Known in Canada as “the program with nothing to hide,” the television news program simply titled Naked News made a splash across Canadian televisions at the time of its debut in June of 2000. Somehow, the program continues to air on Canadian television today and has even developed a United States bureau, as well as several offshoot programs around the world. Developed by Fernando Pereira and Kirby Stasnya in Toronto in 2000. Although this television and pay-per-view service has exploded in popularity, some believe that it is completely inappropriate and is simply a form of pornography, as well as a form of degrading women.
For 25 minutes, six days a week, the Naked News real television newscast is viewed all around Canada, as well as many countries around the globe. The material can even be accessed through the show’s website anywhere on the globe. Begun as a web-based news service, the basic premise of the show is to tell the news of the day and week, using attractive females who either perform their entire segment completely naked, or strip during their news segments. The original anchor, Victoria Sinclair, now combines with seven other female anchors to deliver the days news completely in the nude. As can be assumed, this has offended feminist groups, as well as millions of individuals around the world.
Due to Ontario’s Topfree Equality laws, newscasters are allowed to be on the air topless, and even legally conduct topless interviews on the busy streets of Toronto. Many take issue with the fact that children may be exposed to Naked News, and that the news show itself is inappropriate for television. The show briefly aired on Citytv Toronto as a late night television news series, but has since moved to strictly online broadcasting. Even further, the news show has made very little content on the website free, and charges nearly $90.00 for a one-year membership to simply watch women telling the news completely naked. A male offshoot of the show also aired for some time, but was discontinued in October of 2007, as it did not nearly reach the six million monthly viewers of the female segment.
It is easy to see why the general public can view this form of news show as offensive, and the fact that it was ever aired on cable television is mind-boggling. In the UK, Sumo TV aired episodes of Naked News, and Playboy One, a free channel, also aired the show regularly. Main anchor Victoria Sinclair called the show “sensual, not sexual,” but the issue remains that it is inappropriate for women (and men) to be stripping on television. My final recommendation is to avoid Naked News completely, as to convey the message that it is not acceptable to use women in such a manner. However, if you would like to waste your $90.00 a year to have an amateur news anchor deliver the news, save your money, and your dignity, and turn on CNN.
