For almost thirty years, he has been THE reference on Radio-Canada on matters of religion. But the time for retirement has now come for Alain Crevier. After his departure, there will no longer be any journalist specializing in this field: the public broadcaster will abolish his position. The former host of Second look is saddened by this, seeing it once again as proof of the stubborn disinterest of Quebecers in everything that relates directly or indirectly to God.
“Quebecers wanted to get rid of religion in their lives. That’s correct, but by doing that, we believed that we also had to lose interest in it and act as if it didn’t exist. What we have forgotten is that religion, whatever it may be, remains very important to many people on the planet. By losing interest, we isolate ourselves. We deprive ourselves of a way of seeing the different events elsewhere in the world,” underlines Alain Crevier.
Already, in 2007, during a conference in front of students at Bishop’s University, Alain Crevier was alarmed by the absence of religious culture among journalists in Quebec. This lack of perspective was already reflected, according to him, in the media coverage of the reasonable accommodation crisis, which was making headlines at the time. He predicted that it would be even worse “five or ten years” later, we could read in the article published in The gallery.
More than fifteen years later, Alain Crevier notes that his worst fears have come true.
“This can be felt, for example, at the moment in the coverage of the war between Hamas and Israel. We talk about the fighting, the political situation. But we forget to treat this conflict from the point of view of religion, even though this is the reason for the existence of the State of Israel,” points out Alain Crevier in an interview with Duty a few weeks before his departure from Radio-Canada.
Unexpected trajectory
Nothing predestined this former folk singer, who had enjoyed some success in the 1970s with his group Automne, to become the great expert on religious affairs. Alain Crevier joined Radio-Canada in the early 1980s as a cultural columnist, before moving to the information sector. At the beginning of the 1990s, he made the jump to Radio-Québec, where he presented the magazines North Southon international news, then Green lighton the environment.
In 1995, to his great astonishment, he was offered to take the helm of Second look, the Radio-Canada program dealing with religious news and major existential questions.
It was a report by Ariane Émond, one of the show’s journalists, which convinced him to accept the proposal. “The report addressed the delicate issue of wearing the veil in schools. We never talked about that back then. I immediately saw it as a social issue that was going to grow. That’s what interested me,” recalls the man who always defined himself as an atheist.
This can be felt, for example, at the moment in the coverage of the war between Hamas and Israel. We talk about the fighting, the political situation. But we forget to treat this conflict from the point of view of religion, even though this is the reason for the existence of the State of Israel.
Hosting a show as niche as Second look, broadcast in the unattractive time slot of Sunday afternoon, was however far from being the most visible function on Radio-Canada. Any even slightly ambitious journalist would have preferred to decline the offer. But not Alain Crevier. “I met Marie-France Bazzo just after accepting. She is a woman who can be very impressive. She looked at me with her big eyes and said: “But, Alain, what have you just done?” »
“Everyone thought I was crazy. And it’s true that I knew nothing about religious matters. I actually thought it was just going to last a year or two. I told myself that they would eventually realize that I knew nothing about it,” he says with a laugh.
Image problem
Ultimately, he will enjoy this role. Under his leadership, Second look will be interested not only in religious news, but also in all forms of spirituality, philosophy and major ethical debates, such as that surrounding medical assistance in dying.
However, the show has always suffered from unfavorable prejudice. Many wrongly perceived it as a vector of proselytism, probably because it was broadcast just after The day of the Lordthe televised mass. Some even came to think that Alain Crevier was a priest.
“We did everything we could to change the image of the show, but we never really succeeded. I fought so hard with management to change time slots, so that we would no longer be associated with the Lord’s Day, but we never succeeded. In the end, I had given up. I said to myself that it was already great that we were allowed to do a show on these subjects,” he relates.
Radio-Canada finally canceled Second look in 2019, claiming changes in viewers’ consumption habits. Paradoxically, The day of the Lord is still on the air, a decision that Alain Crevier struggles to explain.
In the last four years, the journalist has nevertheless remained busy. Radio-Canada entrusted him with hosting a podcast, Be, the logical continuation of Second look. Every time the pope’s health faltered or a high-ranking member of the Church was accused of sexual assault, it was also he who was called upon for help. Téléjournal. “At some point, I would have liked to cover other subjects, to broaden my playing field. But I am aware that I have confined myself a little with Second look », confides the 67-year-old host.
In the shadow of “trash radio”
We forget it, but Alain Crevier has also done something other than “ beat religions”, as they say in journalistic jargon. From 1996 to 2001, in parallel with Second lookhe hosted the morning show on Radio-Canada radio in Quebec.
If ICI Première is ahead of private stations in the audience ratings today, it was quite the opposite at the time. Survey after survey, Radio-Canada was dragging its feet in the old capital. The market was completely dominated by private radio stations with their star hosts: Robert Gillet, André Arthur and Jeff Fillion. “It was not a good time to do radio in Quebec. You got on a bus and you heard André Arthur talking about “DPJ lesbians”. All this tavern talk was taking over the public debate. You were trying to raise the bar, and you were being called a snob and an intellectual. There is still some of that in Quebec, but fortunately, it has changed a lot,” notes the man who still lives in the region.
Alain Crevier is already having all sorts of plans for his retirement. Among other things, he plans to continue writing a book he has been working on for a long time. Radio-Canada also promises to continue to use him as a speaker when the Church finds itself at the heart of the news.