Listen Up TV moves to prime Toronto location

By Sheila Nonato  |  Wednesday, April 27, 2011

TORONTO, ON - The popular Christian current affairs program "Listen Up TV" moves to the heart of Toronto's downtown core this summer.

Host and executive producer Lorna Dueck says the move is part of a "greater public witness" for the show.

"It's a strategic relocation of our mission into a stronger place of cultural influence," Dueck says.

"Listen Up TV" is a weekly, national, half-hour TV program exploring national and international issues from a Christian perspective that airs on the Crossroads Television System (CTS) and Global TV. It began in 1998.

Dueck says the move doesn't mean the show's content will become more "Toronto-centric."

Instead, being in downtown Toronto will make the show "more accessible for newsmakers" and provide the possibility of a new studio audience format. The city's multicultural diversity also enriches the show's breadth of potential stories, says Dueck.

The show will relocate to the CBC headquarters on Wellington Street West where it will use the same studio and crew as "Hockey Night in Canada" and "The Rick Mercer Report."

The decision to move the show from the Crossroads Centre in Burlington came about a year ago. Dueck says she felt a call from God while she was in the heart of Toronto's media district.

"As I stood on the corner of John and King Street, I counted eight blocks of teenagers waiting for free tickets at the Much Music TV headquarters," Dueck explains.

"The Holy Spirit was blowing through the streets, asking me to move our ministry into the heart of Toronto's media culture, and to make our work more mission-minded to audiences and individuals we work among," she says.

"Listen Up TV" will retain its editorial independence and continue reflect a "strong bridge to Christ in our news analysis, how we talk about the reality of a broken world and the offer of our redemption," Dueck explains.

"The kinds of voices that challenge and answer questions of Christians will increase in quality," she adds.

"Listen Up TV" will be able to produce twice as many programs, with a 7.5-hour taping day available to the crew. The relocation also brings the show's annual budget from $1.3 million to $2 million. Special fundraising has financed the move.

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