As the 100th anniversary of one of the worst maritime disasters of all time approaches, CBC News is preparing a wide variety of uniquely Canadian features, reports and vignettes, plus special live coverage to air on CBC-TV, CBC News Network, CBC Radio One and online at CBCNews.ca.
On Tuesday, April 10, 100 years to the day the Titanic left Southampton, THE NATIONAL broadcasts from Halifax, N.S., where many of those who perished in the sinking are buried. Special reports include:
- · Chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge (@petermansbridge) presents a special report on how the tragedy played out in Halifax 100 years ago: the port city was overwhelmed by the herculean task of dealing with a disaster of epic proportion. The city dispatched many to look for survivors who very quickly found themselves picking up bodies, and Halifax suddenly became a morgue.
- · Reg Sherren (@regsherren) reports on the mystery of the little shoes. A Halifax police officer was ordered to burn all personal effects from the ship to prevent souvenir seekers from taking them—but he was moved by a pair of little shoes and kept them, determined to find out to whom they belonged. Sherren speaks to descendants of the officer’s family and the DNA lab that unlocked the mystery.
- · CBC News’s New York correspondent David Common (@davidcommon) boards a ship setting out from New York for Southampton in conjunction with the anniversary. It will meet a second ship, sailing from Southampton, at the site of the Titanic sinking for a memorial ceremony. On April 12, the vessel arrives in Halifax for the day.
THE NATIONAL airs at 10 p.m. (10:30 NT) on CBC-TV; 9 and 11 p.m. ET/PT on CBC News Network. During NHL Playoffs, THE NATIONAL also airs at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBC News Network.
Other special reports scheduled for THE NATIONAL, as well as on CBC News Network, CBC Radio One and CBCNews.ca:
- · April 2: A report by Susan Ormiston (@ormistononline) from the Belfast shipyard where it took three years to build the Titanic (compared to just three hours for her to sink). 100 years later, the sadness of the tragedy is still felt where the great ship came together.
- · April 8: Was the Titanic on fire? Reg Sherren reports on a little-known theory that the ship was actually on fire before it sank, a result of the tremendous PR pressure to make the crossing in record time. Sherren speaks with combustion experts who have studied this theory in detail.
- · April 9: Reg Sherren profiles two Canadian families from Winnipeg who were on board the Titanic—one that survived, one that didn’t.
- · April 9: The wreck of the Titanic is decaying at an alarming rate. Tom Murphy (@tommurphycbc) reports on oceanographers who are concerned that what’s left of the ship could soon disappear thanks to recently discovered rust-eating bacteria.
- · April 10: Susan Ormiston meets Canadians who are booked to cross the Atlantic on the Balmoral in conjunction with the anniversary of the Titanic, one of two ships retracing the voyage.
- · April 12: Titanic Tourism: Can’t afford a Titanic memorial cruise? Can’t swing a deep sea expedition to the Titanic wreck? No worries—Tom Murphy reports from Halifax, where the fingerprints of the disaster are all over the city, from the Titanic cemetery to walking tours, a Titanic-themed dinner theatre and more.
- · April 13: The Titanic’s legacy vis-à-vis Search and Rescue, and how it was forever changed by the sinking.
Live Coverage from Halifax - Saturday, April 14 and Sunday, April 15
On the anniversary of the day the Titanic began sinking 100 years ago, CBC News has live coverage of memorial events and performances from Halifax, with Rob Gordon and John Northcott (@jnorthcottcbc) reporting for TV and Stephen Puddicombe (@sdpuddicombe) reporting for Radio.
On the evening of April 14, THE NATIONAL broadcasts live on CBC News Network, as a candlelight procession journeys from the Maritime Museum to the Grand Parade for an evening of performances, hosted by Gordon Pinsent. At 11:20 p.m. ET, when the ship began to sink, there will be a moment of silence. Then on April 15, at 2 p.m. ET, CBC News Network brings live coverage of the memorial service from the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, where Titanic passengers are buried.
Titanic Vignettes
And beginning this week, CBC News airs a series of 18 vignettes, voiced by the fifth estate‘s Linden MacIntyre, providing an up-close look at all aspects of the Titanic story: the magnificence of the ship; her Captain and crew; the diverse manifest of passengers (from the uber-rich to those in steerage); the events of that fateful night; the survivors; and the legacy of the Titanic.
CBCNews.ca
Plus, beginning April 5, CBCNews.ca/titanic presents a collection of features, galleries and videos looking at the history of the Titanic, as well as its place in modern culture:
-A look at a number of fictional stories written years before the Titanic sank that detail imaginary catastrophes that are eerily similar to the night the great ship went down.
- How the Titanic made the seas safer for people today by pushing shipping companies to improve safety standards.
- Video vignettes of the history of the Titanic, its passengers, and its aftermath.
- What’s going on across Canada and around the world on the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking.
-A Titanic collection: a man in Cornwall, Ont., has one of the world’s largest collections of Titanic memorabilia. He tells us about his collection, and how and why he gathered it all.
The site will also have a programming guide, and links to Titanic features and coverage produced by CBC News’s TV, radio and documentary teams.
In addition to CBC News coverage and programming, two feature documentaries are also airing in advance of the Titanic anniversary:
Titanic: The Canadian Story (Thursday, April 5 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC-TV’s DOC ZONE): Among the more than 2,200 passengers and crew on board the Titanic were 130 men, women and children bound for Canada. They came from all walks of life: some called Canada home, others chose it as a place of opportunity or refuge. In two hours of dramatic and emotional storytelling, the documentary reveals for the first time on television the stories of the Canadians and others aboard whose intended destination was our country, through letters, diaries and first-hand accounts from surviving family members. Titanic: The Canadian Story also airs Friday, April 6 at 7 p.m. ET, and Sunday, April 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, on CBC News Network.
Saving the Titanic (Sunday, April 8 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBC News Network’s THE PASSIONATE EYE): Saving the Titanic is the first ever documentary special to reveal the heroes behind the disaster: the brave engineers and shipbuilders who courageously tried to keep the ship afloat longerso more passengers could escape. Based on eyewitness accounts,enhanced with moving re-enactments andfascinatingly detailed CGI of the ship and its technology, the docu-drama is a poignant story of self-sacrifice and dignity in the face of death.
About CBC News
CBC News is 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.
For further information, contact:
Melissa Prince, Veritas Communications
o) 416-482-2669
c) 647-205-4744
prince@veritascanada.com
