Original air date
1 Enemies of the State October 15, 2010
2 The Confession October 22, 2010
3 The Fall and Rise of Theo Fleury October 29, 2010
4 The Life and Death of Abdinasir Dirie November 5, 2010
5 Behind the Wall November 12, 2010
6 The Girl in the Suitcase November 19, 2010
7 The Legacy of Brendan Burke November 26, 2010
8 Presumed Dead December 3, 2010
9 After the Earth Shook January 7, 2011
10 Justice for Nadia January 14, 2011
11 Death of the Don January 28, 2011
12 WikiRebels February 4, 2011
13 Death at the Olympics February 11, 2011
14 The Devil You Know February 18, 2011
15 You Should Have Stayed At Home February 25, 2011
16 Missing March 11, 2011
17 Getting Off Easy March 18, 2011
18 My Friend the Bank Robber March 25, 2011
19 A Question of Innocence April 1, 2011

Season 37 (2011–12)

[edit]

The 2011–12 television season was the 37th season[8] of The Fifth Estate.

Episode Title Original air date CBC viewers
1 Truth and Lies: The Last Days of Osama bin Laden September 9, 2011 599,000
2 Swissair 111: The Untold Story September 16, 2011 775,000
3 Gatti-vs-Gatti September 23, 2011 436,000
4 Mayday September 30, 2011 482,000
5 Colonel Gadhafi: Palace of Secrets October 7, 2011 577,000
6 True Confession October 14, 2011 504,000
7 Scout's Honour October 21, 2011 567,000
8 'Til Death Do Us Part October 28, 2011 482,000
9 Stories from the River's Edge November 4, 2011 509,000
10 Murder, he wrote November 18, 2011 535,000
11 A Cold Case November 25, 2011 612,000
12 Holiday Hell December 2, 2011 722,000
13 Behind the Line December 9, 2011 568,000
14 Escape From Justice January 6, 2012 853,000
15 Diagnosis Murder January 13, 2012 646,000
16 The Lies People Tell January 20, 2012 752,000
17 Who's Killing the Rizzutos? January 27, 2012 622,000
18 The Wreck of the Costa Concordia February 3, 2012 1,317,000
19 The House of Shafia February 10, 2012 470,000
20 The Lost Boys February 17, 2012 565,000
21 Fearless February 24, 2012 298,000
22 Fast Break March 2, 2012 203,000
23 Time Bomb March 9, 2012 895,000
24 Lost on the Ice March 23, 2012 300,400
25 Kidnapped April 6, 2012 1,200,000

Season 38 (2012–13)

[edit]

The 2012–13 television season was the 38th season[9] of The Fifth Estate.

Episode Title Original air date
1 Into the Death Zone[10] September 12, 2012 Death of Canadian Shriya Shah-Klorfine on Mt. Everest
2 Kingston Pen: Secrets and Lies[11] September 21, 2012 Kingston Penitentiary
3 Runaway Fighter[12] September 28, 2012 Purchase of the F-35 fighter jet
4 The Widow's Web[13] October 5, 2012 So-called "black widow" Melissa Ann Shepard
5 The Life and Death of Gloria Taylor[14] October 12, 2012 Gloria Taylor, the first Canadian to have the right to ask for a doctor's assistance in dying
6 Whistleblowers: Moment of Truth[15] October 19, 2012 The fate of well-known Canadian whistleblowers
7 Lost in the Struggle: The Next Chapter[16] October 26, 2012 Return to Jane and Finch, Toronto
8 Lucky 7[17] November 2, 2012 The recovery of the stolen lottery win
9 The Elephant in the Room[18] November 9, 2012 Retiring zoo elephants
10 Left for Dead[19] November 16, 2012 Struggle for survival in icy waters near Baffin Island
11 Lance Armstrong: Master of Spin[20] November 23, 2012 Lance Armstrong
12 Hunting Magnotta[21] November 30, 2012 Double murderer Luka Magnotta and whether his gruesome crimes could have been prevented
13 Costa Concordia: The Captain's Tale[22] December 7, 2012 Costa Concordia disaster
14 The Imperfect Spy[23] April 10, 2017 What Jeffrey Delisle did and why
15 The Last Race[24] January 18, 2013 Death of Canadian ski cross competitor Nick Zoricic in World Cup competition
16 Death in Paradise January 25, 2013 Unexplained tourist deaths may be linked to pesticide use
17 Target bin Laden[25] February 1, 2013 Osama bin Laden
18 Crossfire[26] February 8, 2013 The National Rifle Association's influence in the United States and Canada
19 The Unrepentant[27] February 22, 2013 Canadian psychopaths Melbourne "Lightning" Lee, Russell Williams, Karla Homolka, and two young offenders
20 The Vanishing[28] March 1, 2013 Disappearance of Wendy Ratté
21 Second Wave[29] March 8, 2013 Debris from 2011 Japanese tsunami begins to reach Canadian coasts
22 Ironman[30] March 29, 2013 Russ George's massive iron fertilization project off of BC's west coast
23 Mission Improbable[31] April 5, 2013 Cynthia Vanier, SNC-Lavalin, and an alleged plot to smuggle Saadi Gaddafi and his family into Mexico
24 Rate My Hospital[32] April 12, 2013

Season 39 (2013–14)

[edit]

The 2013–14 television season was the 39th season of The Fifth Estate.

Episode Title[33] Original air date Subject
1 The Secrets of Sugar[34] October 4, 2013
2 Made in Bangladesh[35] October 11, 2013 Textile industry in Bangladesh, triggered by the 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse
3 The Murder and the Money Trail[36] October 18, 2013
4 Elephants on Board: A Journey to Remember[37] October 25, 2013 PAWS sanctuary
5 The Strange World of Julian Assange[38] November 1, 2013 Julian Assange
6 The Rob Ford Story[39] November 8, 2013 Rob Ford, late mayor of Toronto
7 The Sextortion of Amanda Todd[40] November 15, 2013 Suicide of Amanda Todd
8 The Conspiracy Files: JFK and 9/11[41] November 22, 2013 Conspiracy theories around John F. Kennedy's assassination and 9/11
9 The Last Great Escape[42] November 29, 2013
10 Silence of the Labs[43] January 10, 2013
11 The Man Who Hears Voices[44] January 17, 2014
12 Walk the Line[45] January 22, 2014 A prominent biker cop who was accused of selling secrets to the Hell's Angels
13 Voyage of the Black Dragon[46] January 31, 2014 A voyage attempted by 600 Chinese migrants to sneak into Canada in 1999.
14 Rabbi of the Pure Hearts: Inside Lev Tahor[47] February 28, 2014 Lev Tahor and alleged child abuse within a Jewish community.
15 The Rise and Fall of Mike Duffy[48] March 7, 2014 Mike Duffy and the Canadian Senate expenses scandal
16 Return to Paradise[49] March 14, 2014 Pesticides used in a tropical resort hotel room may have killed guests in Asia.
17 Dead Enough[50] March 21, 2014 Canada's varying standards for declaring death affects organ transplants
18 Your Tips, Our Stories[51] March 28, 2014 Stories from viewer tips: a man deceives Canadian women into supporting him financially; the Halifax death of a young blind woman is re-examined; the worst case of small-town corruption
19 Love and the Perfect Stranger[52] March 28, 2014 Markus Vuorinen, a Finnish former gameshow host who promised love to at least 10 women across Canada before being arrested on assault charges
20 The Long Way Home March 28, 2014 The Halifax death of a young blind woman, Holly Bartlett
21 Small Town Shakedown[53] March 28, 2014 The worst case of small-town corruption: Rita Crundwell stealing millions from the town coffers in Dixon, Illinois.

Season 43 (2017–18)

[edit]

The 2017–18 television season was the 43rd season of The Fifth Estate.

Episode Title[54] Broadcast Date Subject
1 Murder in Cottage Country[55] September 15, 2017 Decades-old mystery over the disappearance of 4 elderly people in the Muskoka region of Ontario
2 Pit Bulls Unleashed: Should They Be Banned[56] September 22, 2017
3 The Truth Smugglers[57] September 29, 2017 People in Syria who smuggle out photographs and pages of secret official documents
4 Jagmeet Singh: The Colour of Politics[58] October 13, 2017 Jagmeet Singh
5 Motherisk: Tainted Tests & Broken Families[59] October 20, 2017 Motherisk
6 Via Rail Terror Plot : The Inside Man[60] October 27, 2017
7 TransCanada and Keystone XL : The Money Pipeline[61] November 3, 2017 TransCanada and Keystone XL Pipelines
8 The Super Scalpersh[62] November 10, 2017 A Canadian super scalper, as revealed in the Paradise Papers
9 The JFK Files: The Murder of a President[63] November 17, 2017 Assassination of John F. Kennedy
10 Basil Borutski and the Wilno Murders: Circle of Fear[64] November 24, 2017 An investigation into the murders of three women in Wilno, Renfrew County, Ontario, and Basil Borutski, the man on trial for those crimes.

Season 45 (2019–20)

[edit]

The 2019–20 television season is the 45th season of The Fifth Estate. (Where two episodes appear in one program, a "/" is included between the episodes.)

Episode Title[65] Broadcast Date Subject
1 Targeted /

Is Murder In Your DNA?[66][67]

September 22, 2019 Gun lobby's fight to save assault weapons in Canada /

DNA detective technique

2 When Terror Comes Home[68] September 29, 2019 Plan for de-radicalizing returning ISIS fighters
3 The Forgotten /

Havana Syndrome

Stories from several women who grew up in Quebec's youth protection system /

A new Canadian study into the Havana syndrome, looking into why an increasing number of Canadian and American diplomats have gotten sick in Cuba.

4 The Hood: Cops, Gangs, and a community in the crossfire Indigenous gangs in Regina, in one of Canada's most dangerous neighbourhoods.
5 Dear Mr. Bissonnette Alexandre Bissonnette, the man behind the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting
6 My Father's Killer: Murder Mystery on Cortes Island /

Wronged: Did Ashley Smith"s death end solitary confinement?

A man's search for his father's killer and the problematic police investigation surrounding it. /

The Ashley Smith inquest

7 Muskoka Murders: Closing in on the Killers The disappearance and presumed killing of four senior citizens—including Joan Lawrence, John Semple, John Crofts, and Ralph Grant—in Ontario's Muskoka cottage country
8 Captive: Caitlan Coleman vs. Joshua Boyle Kidnapping of Canadian-American couple Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan
9 The List: The Search For Church Secrets /

Vintage Grapes: Revisiting a famous Don Cherry interview

Survivors of clergy abuse demanding that the Roman Catholic church release secret lists of credibly-accused abusers /

Revisiting an interview with Don Cherry that took place almost 3 decades ago.

10 Hockey Fight: Wives Reveal the Cost of Concussions /

Sexism in Science: The Woman Who Pioneered Giraffe Research

The wives of retired hockey enforcers demanding change from the NHL /

Anne Innis Dagg, a Canadian pioneer for women's rights and a groundbreaking scientist on the behavior of giraffes.

11 Passport Babies: The Growing Shadow Industry of Birth Tourism /

Confronting Hate: How Antifa Is Tracking the Extreme Right

Birth tourism /

The world of Antifa

12 The Autopsy Part One: What If Justice Got It Wrong? /

The Insider: Tales From Inside the Benny Hinn Ministries

Autopsy results in criminal cases in Alberta that may have led to miscarriages of justice, including wrongful convictions. /

The worldwide influence of American-Canadian evangelist Benny Hinn

13 How Boeing Crashed: The Inside Story of the 737 Max The Boeing 737 MAX groundings
14 Runaway Train: Investigating a CP Rail Crash /

Who Are They? Reconstructing Faces of the Dead

January 26, 2020 The derailment of a Canadian Pacific train into the Kicking Horse River /

How 15 students, 1 instructor, and an RCMP officer use forensic sculpture in an effort to identify the remains of 15 men found in Canada.

15 The Priest's Confession: What the Catholic Bishops Knew /

John Connelly's Death: Family Fights for Answers

Allegations of sexual assault among Catholic clergy in Canada /

The death of University of Toronto pharmacy student John Connelly in 2001.

Season 46 (2020–21)

[edit]

The 2020–21 television season is the 46th season of The Fifth Estate. (Where two episodes appear in one program, a "/" is included between the episodes.)

Episode Title[69] Broadcast Date Subject
1 Thirteen Deadly Hours: The Nova Scotia Shooting The April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia by a man who went on a 13-hour crime spree in which he killed 22 people
2 Bitter Harvest: The Story of the Pandemic and the People Who Pick Our Food Government policies for protecting farm workers that Canada imports each year from abroad to grow and harvest fruits and vegetables.
The Smartest Guy in the Room: Cameron Ortis and the RCMP Secrets Scandal How the RCMP charged Cameron Ortis, one of their own, with leaking confidential police secrets.
4 Nygard: The Secret Videos The December 2020 arrest of Peter Nygard, a Canadian fashion tycoon who faced charges involving sex trafficking and racketeering.
5 The Price WE Paid The political WE Charity scandal involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the WE Charity. The episode includes an interview with WE's cofounders, Craig and Marc Kielburger.
6 Policing the Police[70] February 11, 2021 How police are investigated in Canada; following the aftermath of a shooting in a small Ontario town, after one police officer shoots another.
7 Fatal Care /

Sexism Within Ottawa Police

A tragedy in an Ontario foster home, revealing problems in the for-profit child care system /

Charges of sexual misconduct in the Ottawa Police Service

8 The Missing Millions /

Black on Campus[71]

February 25, 2021 A massive case of financial fraud that cost investors and pensioners millions of dollars

Three Black Canadians who claim anti-Black racism to be plaguing the hallways of higher learning.

9 Treatment or Torture /

No More Tears: The Essure Legacy

Canada's Oak Ridge institution, where mentally-ill prisoners are treated each other, and other human experiments were performed. /

The fight for justice by Canadian women after having endured medical complications from Essure.

10 When Police Don't Knock /

Broken Honour

The issues with a controversial police tactic known as "dynamic entry," which is used in search of drugs, guns, and suspects /

The Canadian military's attempts to combat sexual violence in its ranks.

11 The Gene Hunters /

Recipe for Genius

The Toronto Police's mining of genetic genealogy to find the killer behind cold cases, some of which are over 2 decades old /

The renewed interest in the game of chess, as well as a fascination with children who show early genius for the game.

Awards

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The Fifth Estate has won many awards, including Gemini Awards—among them ten for Best Information Series—numerous domestic investigative journalism awards, many New York and Columbus awards, International Emmys, and in 2000 and 2010 the Michener Award, Canada's top journalism prize, which is open to all media and has only one annual winner. A 2003 co-production[72] with The New York Times and PBS's Frontline was recognized with the Pulitzer,[73] Peabody,[74] Polk,[75] and other awards.

The Fifth Estate is one of two television programs (with The Twilight Zone being the first) to win an Academy Award, a prize presented to theatrical films: Just Another Missing Kid, originally a The Fifth Estate episode, was released in theatres in the United States and won the 1982 Academy Award for Documentary Feature.

Award Year Category[citation needed] Recipient Result
Academy Awards 1983 Best Documentary, Features John Zaritsky

Episode: The Fifth Estate: Just Another Missing Kid (1981)

Winner
Gemini Awards 1998 Best Photography in an Information Program or Series Colin Allison Nominee
1999 Best News Information Series David Studer and Susan Teskey Winner
Best Photography in an Information Program or Series Colin Allison Nominee
2002 Winner
2003 Best Picture Editing in an Information Program or Series Kelly A. Morris Nominee
2004 Best News Information Series David Studer and Sally Reardon Winner
Best Writing in an Information Program or Series Bob McKeown

Segment: "Run For Your Life"

Best Photography in an Information Program or Series Colin Allison

Segment: "Run For Your Life"

Best Picture Editing in an Information Program or Series Loretta Hicks

Segment: "No Way Home"

Best Direction in a News Information Program or Series Marie Caloz

Segment: "No Way Home"

Nominee
Neil Docherty

Segment: "Dead in the Water"

Best Direction in a News Information Program or Series Claude Vickery

Segment: "Run For Your Life"

Best Writing in an Information Program or Series Linden MacIntyre

Segment: "Death of a Beauty Queen"

Best Picture Editing in an Information Program or Series Leslie Steven Onody

Segment: "Dead in the Water"

Kelly A. Morris

Segment: "Run For Your Life"

Best Sound in an Information/Documentary Program or Series Joe Passeretti and Damian Kearns

Segment: "Dead in the Water"

2005 Best Direction in a News Information Program or Series Oleh Rumak

Episode: "Do You Believe in Miracles?"

Winner
Best Writing in an Information Program or Series Linden MacIntyre

Episode: "War Without Borders"

Best Picture Editing in an Information Program or Series Loretta Hicks

Episode: "Sticks and Stones"

Best News Information Series David Studer and Sally Reardon Nominee
Best Direction in a News Information Program or Series Marie Caloz

Episode: "First, Do No Harm"

Episode: "Sticks and Stones"
Kit Melamed

Episode: "Mister Nobody"

Claude Vickery

Episode: "The Girl in the Suitcase"

Best Writing in an Information Program or Series Hana Gartner

Episode: "The Canadian"

Bob McKeown

Episode: "Sticks and Stones"

Best Photography in an Information Program or Series Paul Seeler

Episode: "First, Do No Harm"

Best Picture Editing in an Information Program or Series Leslie Steven Onody

Episode: "War Without Borders"

Episode: "Do You Believe in Miracles?"
Best Host or Interviewer in a News Information Program or Series Bob McKeown

Episodes: "Bio of Dick Cheney", "Do You Believe in Miracles", and "Sticks and Stones"

Gillian Findlay

Episode: "First, Do No Harm"

2006 Best News Information Series David Studer, Jane Mingay, Sally Reardon, and Jim Williamson Winner
Best Writing in an Information Program or Series Linden MacIntyre

Episode: "Hail of Bullets"

Best Science, Technology, Nature, Environment or Adventure Documentary Program David Studer, Douglas Arrowsmith, Jane Mingay, and Jim Williamson

Episode: "Black Dawn"

Nominee
Best Sports Program or Series David Studer, Caroline Harvey, Jane Mingay, and Jim Williamson

Episode: "On the Edge of Glory"

Best Host or Interviewer in a News Information Program or Series Gillian Findlay

Episode: "Failing Jeffrey"

Bob McKeown

Episode: "Rogue Agent"

Best Writing in an Information Program or Series
Gillian Findlay

Episode: "Failing Jeffrey"

2007 Best News Information Series David Studer and Sally Reardon Winner
Best Host or Interviewer in a News Information Program or Series Gillian Findlay

Episode: "Luck of the Draw"

Best Picture Editing in an Information Program or Series Tania White

Episode: "The Good Father"

Best Host or Interviewer in a News Information Program or Series Hana Gartner

Episode: "The Good Father"

Nominee
Best Direction in a News Information Program or Series Catherine Annau

Episode: "The Good Father"

Tamar Weinstein

Episode: "Lost in the Struggle"

Best Writing in an Information Program or Series Gillian Findlay

Episode: "Luck of the Draw"

Best Photography in an Information Program or Series Colin Allison and Jeff Cole

Episode: "Crime Pays"

Best Picture Editing in an Information Program or Series Loretta Hicks

Episode: "Lost in the Struggle"

Best Sound in an Information/Documentary Program or Series Larry Kent, Damian Kearns, and Joe Passaretti

Episode: "Road Warriors"

2008 Best News Information Series David Studer and Sally Reardon Winner
Best Host or Interviewer in a News Information Program or Series Hana Gartner

Episode: "The Lady Vanishes"

Best Picture Editing in an Information Program or Series Avi Lev

Episode: "Overboard"

Best Host or Interviewer in a News Information Program or Series Gillian Findlay

Episode: "Overboard"

Nominee
Linden MacIntyre

Episode: "Bad Day in Barrhead"

Best Direction in a News Information Program or Series Marie Caloz

Episode: "Teacher's Pet"

Claude Vickery

Episode: "Overboard"

Best Writing in an Information Program or Series Gillian Findlay

Episode: "Overboard"

Linden MacIntyre

Episode: "Brian Mulroney: The Unauthorized Chapter"

Best Photography in an Information Program or Series Paul Seeler

Episode: "Life and Death in Kandahar"

Best Sound in an Information/Documentary Program or Series Joe Passaretti and Damian Kearns

Episode: "Life and Death in Kandahar"

2010 Best Editorial Research Lynette Fortune (researcher)

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (production company)

Winner
Canadian Screen Awards 2013 Best Direction in a News Information Program or Series Carmen Merrifield and Claude Vickery

Episode: "Truth & Lies: The Last Days of Osama bin Laden"

Winner
Barbara Sears Award for Best Editorial Research Angela Gilbert

Episode: "Scout's Honour"

Best Direction in a News Information Program or Series Timothy Sawa

Episode: "Scout's Honour"

Nominee
2015 Best News or Information Program Tarannum Kamlani, Mark Kelley, Lysanne Louter, and Aileen McBride

Episode: "Made in Bangladesh"

Winner
Best News or Information Series Julian Sher and Jim Williamson
Best Photography in a News or Information Program, Series or Segment John Badcock

Episode: "Made in Bangladesh"

Nominee
Best Host or Interviewer in a News or Information Program or Series Gillian Findlay
2018 Best Picture Editing, Documentary Liz Rosch

Episode: "The Disruptors"

Nominee
2019 Barbara Sears Award for Best Visual Research Leslie Morrison Winner
Barbara Sears Award for Best Editorial Research Timothy Sawa, Lisa Mayor, and Zander Sherman Nominee
Mindset Awards Mindset Award for Workplace Mental Health Reporting[76] Mark Kelley (reporter), Timothy Sawa (producer), and Kimberly Ivany (associate producer)

Episode: "Officer Down"

Winner
The Hillman Prize 2019 Canadian Hillman Prize[77] Harvey Cashore, Bob McKeown, Kimberly Ivany, Aileen McBride, Saman Malik, Doug Husby, and Lisa Mayor

The Fifth Estate

Winner
Canadian Association of Journalists Awards 2020 Best Broadcast Feature[78] Gillian Findlay, Linda Guerriero, Elizabeth McMillan, Lisa Mayor, and Liz Rosch

Episode: "13 Deadly Hours"

Finalist
JHR / CAJ Award for Human Rights Reporting[78] Mark Kelley, Virginia Smart, Karen Wirsig, Aileen Mcbride, and Andy Hincenbergs

Episode: "Bitter Harvest"

Canadian Screen Awards Best Picture Editing, Factual Aileen McBride
2021 Liz Rosch Nominee

Controversies

[edit]

The Savoie scandal

[edit]

In 1992, The Fifth Estate aired an expose of Inspector Claude Savoie of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, accusing him of being corrupt. On 21 December 1992, Savoie shot himself in his office at the RCMP's headquarters. Many felt that The Fifth Estate bore some responsibility for Savoie's suicide. Julian Sher of The Fifth Estate who worked on the Savoie story stated in 2022: "I didn't kill him, I didn't load the gun, I didn't put the gun to his head. He made his choices. I'm not responsible but if Dan and I had decided not to do the story, if we had not covered this stuff, would he be alive? He might have decided to kill himself when the RCMP (investigated him)...The lesson I learned from that is the consequences of our work. For many of the people we tell stories about, it's their lives and sometimes their deaths."[79]

Libel suit

[edit]

The CBC was successfully sued for libel over an episode that aired on 27 February 1996. Two doctors were interviewed for an episode about prescription drugs. Both doctors alleged their interviews were unfairly edited to give the false impression they were involved in kickbacks, cover-ups of patient deaths and other disreputable activities. Cardiologist Martin Myers asked for an apology plus $25,000, while researcher Frans Leenen asked for an apology plus $10,000. The CBC opted to fight the charges in court. The doctors ultimately prevailed. Myers was awarded $200,000, plus interest and costs, while Leenen won $950,000, plus interest and costs that could total over $2 million, a record for Canadian libel. The CBC has no libel insurance. Judges in both cases ruled that journalists at The Fifth Estate had twisted the facts and acted with malice, with one writing in his decision; "this was sensationalistic journalism of the worst sort and should serve as an embarrassment to this so-called 'flagship' investigative programme." The episode's host Trish Wood, producer Nicholas Regush, the researcher and executive producer David Studer were assessed punitive and aggravated damages.[80]

Iglesia ni Cristo

[edit]

The CBC and The Fifth Estate were sued in February 2019 by the Iglesia Ni Cristo after officials said one of the show's broadcasts defamed their church, calling the show "slanderous" and acting "without evidence." CBC News responded by stating they stand behind the story.[81]

The episode in question, "Church of Secrets", which aired on 11 November 2018 and was hosted by Bob McKeown, detailed the controversies surrounding the church, including accusations of financial irregularities, kidnapping, and the murder of a Canadian man.[82][83][84] In particular, McKeown interviewed the widow of a murder victim allegedly killed by INC members after a series of verbal altercations, as well as following the story of excommunicated ministerial worker Lowell Menorca II, who sought refugee status in Canada. The news crew also attempted for and were denied an interview with Eduardo V. Manalo after an event in Sacramento. During the attempt for an interview, their vehicle's tires were slashed, which McKeown suspected was an act of intimidation by INC, though an INC member denied the allegation.[84]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Current host of the show

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The story of the fifth estate". Archived from the original on September 26, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  2. ^ Powell, Betsy (August 28, 2011). "Ron Haggart, 84: Legendary journalist 'delighted in controversy'". The Toronto Star. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  3. ^ "Emmy winner joins CBC's fifth estate". Toronto Star, September 23, 2016.
  4. ^ "The Strange World of Julian Assange". CBC News.
  5. ^ "The Fifth Estate". TVGuide.com. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  6. ^ cbc.ca: Someone Got Away With Murder
  7. ^ "Season 36 Episodes online". CBC News.
  8. ^ "Season 37 Episodes online". CBC News.
  9. ^ "Season 38 Episodes online". CBC News.
  10. ^ "Into the Death Zone - the fifth estate - CBC News". Archived from the original on October 5, 2013.
  11. ^ "Kingston Pen: Secrets and Lies - the fifth estate - CBC News". Archived from the original on September 27, 2013.
  12. ^ "Runaway Fighter - the fifth estate - CBC News". Archived from the original on October 5, 2013.
  13. ^ "The Widow's Web - the fifth estate - CBC News". Archived from the original on October 5, 2013.
  14. ^ "The Life and Death of Gloria Taylor - the fifth estate - CBC News". Archived from the original on October 5, 2013.
  15. ^ "Whistleblowers: Moment of Truth - the fifth estate - CBC News". Archived from the original on October 5, 2013.
  16. ^ "Lost In The Struggle: The Next Chapter - the fifth estate - CBC News". Archived from the original on October 5, 2013.
  17. ^ "HOW A FRAUDULENT CLAIM TO A LOTTERY TICKET CHANGED THE RULES OF THE GAME, AND MADE A GROUP OF ORDINARY GUYS MILLIONAIRES SEVEN YEARS LATER--CBC - CBC Media Centre".
  18. ^ "The Elephant in the Room - the fifth estate - CBC News". Archived from the original on October 3, 2013.
  19. ^ "Left for Dead - the fifth estate - CBC News". Archived from the original on October 5, 2013.
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