Last night’s Minifie Lecture by the CBC’s Anna Maria Tremonti was a lot of fun. There was a big turn-out on a bitterly cold night — near capacity — by an engaged audience that enjoyed The Current host’s pep talk on journalism, punctuated with anecdotes from a career that’s taken her through war zones in Bosnia, an intifada in the occupied territories and foreign correspondent stints in London, Berlin, Washington and Calgary. The crowd spontaneously applauded (to Tremonti’s surprise) a few times, once when she mentioned debate over use of the established term “tarsand”, which has negative connotations, verses the more positive-sounding, industry-approved word “oilsand” (she alternates between them). Smart crowd. Good fun.
In person, Tremonti was smart, friendly, funny and full of stories. I’ve always liked Tremonti on The Current but after hearing her talk and having a chance to sit at a table with her in a beer-infused context I have to say she’s even better live. Here’s hoping she’ll come back for a visit in the future. (Suggestion: The Current should do a Saskatchewan week during the next provincial election!)
Oh, and confidential to any CBC overlords reading this: the 30 and younger crowd loves your host. People came up to our table in the pub asking for autographs. You’ve got a good thing going on here. Don’t mess it up.
Finally, in case you missed it, Brotheridge did an excellent job live-tweeting the lecture last night. Check it out here.