Canadians were transfixed this year by the depravity of former colonel Russell Williams, and now the disgraced former base commander of CFB Trenton has been chosen Newsmaker of the Year.
Williams led a field of 12 prominent — and some infamous — faces from 2010, with one-quarter of Canadians (26%) selecting him as Newsmaker of the Year, according to an Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for Postmedia News and Global TV.
“(Williams) is associated with such terrible events,” says Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Reid. “It sort of had all the most lurid types of details, the photographs of him in the newspaper, the randomness of the events, the fact that it was somebody who was in such an important position of trust.”
The overall choice of Williams was driven by Ontarians, with more than one-third (36%) in the province where he raped and murdered two women and staged dozens of lingerie break-ins selecting him as Newsmaker of the Year. A similarly high proportion of Atlantic Canadians (32%) were gripped by his crimes, which Bricker attributes to a large military presence in Eastern Canada.
Other top choices for Newsmaker of the Year were decidedly lighter in tone, with a floppy-haired 16-year-old pop singer narrowly edging out a prime minister who recently demonstrated his own musical chops.
Justin Bieber took the second spot on the list, with 13% of Canadians picking him, followed by Stephen Harper at 12%.
“It says something about how people become famous these days. It’s not just because they have a record reviewed or get the cover of Rolling Stone; this guy was created as a result of touring in shopping malls and having hits on YouTube,” Mr. Bricker says of Bieber.
“The Prime Minister is very high on the list always because he obviously gets a lot more ink than anyone here specifically does — or should — as leader of the country, but he also had the G8/G20 Summit and he’s had his moments of controversy, with the prorogation of the House and the census debate,” he says of Mr. Harper. “You would expect him to be higher, and this is a reflection of the fact that Canadians aren’t really that tuned in to what’s going on Parliament Hill.”
The top five newsmakers were rounded out by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at 10% and former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin at nine per cent, whom Mr. Bricker calls a “ubiquitous” American political and cultural export.
“If people remember anything about 2010, because there isn’t a lot of really memorable stuff, the thing they probably will remember is Julian Assange,” he says. “He’s the ideal Bond villain, whether you see him as a hero or villain. He has that type of personality that people want to watch.”
Canadians chose the top Newsmaker of the Year from a list of 12 suggestions from Postmedia editors and Ipsos Reid. The poll was conducted between December 9 and 14 including 1,044 adults, and carries a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
National choices for top newsmaker of 2010:
Former colonel and convicted murderer Russell Williams — 26%
Pop sensation Justin Bieber — 13%
Prime Minister Stephen Harper — 12%
WikiLeaks founder JulianAssange — 10%
Former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin — 9%
Former governor general Michaelle Jean — 8%
Canadian citizen and Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr — 7%
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg — 6%
Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee CEO John Furlong — 5%
Governor General David Johnston — 1%
Former Veterans Ombudsman Pat Stogran — 1%
Former Conservative cabinet minister Helena Guergis — 0% (rounded down)
Other selected results:
• Younger Canadians are more susceptible to Bieber Fever, with 23% of those aged 18 to 34 naming him as Newsmaker of the Year.
• Among young adults, the Stratford, Ont.-born singer was followed by Russell Williams (17%) and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (14%) — whom Time magazine named Person of the Year — Stephen Harper (11%), Julian Assange and Guantanamo Bay prisoner Omar Khadr (both 8%).
• More than one-third (34%) of Canadians aged 35 to 54 named Russell Williams as Newsmaker of the Year, and Justin Bieber, Julian Assange and Sarah Palin narrowly edged out the Prime Minister in that age group.
• Among the 55-plus group, Russell Williams was the top choice (24%) and more people saw Stephen Harper as a big newsmaker (16%), followed by former governor general Michaelle Jean and Julian Assange.
• Alberta residents were also bitten by the Bieber bug, with 19% choosing him as the face of the year.
Williams led a field of 12 prominent — and some infamous — faces from 2010, with one-quarter of Canadians (26%) selecting him as Newsmaker of the Year, according to an Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for Postmedia News and Global TV.
“(Williams) is associated with such terrible events,” says Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Reid. “It sort of had all the most lurid types of details, the photographs of him in the newspaper, the randomness of the events, the fact that it was somebody who was in such an important position of trust.”
The overall choice of Williams was driven by Ontarians, with more than one-third (36%) in the province where he raped and murdered two women and staged dozens of lingerie break-ins selecting him as Newsmaker of the Year. A similarly high proportion of Atlantic Canadians (32%) were gripped by his crimes, which Bricker attributes to a large military presence in Eastern Canada.
Other top choices for Newsmaker of the Year were decidedly lighter in tone, with a floppy-haired 16-year-old pop singer narrowly edging out a prime minister who recently demonstrated his own musical chops.
Justin Bieber took the second spot on the list, with 13% of Canadians picking him, followed by Stephen Harper at 12%.
“It says something about how people become famous these days. It’s not just because they have a record reviewed or get the cover of Rolling Stone; this guy was created as a result of touring in shopping malls and having hits on YouTube,” Mr. Bricker says of Bieber.
“The Prime Minister is very high on the list always because he obviously gets a lot more ink than anyone here specifically does — or should — as leader of the country, but he also had the G8/G20 Summit and he’s had his moments of controversy, with the prorogation of the House and the census debate,” he says of Mr. Harper. “You would expect him to be higher, and this is a reflection of the fact that Canadians aren’t really that tuned in to what’s going on Parliament Hill.”
The top five newsmakers were rounded out by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at 10% and former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin at nine per cent, whom Mr. Bricker calls a “ubiquitous” American political and cultural export.
“If people remember anything about 2010, because there isn’t a lot of really memorable stuff, the thing they probably will remember is Julian Assange,” he says. “He’s the ideal Bond villain, whether you see him as a hero or villain. He has that type of personality that people want to watch.”
Canadians chose the top Newsmaker of the Year from a list of 12 suggestions from Postmedia editors and Ipsos Reid. The poll was conducted between December 9 and 14 including 1,044 adults, and carries a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
National choices for top newsmaker of 2010:
Former colonel and convicted murderer Russell Williams — 26%
Pop sensation Justin Bieber — 13%
Prime Minister Stephen Harper — 12%
WikiLeaks founder JulianAssange — 10%
Former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin — 9%
Former governor general Michaelle Jean — 8%
Canadian citizen and Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr — 7%
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg — 6%
Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee CEO John Furlong — 5%
Governor General David Johnston — 1%
Former Veterans Ombudsman Pat Stogran — 1%
Former Conservative cabinet minister Helena Guergis — 0% (rounded down)
Other selected results:
• Younger Canadians are more susceptible to Bieber Fever, with 23% of those aged 18 to 34 naming him as Newsmaker of the Year.
• Among young adults, the Stratford, Ont.-born singer was followed by Russell Williams (17%) and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (14%) — whom Time magazine named Person of the Year — Stephen Harper (11%), Julian Assange and Guantanamo Bay prisoner Omar Khadr (both 8%).
• More than one-third (34%) of Canadians aged 35 to 54 named Russell Williams as Newsmaker of the Year, and Justin Bieber, Julian Assange and Sarah Palin narrowly edged out the Prime Minister in that age group.
• Among the 55-plus group, Russell Williams was the top choice (24%) and more people saw Stephen Harper as a big newsmaker (16%), followed by former governor general Michaelle Jean and Julian Assange.
• Alberta residents were also bitten by the Bieber bug, with 19% choosing him as the face of the year.
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