Off radio, but Toronto mayor scores TV show

Toronto's embattled Mayor Rob Ford, who saw his radio show canceled after confessing to smoking crack, is to host a weekly television program with his brother starting Monday. Ford warned Thursday that he will sue former staffers and others for telling police they witnessed him snorting cocaine, and partying with a possible prostitute. He also reiterated that he intends to stay in office and seek a new term in 2014. The latest allegations suggest Ford also abused the painkiller Oxycontin, drove while drunk and sent staffers to buy alcohol. Sun News Network announced the new TV show on Thursday, despite the growing list and repeated instances of Ford's lewd and allegedly illegal conduct. "Rob is like Howard Stern or Rush Limbaugh," Ford's brother Doug told Sun News Network as it announced the television show. "You just never know what he is going to say." The Ford brothers' popular radio show "The City" on Newstalk 1010 ended last week amid the swirling controversies surrounding the mayor. "Following the cancelation of their top-rated radio show, we approached the Fords about hosting a show on our network," said Sun News Network vice-president Kory Teneycke, who once served as director of communications for Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. "We are delighted to announce they have agreed." The first episode of "Ford Nation" will air Monday at 8:00 pm (0100 GMT) on the conservative Canadian news channel. "We are in the age of reality TV and it doesn't get more real than the Fords," said Teneycke. Sun News Network said the show would provide Ford an opportunity to "fight back on his own terms."