Judy Kerr watching Live at 5: "It's like having friends come over for dinner." Photo: Ashley Barnes

It's almost 5 p.m. in the Maritimes and over 300,000 viewers are getting ready to watch ATV's hour-long news magazine, Live at 5. One of those viewers is 70-year-old Judy Kerr of Meagher's Grant, Nova Scotia.

Kerr is in her kitchen preparing a dinner of ham and scalloped potatoes. She's keeping a close eye on the clock. Live at 5 has just started and Kerr quickly makes her way to turn on the small television set she has placed in her sunroom. She can watch that TV while she sits at the dinner table or while putting the finishing touches on her meal. She also has a larger TV in the living room and watches from there on days when supper is done early.

Kerr, like so many Maritimers, is a loyal viewer and says Live at 5 has been a tradition in her household for years. “It's like having friends come over for dinner,” says Kerr. “You can count on them being there every night. But you don't have to get any food ready or do the dishes.”

On the show this Wednesday evening, as part of a special segment called “Collection Connection,” there's a story about a 40-something Cook's Brook woman who is an avid doll collector. “I didn't know there was a big doll collector who lives so close,” says Kerr. “Not that I really need to know but it's interesting.”

Live at 5 draws 51 per cent of the region's viewing market night after night. It's not to everyone's taste, of course. In Fall River, 53-year-old Laura Watson says she doesn't have time to watch a story about a doll collector. “If I'm going to watch any news,” notes Watson. “I want real news that tells me important information.”

Watson doesn't watch much TV at all. Her job as a pharmaceutical rep keeps her busy. Watson says she watches CBC news — but only when there's something of particular interest to her.

A working newsroom. The ATV newsroom is also the Live at 5 studio. Photo: Ashley Barnes

Steve Murphy explains

Steve Murphy, ATV Evening News anchor and author of a book about the show, “Live at 5, The Story Behind Its Success,” has been involved with Live at 5 since its debut on September 13, 1982 . Murphy began as an editorial commentator, expressing his views on Maritime topics. He then succeeded Live at 5's first host, Dave Wright, in 1986. In 1993 he took over as anchor of the evening news.

Murphy attributes much of Live at 5's success to the closeness and sense of ownership viewers feel.

“There are no anchors behind desks,” he says. “Because of the laid-back style of delivery, viewers tend to feel a close connection to people on the program. It's somewhat less formal. It's more unconventional than a traditional news program.”

Live at 5 was the first news magazine show in Canada . It included a consumer reporter, medical segment and longer form treatment of some news stories. Today, these are still key elements in its content. “I think another reason why Live at 5 is so successful,” says Murphy. “It's because it's capable of being very serious if it has to be or it can be lighthearted. Or, it can be a mixture of the two.”

Live at 5 can profile someone who is suffering from a fatal disease and in the same show introduce you to an up-and-coming local musician. The show has become a tradition in many Maritime households. Murphy says the show is a “monument” for many people. “People who were kids when it came on are adults now and still watching it,” says Murphy.

Live at 5 co-hosts Starr Dobson and Bruce Frisko. Photo: Ashley Barnes

“I've always watched”

One of the many “kids” Murphy is referring to is long-time viewer and current Live at 5's co-host and producer, Starr Dobson. Dobson started working at ATV as a reporter when she graduated from the University of King 's College in 1990. She took over co-hosting responsibilities when Nancy Regan left in April 2003. Dobson also believes Live at 5 is a Maritime tradition, a tradition she has been taking part in even before she started working at ATV.

“I've always watched Live at 5,” says Dobson. “My parents always watch Live at 5, my grandparents watch Live at 5. It's just something people do.”

Something people do, Dobson believes, because they enjoy watching a program that keeps Maritimers connected and showcases people and their stories that otherwise may not be told. “People have a real attachment to hearing about their own communities,” says Dobson.

Just as Live at 5 is a family tradition for Dobson, she knows it's a tradition for so many other Maritime families which is why she takes pride in delivering a positive and inspiring show everyday. Inspiring and positive stories like the weekly segment “Maritimer of the Week” which honours Maritimers for their good-will and contribution to their community. Or, segments like “Milestones” which congratulates people on special anniversaries and birthdays.

“Something like Maritime Milestones is a fine example of what we do,” notes Dobson. “We're in the community and we care about people who've been married 50 years, or who are celebrating birthdays of 100 years or more. And while lots of people may watch that and say it's hokey, it's one of the most popular segments.”  

“Milestones” gives viewers an opportunity to see people they know and maybe even themselves. And although their picture and name may only stay on screen for a few seconds, it allows viewers to feel involved with the show.

“It's nice to know we keep Maritimers connected,” says Dobson. “It's nice to feel part of a family. That's what Live at 5 is, a family. And not just a family within the confines of these walls: many Maritimers feel like we're part of their family.”

A reprieve from hard news

It's hard for viewers to get that sense of family when the subject is hard news. Trudie Richards, associate professor and chair of public relations at Mount Saint Vincent University, specializes in conflict in the media. She sees Live at 5 as a reprieve from harder news. “I think a program that is lighter in fare and tends to dwell on not so serious subjects and therefore not bad news — people are receptive to it at that time of day.”

Richards thinks Live at 5 is better suited to run before the six o'clock news because five o'clock is a time when most people are just getting home after a day's work and are putting their feet up. “We all like to have an opportunity to hear about the better things about where we live since we're so often plagued with all the bad things about our home in conventional news.”

Michael Cross, a retired professor of history at Dalhousie University, agrees. He calls Live at 5 “comfort food for moderns,” and looks back in history to explain the show's success. “Newspapers in their initial stage, in the small cities and towns of the 19 th century, had surprisingly little local news,” says Cross. “People did not need to be told what was happening where they lived, because their communities were tightly integrated. It was when places grew larger that local news became necessary, since people no longer knew everything that was happening.”

Back in the Meagher's Grant kitchen, Kerr says she enjoys Live at 5 because it shows local news that she probably wouldn't see anywhere else. She points to the story about the doll collector as an example.

“I would have never known about her and she's so close,” says Kerr. “I don't think anyone else would have put a story like that on television. It's nice to hear good news. We hear enough about murders or someone being held up. That's for the regular news. I always know when I turn on Live at 5, it's going to be a nice surprise.”