What to do with Radio Canada and the CBC?

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Dear God, just how many Danielle Smiths are there in Alberta?

North Dakota, epicentre of fracking, and Wyoming, epicentre of surface coal. Alberta, the pristine home of the tar sands....I sense a pattern here.

Pipelines!

In fairness I attribute it to collective cognitive dissonance / willful ignorance.
Still shameful. I don't see Ontario and Quebec defending Asbestos (though isn't it still mined and sent to third world countries?)

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

In fairness I attribute it to collective cognitive dissonance / willful ignorance.
Still shameful. I don't see Ontario and Quebec defending Asbestos (though isn't it still mined and sent to third world countries?)

[casper]

While it is true Rex Murphy has had a prominent editorial role on CBC, lets also not forget that CBC gave this commentator a "wonderful" soap box to promotive his "devilish" view of society as a daily fixture for several years on the nation national news channel.


Source Britannica https://cdn.britannica.com/03/193903...0&h=300&c=crop

I think it is clear CBC provides opportunities for right leaning views.

[thewave46]

Generally, if one is in the media business, one is keenly aware of optics.

Incentive pay is always a fraught topic for failing companies. It is necessary because it generally is about the only incentive to retain talent at a managerial level when the urge to flee is at its peak. A failing company that loses talented management is basically done for. Then again, the company might be hosed regardless.

The CBC is in a jam optics-wise on this topic, given its source of funding. The optimistic take is that it actually intends to reform itself and retaining the experience is needed. The cynical take is that in a political sense it is done for and this is the last chance to go to the trough. One generally doesn't say the quiet bit out loud, especially to a Commons committee.

I get the latter vibes given the state of the media in this country and the way the political winds blow.

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by thewave46

Incentive pay is always a fraught topic for failing companies. It is necessary because it generally is about the only incentive to retain talent at a managerial level when the urge to flee is at its peak. A failing company that loses talented management is basically done for. Then again, the company might be hosed regardless.

If the success of the CBC rests on the talent they can attract, then they're cooked.

There are other crown corporations where the global marketplace for top tier talent is restricted to other, comparable public companies in other places so Canadian institutions are competitive. The TTC has had David Gunn and Andy Byford as CEOs. The former was a CEO for the NYC MTA and later Amtrak, and the latter started off as CEO for Sydney's suburban trains, then the TTC, then the NYC MTA and then Transport for London. Clearly, the TTC was a big enough fish with enough resume padding and a lucrative enough contract in comparison with the other biggies.

But the CBC? Are they going to poach somebody from Netflix or Disney? Frankly, I don't think they can even lure somebody from one of the other major national public broadcasters. Can you imagine leaving the BBC for the CBC?

[Tvisforme]

With Poilievre claiming he'll "axe the CBC", it's good to know that the private sector is prepared to step up and fill the void:

Bell Media planning cuts to CTV, BNN Bloomberg following BCE layoffs, sale of 45 radio stations
Thursday's round of job cuts is BCE's largest in nearly 30 years

Bell Media is ending multiple television newscasts and making other programming cuts after its parent company announced widespread layoffs and the sale of 45 of its 103 regional radio stations.

In an internal memo to Bell Media employees on Thursday, it said news stations such as CTV and BNN Bloomberg would be affected immediately.

The radio stations being sold are in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

The memo, signed by Dave Daigle, vice-president of local TV, radio and Bell Media Studios, and Richard Gray, vice-president of news at Bell Media, said weekday noon newscasts at all CTV stations except Toronto would end. It is also scrapping its 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts on weekends at all CTV and CTV2 stations except Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa.

Daigle and Gray said "multi-skilled journalists" would replace news correspondent and technician teams reporting to CTV National News in Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, while other correspondent changes would be made in Ottawa.

Earlier in the day, Bell Media's parent company BCE Inc. announced it was cutting nine per cent of its workforce.

The company announced Thursday in an open letter signed by chief executive Mirko Bibic that 4,800 jobs "at all levels of the company" would be cut. Fewer than 10 per cent of the total job cuts are at Bell Media specifically.

This round of job cuts is BCE's largest in nearly 30 years, Bibic added during a Thursday conference call.

Some employees have already been notified or were to be informed Thursday of being laid off, while the balance will be told by the spring. Bibic said the company will use vacancies and natural attrition to minimize layoffs as much as possible.

Bell is also ending evening programs The Debate, This Hour and Top 3 Tonight on CTV News Channel, which will be replaced by a four-hour news broadcast on weeknights beginning at 6 p.m.

At BNN Bloomberg, weekday daytime programming is "being streamlined" to reduce the number of separate broadcasts.

Daigle and Gray also said W5 will shift from a standalone documentary series to a "multi-platform investigative reporting unit" featured on CTV National News, CTVNews.ca and other news platforms.

2nd major layoff
It marks the second major layoff at the media and telecommunications giant since last spring, when six per cent of Bell Media jobs were eliminated and nine radio stations were either shuttered or sold.

In a separate internal memo, Bell Media president Sean Cohan said the company intends to divest 45 radio stations to seven buyers: Vista Radio, Whiteoaks, Durham Radio, My Broadcasting Corp., ZoomerMedia, Arsenal Media and Maritime Broadcasting. The sales are subject to CRTC approval and other closing conditions.
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[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by Tvisforme

With Poilievre claiming he'll "axe the CBC", it's good to know that the private sector is prepared to step up and fill the void:

It's comical how some people are absolutely convinced that the private sector would fill the void if CBC stopped doing local news. It's not happening.

[urbandreamer]

I don't listen to CBC news anymore as it's so biased/nonsense but do listen to The Drive, About Time, In Concert etc while driving. Other than Z103.5, I can't stand commercial radio. So it's either silence, the CBC or BBC in the car.

As a BCE shareholder, good riddance to those useless radio stations. Now I wish they'd shutter CTV: atrocious.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

I don't listen to CBC news anymore as it's so biased/nonsense but do listen to The Drive, About Time, In Concert etc while driving. Other than Z103.5, I can't stand commercial radio. So it's either silence, the CBC or BBC in the car.

As a BCE shareholder, good riddance to those useless radio stations. Now I wish they'd shutter CTV: atrocious.

The radio stations aren't closing; they're being sold to smaller broadcasters. Many of these are in smaller communities that have limited media options, such as Revelstoke, Salmon Arm, or Trail, BC where BC-based Vista Radio is taking over.

I point this out because I've heard two different media sources in the past two hours claim these radio stations are "closing".

[urbandreamer]

Sure, but eventually they'll close.

[shreddog]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

It's comical how some people are absolutely convinced that the private sector would fill the void if CBC stopped doing local news. It's not happening.

Another way to look at it is that maybe, just maybe, less and less people get their news, local or not, from broadcast tv. I'm too lazy to look, but from my memory, there were no markets in Canada where CBC local news was number one. Often they were 3 and below. Now if the number one or number two broadcaster is cutting back, perhaps there is a reason?

Anyway, I hate to see the demise of local news/media as I genuinely believe we (Canadians as a whole) will be worse off without it, but my guess is that in thee markets where CTV is retrenching CBC WILL NOT se a spike in viewership. rather I think we will see the overall eyeballs in the market continue to decline.

Even if CBC was the only game in town, I don't think that the numbers will go through the roof. Broadcast media is dying (or changing if you want to be kind), and broadcasters need to adapt.

[Tvisforme]

Originally Posted by shreddog

....Broadcast media is dying (or changing if you want to be kind), and broadcasters need to adapt.

Adapt, yes, but what Bell and the other private broadcasters are doing is not "adapting"; they're just getting rid of the bodies and facilities you need to do the job on whatever platform you use. The CTV News website can't magically produce news reports for the modern era if there's no crew in the area to properly cover a story. And believe me, as someone who's had to work with it in the past, there's no comparison between professionally shot and reported material and the stuff you get from a network of casual stringers. There's no upside to these cuts and in an era where misinformation is rampant, we should mourn losses like these.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by shreddog

Another way to look at it is that maybe, just maybe, less and less people get their news, local or not, from broadcast tv. I'm too lazy to look, but from my memory, there were no markets in Canada where CBC local news was number one. Often they were 3 and below. Now if the number one or number two broadcaster is cutting back, perhaps there is a reason?

They're #1 in Prince Edward Island, as they're the only locally based newscast there. I would assume also #1 in the Territories as CTV and Global do not operate up there, though they do have APTN.

Originally Posted by shreddog

Anyway, I hate to see the demise of local news/media as I genuinely believe we (Canadians as a whole) will be worse off without it, but my guess is that in thee markets where CTV is retrenching CBC WILL NOT se a spike in viewership. rather I think we will see the overall eyeballs in the market continue to decline.

Even if CBC was the only game in town, I don't think that the numbers will go through the roof. Broadcast media is dying (or changing if you want to be kind), and broadcasters need to adapt.

It's unlikely CBC will see increases because for the most part, the newscasts being eliminated are not ones that CBC competes with as CBC doesn't do local noon newscasts, and they have very limited local weekend news, depending on the market. They might see a tiny bump on Saturday at 6:00 or Sunday at 11:00 in those markets they do news at those times (such as Vancouver outside of the NHL season), but Global is likely to benefit far more, especially in Western Canada where Global News performs well.

An area where CTV has failed miserably compared to local TV in the United States is live streaming. Many local US stations have their own app and livestream their newscasts for free online, supported by ads of course. CTV has stubbornly refused to livestream their local newscasts except to users who log in with a cable/satellite provider login, which fewer and fewer Canadians have. Global, on the other hand, livestreams all their local newscasts for free on Pluto TV, and CBC does the same on CBC Gem. I believe CityNews does the same but I'm not 100% sure. My point being that CTV has missed out on ad revenue by gatekeeping their online live content. It is easier for me to get a live local newscast online from San Diego or Detroit than it is to get CTV Vancouver's 6:00 newscast live. For that reason I have a tough time having sympathy for the financial situation of Bell Media's news division.

Something else that often gets overlooked in these cutbacks is the online presence of these broadcasters. These broadcasters also publish written content online, and when reporters and other staff get cut back, that product also suffers.

[J.OT13]

CTV cutting the noon hour news, but still has 5pm and 6pm local news.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

CTV cutting the noon hour news, but still has 5pm and 6pm local news.

Also cutting weekend evening and night time news casts in the outer colonies as well.

This is most unfortunate. In the Maritimes at least, these weekend updates are very useful for their comprehensive weather updates in a storm prone region of the country.

While I am no CBC supporter, I am also not in favour of emasculating the Mother Corp. One thing the CBC does well is regional news coverage. As the private broadcasters continue their retreat to Toronto, this will become increasingly important.

[MolsonExport]

CTV stands for Central Toronto Video.

[MonctonRad]

The hollowing out of the media in the outer colonies is becoming a great concern.

- Brunswick News (Irving) has been bought out by Post Media, and, as far as I can tell, they might have two reporters in Moncton (not much different in the other NB cities). They are actively discouraging people from buying actual print newspapers, and encouraging online subscriptions. Local news here in Moncton has been reduced to a daily court report (for the most part).
- Most local radio stations are now part of large conglomerates, and, for the most part, play canned music from centralized playlists. News reporting is perfunctory, generally national and without local content. The only exception in Moncton is 91.9 FM which maintains a local news department with a couple of reporters.
- TV news is little better. Both CTV and Global are based in Halifax, and newscasts are regionally (not provincially) focused. Global is a bare bones operation while CTV is better. It is apparent however that CTV is now in full retreat from the regions.
- CBC TV in NB only has a half hour news program on weekdays. There is no local CBC meteorologist in NB. Weekend news is all regional, based out of Halifax, and covers both the Maritimes and Newfoundland. With such a broad mandate, NB news coverage is pretty skimpy.
- The only holdout for quality local new coverage in NB is CBC Radio, with all three cities having local morning shows, and a high quality provincial evening radiocast for commuters heading home.

The situation is frankly appalling.

[J.OT13]

It's quite sad that the smaller municipalities are losing essential TV news coverage and individual communities their local papers. Big cities are fairing better, now but it won't be long before we start losing TV and newspaper coverage as well. All we'll be left with is the non-sense on Facebook and Twitter.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Also cutting weekend evening and night time news casts in the outer colonies as well.

This is most unfortunate. In the Maritimes at least, these weekend updates are very useful for their comprehensive weather updates in a storm prone region of the country.

While I am no CBC supporter, I am also not in favour of emasculating the Mother Corp. One thing the CBC does well is regional news coverage. As the private broadcasters continue their retreat to Toronto, this will become increasingly important.

Southwestern Ontario is another one that is concerning to me, and unlike the Maritimes, Global has zero presence in Southwestern Ontario and CBC TV's presence is limited to its bare-bones Windsor station, which does not produce news on weekends and does not cover much beyond Essex County - CTV effectively has a monopoly west of Toronto. This is a region of 2.9 million people, more than the population of Atlantic Canada, or Manitoba, or Saskatchewan.

Southwestern Ontario gets a lot of wild weather - snowsqualls in the winter, and severe thunderstorms and occasional tornadoes in spring and summer. Toronto weather is often very different from the weather to the west.

Windsor viewers at least have four Detroit stations which would cover something major if it happened in Windsor (emphasis on "major"), and Kitchener is close enough to Hamilton that CHCH could fill in the gap there, but that still leaves London and surrounding areas with nothing on weekends.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

It's quite sad that the smaller municipalities are losing essential TV news coverage and individual communities their local papers. Big cities are fairing better, now but it won't be long before we start losing TV and newspaper coverage as well. All we'll be left with is the non-sense on Facebook and Twitter.

Inevitable. Nobody wants to really pay for journalism. And publicly funded journalism (like the CBC) will always be controversial.