Toronto mayor Rob Ford plans online chatshow series

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/01/toronto-mayor-rob-ford-online-show

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Rob Ford, the disgraced mayor of Toronto, plans to host an online chatshow with his brother so they can take their message straight to Ford's conservative suburban supporters.

Doug Ford, a city councillor, said the show was meant to "get our message out and not have that message be twisted by the media".

After the mayor admitted to having smoked crack in a "drunken stupor" and refused to resign, Toronto's city council stripped him of most of his powers. The mayor said he had "declared war" on the council.

Last week the Sun News Network aired a single episode of a talkshow hosted by the Fords. Network executives said Ford Nation was the highest-rated programme ever on the two-year-old cable channel, but it was too costly to make into a series.

The Fords co-hosted the hour-long TV programme, which the mayor used to defend himself and talk about his re-election bid next year.

Doug Ford said the self-funded online series, also to be called Ford Nation, would be uploaded to YouTube before Christmas.

"Numerous people have approached us around the world about doing a show and since technology has changed, you can get your message out easily to a larger audience on your own," he said.

"The objective is to get a clear message out there. We'll say a sentence and the media will clip four or five words out of it and it won't be clear or balanced."

He said the mayor had given up drinking for good and was committed to leading a healthier lifestyle. "If Rob comes back a new man, 70-80 pounds lighter, he's going to win the next election."

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