Global News’ unwavering Calgary Stampede Parade coverage recognized with prestigious award
Global News
The old adage "the show must go on" was put to the test during Global News Calgary’s coverage of the 2022 Calgary Stampede Parade, but the ingenuity of staff members saved the day.
The old adage “the show must go on” was put to the test during Global News Calgary’s coverage of the 2022 Calgary Stampede Parade, but the ingenuity of staff members saved the day, and their efforts garnered a coveted award.
The Western Association of Broadcasters awarded Global News Calgary with a gold medal award Thursday night for multi-platform coverage for a problematic, but what proved to be not insurmountably so, parade show.
Together Again — the television, radio and online broadcast of the first edition of the parade to take place with spectators since the arrival of COVID-19 — appeared in jeopardy on parade day morning due to an unexpected nationwide Rogers network outage.
“Getting to host the Calgary Stampede Parade is one of the highlights of the year, every year,” said Dallas Flexhaug, a Global News Morning Calgary anchor, who hosted parade coverage in 2022 alongside Blake Lough. “There was so much anticipation, having it be the first large parade in the country since the pandemic.”
Mere hours before the start of the parade, the Rogers outage downed all communication and transmission capability, and discussions were held about cancelling the parade broadcast.
A plan was put in place to build a small Wi-Fi zone — with assistance from Shaw — for the control room, and to run 300 feet of cable to alternate network suppliers for the broadcast feed. Global staff members who were on networks other than Rogers volunteered their personal cellphones to ensure the control room could communicate with crews in the field.
“I remember saying, ‘If we can see the pictures and hear the sounds, we will figure it out,’” recounted Flexhaug. “ But, I’ve got to be honest, not having communication channels between the studio, control room and various places in the field was a huge wrench, and I wasn’t sure how it would all turn out.
“Thankfully, I work with the best team in television and we pulled it off. Having Kevin Costner as parade marshal and (with Global TV’s) The Morning Show’s Jeff McArthur in the city to help rally the parade crowds made it a morning to remember for all the right reasons. We strapped our boots on, said, ‘Yahoo’ – not ‘Yeehaw,’ as every Calgarian knows – and had the best time doing it.
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