RICK MERCER TO WRITE EXCLUSIVELY FOR MACLEAN'S

RICK MERCER TO WRITE EXCLUSIVELY FOR MACLEAN'S DURING 2011 FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN

TORONTO, March 31 /CNW/ - In 2000 Rick Mercer made international headlines when he persuaded then-presidential-candidate George W. Bush to answer his questions about Canadian Prime Minister Jean Poutine. Bush was not amused—but Canadians were.
So, as we gear-up for the election of a very real Prime Minister and federal government on May 2, the editors of Canada's weekly current affairs magazine are delighted to announce today that the country's best-known funnyman and political satirist will be writing an exclusive column for Maclean's.

Mercer is the host of The Rick Mercer Report, the highest-rated comedy show in Canada, returning to the CBC for its ninth season this fall. He launched his television career in 1994 as one of the creators, performers and writers on the hit weekly show This Hour Has 22 Minutes. His CBC Television special Talking to Americans, based on the regular This Hour segment wherein he poked fun at Americans' ignorance of Canada, became the highest rated Canadian comedy special of all time with 2.7 million viewers.
Mercer has received more than 25 Gemini Awards, was given the Sir Peter Ustinov Award at the Banff Television Festival, was named Journalist of the Year at the Atlantic Journalism Awards and is the sole civilian recipient of the Canadian Arms Forces Commander Land Force, Command Commendation in recognition of this support of Canadian peacekeepers.
Mercer's first 2011 election commentary will be published in the issue of Maclean's arriving on newsstands today. In that column he observes: "Being a political junkie in this country is a bit like being a diehard Leafs fan.  Year in and year out you believe you will witness magic; year in and year out you experience the opposite. But yet, you continue to show up, cheer on the team, pay through the nose for a hot dog—and it almost always ends in tears."
About Maclean's
Maclean's is Canada's only national weekly current affairs magazine. Maclean's enlightens, engages and entertains 2.4-million readers with strong investigative reporting and exclusive stories from leading journalists in the fields of international affairs, social issues, national politics, business and culture. Visit http://www.macleans.ca/.
Maclean's Now Available on iPad
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