Vancouver news editor crashes Josh Johnson comedy skit 

Comedian Josh Johnson had an unlikely guest at his recent event in Vancouver.

While talking about a memorable CBC story starring a cat facing eviction during his Comedy Band Camp Tour stop at the Vogue Theatre late last month, Johnson said he wished he could speak to the editor behind the piece in order to get a sense of what kind of day they were having when they selected such a topic.

It turns out, an editor happened to be in the audience.

Amid a raucous amount of cheers from the crowd, CBC editor and reporter Jon Azpiri, who previously worked at The Vancouver Sun, joined Johnson onstage to answer a few questions about the piece.

“May I clarify, we do a lot of stories about cats,” Azpiri noted cheekily.

The American comedian and writer proceeded to describe the story in question to Azpiri, in impressive detail, in the hopes of jogging his memory as to the exact feline piece in question.

“I wonder, when they came to you with this, were you like, ‘What?’” Johnson asks. “What was your reaction?”

Clarifying that he wasn’t the reporter or editor on that particular story, Azpiri admitted that he wouldn’t stand in the way of such an important news piece.

“We’re a public broadcaster, so we have a thing called journalistic standards and practices,” the local news editor joked.

“There’s really no need to brag,” Johnson replied. “You need to recall who you’re talking to, where I come from.”

As Azpiri went on to explain the process of reporting on just such a story, Johnson jested, “You don’t get this type of journalism from TMZ.”

The conversation then turned to another story Johnson had spotted on CBC. The topic was an island that “appeared and disappeared,” according to the comedy star.

Nodding his head, Azpiri admitted, “I actually did edit that story.”

“The way that it was presented was very above board, very newsy,” Johnson recalls of the August piece. For that story, he had a minor editing suggestion.

“If I was working at the CBC, and it had been cats all week … and then an island appeared and disappeared, I’m just throwing out what I would do. I would be like, WHAT?” he joked. “It was delivered on a cat bodega level, but this is VERY different news …

“We’re dealing with miles and miles of difference.”

The interaction offered a comedic look into newsroom decision-making. Initially a video reserved for subscribers, Johnson decided to release the full clip via his Instagram account.

“I wanted to share the entire moment publicly with you so you could experience it exactly as it happened,” he wrote. “I hope you enjoy!”

So far, the viral clip has garnered more than 106,000 likes.

aharris@postmedia.com