VANCOUVER - The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is cutting back staff in its English services and in Radio-Canada staff outside Quebec, according to a CBCnews.ca report this afternoon.
The report said English Services has sent 158 "redundancy notices" to its Canadian Media Guild employees outside Quebec. In addition, 73 employees have taken voluntary retirement:
Among those to take retirement packages are some of CBC's most experienced reporters, including Brian Stewart, of The National, Steve Finkelman, a municipal affairs reporter in Edmonton, John McGrath, who covers Queen's Park in Toronto, Don Newman, host of CBC News: Politics, and Jim Nunn, host of CBC News: Nova Scotia at Six.
The CMG website predicts that a total of 350 CBC jobs will be lost this spring through a mix of layoffs, retirements, nonrenewal of contract employees, and abolition of vacant job positions.
"This is a very sad time," says Marc Philippe Laurin, president of the Canadian Media Guild's CBC branch. "We are losing very experienced people who have devoted years to the CBC and we’re also losing people who were beginning what should have been long and bright careers at the public broadcaster. Viewers, listeners and web surfers will notice their absence as programming is scaled back or cancelled altogether."
According to the CBCnews.ca report, the CMG forecasts 45 jobs lost in Vancouver, by far the largest number outside Toronto -- which will lose 155.
The CMG also said it would continue its "CBC now more than ever" campaign to restore funding to the CBC.
Inside the CBC, the corporation's official blog, posted an item from the union on May 27 about how to respond to a redundancy notice.
The job losses are the result of the CBC's need to make up a funding shortfall of $171 million, partly due to falling advertising revenues. Next week the CBC will serve redundancy notices to the Quebec services of Radio-Canada, where an estimated 363 more jobs will be affected.
Crawford Kilian is a contributing editor of The Tyee.
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brg61
2 years ago
Don Newman
Don Newman, leaving newsworlds "politics" is sad news indeed. Mr. Newman is one the last journalists in the mainstream media with integrity. He showed respect to every politician he interviewed and NEVER allowed his opinions to influence his viewers perceptions. ( a trait missing from the so called newsrooms in this city)
I will genuinely miss him; and wish him all the best.
dirtmeister
2 years ago
Lame programing
Hopefully CBC will roll up all the regional morning and afternoon shows within BC. Only require one good morning and afternoon program for BC and these shows now are redundant. To much featherbedding within CBC, the CBC should be lean and mean.
Skywalker
2 years ago
Sure dirtmeister. Horsefeathers!
If you don't have some regional shows the CBC will get fewer listeners. When you live in Ft St. John you really don't care to hear everything about the lower mainland or Kelowna. Cuts and more cuts over the years have reduced the quality of the CBC and rural BC has suffered most. It wasn't featherbedding at all, it was trying to make the CBC a national news and cultural station.
The problem with the CBC is that governments can't manipulate the news content like they can with Canwest and the other private news organs. That is why the funding is cut year after year.
We need more propaganda from the corporate media like we need more swine flu.