Editing Cross Country Checkup

{{Short description|CBC Radio One program}}
{{Infobox Radio Show
| show_name          = Cross Country Checkup
| image              =
| imagesize          = 
| caption            = 
| format             = [[Phone-in]]
| audio_format       = 
| record_location    =  
| runtime            = 
| creator            = 
| developer          = 
| producer           = 
| executive_producer = 
| presenter          = [[Ian Hanomansing]]
| narrated           = 
| opentheme          = 
| endtheme           = 
| country            = Canada
| language           = [[English language|English]]
| home_station       = 
| syndicates         = [[CBC Radio]]
| first_aired        = {{start date|1965|05|16}}
| last_aired         = present
| num_episodes       = 
| website            = [http://www.cbc.ca/checkup Cross Country Checkup]
| podcast            = 
}}

'''''Cross Country Checkup''''' is a Canada-wide open-line [[phone-in]] [[talk radio]] show that airs Sunday afternoons on [[CBC Radio One]]. Beginning in 2021, the first hour of the program has also been simulcast on television on [[CBC News Network]].

The program has been hosted by [[Ian Hanomansing]] since September 2020; he was initially announced as an interim host for the 2020–21 season while previous host [[Duncan McCue]] was on an eight-month sabbatical,<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/radio/checkup/ian-hanomansing-named-interim-host-of-cross-country-checkup-s-55th-season-1.5711059 "Ian Hanomansing named interim host of Cross Country Checkup's 55th season"]. ''Cross Country Checkup'', September 3, 2020.</ref> although his time with the program continued into 2022 before he was announced as the permanent host in June of that year.<ref name=2022changes>David Friend, [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2022/06/30/cbc-makes-changes-at-the-national-ahead-of-free-streaming-channel-launch.html "CBC makes changes at ‘The National’ ahead of free streaming channel launch"]. ''[[Toronto Star]]'', June 30, 2022.</ref>

Every week, the show features a lively discussion on an issue of national interest or importance and invites listeners to call in with their opinions and thoughts. The topics are usually related to [[Canadian politics]]. In addition to the host, the show has commentators who are experts or involved in the issue. They are interviewed by the host and answer questions from callers.

==Format==
The program is broadcast Sundays live at 4 p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone (North America)|Eastern Time Zone]] across the country, unlike most other Radio One programs, which air at the same local time in each time zone. The recording of the live show is rerun in a condensed format on Monday afternoons at 3 p.m. EST as ''Cross Country in an Hour''. On extraordinary news occasions, the show may also produce a special episode outside of its regular broadcast time.

Close to half-a-million listeners tune in every Sunday afternoon to hear a lively exchange of ideas between callers and invited guests, and a broad cross-section of opinion on the topic of the day. On average, 5,000 to 10,000 people attempt to call the program during the broadcast to join the discussion.

The show's current format takes calls on two topics for the show, one for each hour. The show previously had a segment called "Ask Me Anything" in which listeners were invited to call or write to ask a guest expert questions. However, that feature has been supplanted by a new live Saturday afternoon show, ''Just Asking'', which is dedicated to that activity.

==History==

The show was first broadcast on May 16, 1965,<ref>{{cite web|title = About the Show|url = http://www.cbc.ca/checkup/about/|publisher = [[CBC Radio]]}}</ref> when it was started to provide a nationwide forum to discuss the then-proposed [[Medicare (Canada)|national health insurance system now in place in Canada]]. The first host was CBC Montreal announcer Bob Cadman, and its first guest was [[Victor Goldbloom|Dr Victor Goldbloom]], then president of the [[Canadian Medical Association]]. When ''Checkup'' started broadcasting as a weekly series on November 24, 1965, Jim Schrumm was the first regular host.<ref>{{cite web|title = History: The Birth of Cross Country Checkup|url = http://www.cbc.ca/checkup/history/|author = Andrew Simon|publisher = [[CBC Radio]]}}</ref> Subsequent hosts have included [[Brad Crandall]], [[Moses Znaimer]], [[Percy Saltzman]], [[Betty Shapiro]], [[John Dafoe]], [[Pierre Pascau]], [[Harry Elton]], [[Elizabeth Gray (broadcaster)|Elizabeth Gray]], [[Wayne Grigsby]], Dennis Trudeau, [[Augusta La Paix]], [[Dale Goldhawk]], [[Peter Downie]], [[Royal Orr]] and [[Rex Murphy]], who maintained the position for 21 years.

In September 2015, Murphy announced that he would be retiring from the program as of September 20.<ref>[https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/09/13/rex-murphy-leaving-cbcs-cross-country-checkup.html "Rex Murphy leaving CBC’s Cross Country Checkup"]. ''[[Toronto Star]]'', September 13, 2015.</ref> The program was hosted by a series of guest hosts through the first half of 2016, until McCue's appointment as the new permanent host was announced in July.<ref>[http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/broadcasting/cbc-radio-announces-new-host-cross-country-checkup/1004123617/ "CBC Radio Announces New Host of ‘Cross Country Checkup’"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160727145256/http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/broadcasting/cbc-radio-announces-new-host-cross-country-checkup/1004123617/ |date=2016-07-27 }}. ''Broadcaster'', July 26, 2016.</ref>

On occasions in the past, the program has gone to air as ''Cross-Continent Checkup'' by involving a radio network in at least one other foreign country, such as [[National Public Radio]] in the United States, [[LBC|London Broadcasting Company]] (as it was then known) in Britain or the CBC's own [[Radio Canada International]], and taking calls from English-speaking callers in all involved countries. In each case, callers generally call a toll-free number in their own country. ''Checkup'', nevertheless, often receives calls from callers outside Canada.

For the 2016–2017 season, the show changed the signature music that opened the programme since at least the early 1970s.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [http://www.cbc.ca/checkup ''Cross Country Checkup'']
* [http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/programming/radio/cross-country-check Cross-Country Check-Up - Canadian Communication Foundation]
{{CBC Radio Programs (current and upcoming)}}

[[Category:CBC Radio One programs]]
[[Category:Canadian talk radio programs]]
[[Category:1965 radio programme debuts]]
[[Category:2021 Canadian television series debuts]]
[[Category:CBC News]]
[[Category:1960s Canadian radio programs]]
[[Category:1970s Canadian radio programs]]
[[Category:1980s Canadian radio programs]]
[[Category:1990s Canadian radio programs]]
[[Category:2000s Canadian radio programs]]
[[Category:2010s Canadian radio programs]]
[[Category:2020s Canadian radio programs]]
[[Category:2020s Canadian television talk shows]]
[[Category:Radio phone-in programs]]