CBC’s flagship documentary series DOC ZONE presents four all-new intriguing documentaries over the next six weeks. Dive into deceit and deception; crime and punishment; propaganda and war; and gossip. Go behind the marks to uncover the rampant cheating in our schools in FAKING THE GRADE, get the inside scoop on the rumour mill with THE REAL DIRT ON GOSSIP, see how two wars were sold to the global community with LOVE, HATE & PROPAGANDA, and look beyond the bars with an intimate glimpse inside Canada’s notorious Kingston Penitentiary in TALES FROM KP.
Hosted by Ann-Marie MacDonald, DOC ZONE explores and expands on the major issues of our time. Informed, exciting and eventful, Doc Zone presents a sweeping panoramic view of what matters most to Canadians.
THE REAL DIRT ON GOSSIP
Airs Thursday, Nov. 8 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC-TV
Every week tens of millions of North Americans read gossip magazines, scan celebrity blogs and websites, and follow Twitter feeds that buzz incessantly. Meanwhile, office gossip about who got a raise, who is underperforming, and who is getting hired or fired, fills our desires for workplace water-cooler chatter. Let’s face it, we all gossip. We seek it, we spread it. And now language and evolutionary science says gossip is as old as time and will never go away. But is that such a bad thing? While we’ve been taught that dishing out the dirt is for sinners and ruins reputations, it turns out gossip can also be very good for us. THE REAL DIRT ON GOSSIP uncovers the fascinating science and intrigue behind this most human compulsion.
FAKING THE GRADE
Airs Thursday, Nov. 15 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC-TV
Academia is ground zero in the war on cheating, as students become ever more ingenious in the ways of deception. What’s behind this epidemic? The ugly truth is cheating is everywhere- in sports, in business and in the bedroom. Scientists say we’re born to cheat - it gives us an evolutionary advantage. But there’s a price to pay. Would you trust a doctor or dentist who cheated to get their credentials? FAKING THE GRADE looks for honest answers.
>LOVE, HATE & PROPAGANDA: THE WAR ON TERROR with special guest host, George Stroumboulopoulos
Within days of the 9-11 attacks on America, President George Bush declared War on Terror. This two part series examines the role propaganda played leading up to Bush’s famous declaration and the subsequent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Episode 1, An Unseen Enemy
Airs Thursday, Nov. 22 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC-TV
Looks for clues as to why the 9-11 attacks took everyone by surprise. The First Gulf War and the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center are the starting point. Later in the nineties, there’s the emergence of Osama bin Laden and the attacks on the USS Cole and American embassies. The world changed forever on September 11th. In the aftermath, there’s an outpouring of sympathy for America. The plan to invade Afghanistan to capture Osama Bin Laden is met with fairly widespread support. However, less than two years later, when the US President identifies a new target - Saddam Hussein - this new war is a much tougher sell.
Episode 2, Mission Unaccomplished
Airs Thursday, Nov. 29 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC-TV
Picks up the story with the Invasion of Iraq - the so-called Shock and Awe campaign. It explores how the US government tried - and failed miserably - to ‘stage manage’ the war. The “quick surgical strike” the Americans hoped for never materialized. The war drags on. At the same time, al Qaeda discover a new weapon for spreading propaganda - cyberspace. The Internet is used to recruit, train and inspire individuals around the world - sometimes with deadly consequences…
TALES FROM KP
Airs Thursday, Dec. 6 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) on CBC-TV
With its foreboding walls and infamous residents, including notorious murderers Paul Bernardo and Russell Williams, Kingston Penitentiary has been shrouded in mystery. With a recent announcement that it will be closing its doors in just under two years, the final chapter looms for “KP”, as it’s known locally, but the stories live on forever. TALES FROM KP unlocks some of the most carefully guarded secrets in the history of the place—and introduces some of the most unlikely characters you’ll ever meet—on both sides of the law. This evocative hour long documentary features rare access to the prison, and features re-enactments and a style reminiscent of the “Crime Illustrated” magazines of the 1940s.
@cbcdocs
facebook.com/cbcdocs
cbc.ca/doczone
About CBC News
For more than 75 years, CBC has been the source Canadians turn to, to keep them informed about their communities, their country and their world. Through regional and national programming on multiple platforms, including CBC Television, CBC News Network, CBC Radio, CBCNews.ca, mobile and on-demand, CBC News and its internationally recognized team of award-winning journalists deliver the breaking stories, the issues, the analyses and the personalities that matter to Canadians.
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada’s national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, Internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages, plus five languages for international audiences. In 2011, CBC/Radio-Canada celebrated 75 years of serving Canadians and being at the centre of the democratic, social and cultural life of Canada.
For further information, or to request interviews, contact:
Corey Black, News and Current Affairs Publicist, CBC
o) 416-205-8710
c) 647-221-4133
corey.black@cbc.ca
