CBC layoffs, cuts, downsizing, selloffs :(

[Chewie]

hope ya don't lose your job...but I can relate...I got downsized right out of A..

thanks CTV globemedia

Thanks for the concern everyone...yeah it sucks I lost my job in Television last week. I appreciate the kind words and sentiments

[c-towns]

schwa. has some heady vibes coming your way.

[Irie Guy]

To be honest for me personally I have no love lost over the CBC after their terrible one sided story on Ethiopian Adoptions aired on the National a week and a half ago. Exploitive journalism at best that was.

Lost jobs are no good however. I do here you folks about the economy. Looking at the number where I work and our Company as a whole is down nearly 20 points this YTD our branch is down over 45 which means I may lose my home branch to work out of.

This year sucks the big one.

Edited March 25, 2009 by Guest

[SaggyBalls]

CBC is definitely my favourite broadcasting entity, what with the docs and bold cable channels.

They've somewhat embraced new media in the past, but in the last few years their new approach to television seems to have gone to the wayside, reverting to tired old television shows.

Maybe Heartland gets good ratings...but it's a tired old formula that does nothing to move us forward...then again, maybe its ratings suck.

For the most part, the production and broadcast quality have left me feeling appreciated as a viewer, unlike CTV which has giant volume spikes in the commercials and dips during regular programming. Looks like CTV may need to hire people to ensure people don't turn their volumes down or change channels.

I sure know I want them to.

Canadian Broadcasters have a huge opportunity to branch out to new media, as I understand federal funding will be mixing the 2. I hope that the changes don't wind up making us dumber overall as a result.

[Kanada Kev]

They've already started tossing around new concepts that are hopeful. They want to stop the old thinking of CBC TV being a television broadcaster and instead a "video provider" and radio into an "audio-content provider". At least there seems to be some sort of "out of the box" thinking.

A lot of it still stinks. The bonuses that are still being given out while jobs are lost is horrendous IMHO.

[Esau.]

I also hope as others have said Kev that your job remains intact for you. Definitely not a good time to be out of work.

This year sucks the big one.

Agreed. A few members of my family (cousins etc) are outta work now with the whole Stelco deal. Indirectly, it hurts numerous other trade/businesses/jobs as well.

[flipzoso]

i hope they leave Radio 3 alone

Real talk.

[ollie]

They've already started tossing around new concepts that are hopeful. They want to stop the old thinking of CBC TV being a television broadcaster and instead a "video provider" and radio into an "audio-content provider". At least there seems to be some sort of "out of the box" thinking.

What's so hopeful about that and when did parroting buzzwords become thinking outside of the box? Nothing to do with you Kev but that kind of corporate speak drives me nuts.

Hope you get good news about your job today!

[Hux]

The current government is happy to the let the CBC sink.

Good call voting NDP and Green hippies.

[Freak By Night]

I claim "Parroting Buzzwords" as a band name.

I'm probably going to get lambasted for this, but I'm going to ahead and say it: The CBC has been wasting taxpayers' money for years. It's time for drastic measures.

They haven't produced decent television drama since "The Beachcombers". I don't know a soul who watches "Being Erica" or "Little Mosque on the Prairie".

Have you seen the CBC buildings in Toronto and Ottawa? Palaces. They could have built less ostentatious, more utilitarian buildings.

And how about some advertising on their radio stations? Even PBS has low-key sponsorships. Have the CBC looked into that?

Don't get me wrong, I think their news and sports coverage, documentaries, and radio shows are excellent. But there is a lot they could be doing to reduce expenses and increase revenues.

[phishtaper]

it seems the only thing that unites this country more than its universal, opinionated dislike of Toronto is its universal, opinionated dislike of the CBC. whether based on personal tastes in programming or principles of funding, we all like to loudly spout off.

good luck today, kev. a lot of us have our fingers crossed for you today. don't let all this armchair corporate quarterbacking get you down.

[Kanada Kev]

Freak,

I can understand where you're coming from. In no way do i defend the CBC in all aspects of its being either. However, you should preface a lot of what you said with "IMHO" or "AFAIK".

They haven't produced decent television drama since "The Beachcombers". I don't know a soul who watches "Being Erica" or "Little Mosque on the Prairie".

That's totally personal taste. I'm not a fan of those shows personally. Beachcombers success (if you are looking at the number of people who viewed it when it was on) can be skewed by the fact it aired in a universe when there were only a handful of stations to watch, and cable wasn't as abundant. By today's standards, and production costs, Little Mosque is a huge success in Canada and internationally.

You must also understand that due to non-increasing funding, and the cost involved in prodicing in-house TV shows, CBC was forced to reduce how many they do (to next to none) and our Props Dept, Set Design, Costume Depts have all been sold off. Outsource Outsource Outsource.

Have you seen the CBC buildings in Toronto and Ottawa? Palaces. They could have built less ostentatious, more utilitarian buildings.

The building in Toronto is no Palce if you've ever been inside and worked here. It's like a rat maze on every floor. It's bleak and dreary and heavily worn around the edges... hardly ostentatious. It was built almost 20 years ago to amalgamate dozens of separate CBC buildings across Toronto, therefore being more efficient. As for the building in Ottawa, well that's MUCH newer and fully functional for what a modern-day broadcaster requires. These aren't over the top banking head offices by any means.

And how about some advertising on their radio stations? Even PBS has low-key sponsorships. Have the CBC looked into that?

Trust me, they have. That is always a key element for CBC Radio listenership and they would exodus like crazy if that was to occur. The tradeoff isn't worth it. People who see CBC as a publically funded entity get even more incensed when they have to listen and suffer through commercials on radio.

I agree with you that there are always ways of cutting costs and increasing revenues. One of the big shortfalls here is the Sales Department that has had rotating directors every couple of years. Recently we had one who was decent, but he got canned. Those senior sales people on his staff had inflated their sales forecasts at unreasonable levels. Supposedly they came up $65 million short. That's a huge fuckup. A few were fired, but they need new blood to sell CBC better. This corporation has faced massive cuts over the past 20 years. It's getting to the point where it won't be able to take much more. Some feel that's fair, others don't.

If the CBC is lost, this country will lose even more of whatever identity it believes it has IMHO. It is meant to reach out to all Canadians. That's a massive task. There are always going to be shortfalls, but without it what connects Canadians together from coast to coast?

Edited March 26, 2009 by Guest

[Freak By Night]

Thanks Kev. Your response was, like the Fifth Estate, excellent.

I liked your response too Phishtaper. The CBC does unite the country - in more ways than one! However, if I was "loudly spouting", my post would have been all in capital letters!

[Im going home Donny]

Seriously...I have always said that my Canada just wouldn't be my Canada without the CBC.

Losing the CBC would be like removing Sesame street from my childhood.

Not that I believe for a second Canadians would let CBC go. No way.

Hold on tight CK!

[bouche]

Is it true that they're doing all of this to also maintain 80% canadian content? Would jobs be saved if they relaxed that fuckin' rule a bit?

[Kanada Kev]

bouche,

I believe that they did offer that as one of the alternatives when they went before the gov't. Asked to be able to acquire more US content in order to generate more sales dollars (whether you like 'em or not, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are huge for CBC now). But it's a slippery slope if the ratio changes too much as it will just make opponents of CBC easily justified in arguing "how is it all Canadian then and different from other brodcasters, so cut any funding". And those that support and love the CBC because it does provide a unique balance of Canadian content would be pissed for seeing it be forgone for US content.

In almost every situation it's a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't in somebody's opinion

[Patchoulia]

Apropos of nothing, I, for one, really enjoy "Being Erica"...and I know several folks in the U.S. who stream the show, weekly, from the interweb (not that interet interest in another country helps the cause at all).

[Kanada Kev]

Thanks again everyone.

Looks like there will be 22 positions in my dept going. My dept covers approx 200 across the country, so this is promising at least. Take away an early retirees (which there will be a few) some people who simply leave, and the fact that my unit is understaffed already is somewhat promising.

If anyone is interested in getting a quick and detailed idea of the situation (and how it relates to funding, the gov't, programming, etc.) i encourage you to skim the speech that the CBC president gave in Montreal today;

http://www.sendspace.com/file/enqs94

[Booche]

That seems like a lot of work.

All that clicking and SAVING AS and hitting play and skimming.........why dont you just tell us what he said?

[Kanada Kev]

3 default clicks ... come on Boochie

I am supposed to be "working"

Edited March 26, 2009 by Guest

[Booche]

Make it 2 clicks and you got a deal.

[Patchoulia]

Make it 2 clicks and you got a deal.

Impeccable negotiation skills, Booche.

[Velvet]

3 default clicks ... come on Boochie

I am supposed to be "working"

Waitaminnit....you're posting from work with concerns that you might be laid off?

[AD]

i hope they leave Radio 3 alone

I know a great many of you have been following CBC’s financial difficulties closely and have been concerned about the effect on CBC Radio 3. Today, everyone at Radio 3 found out that, contrary to previous reports, we are NOT being sold and we are NOT being shut down.

However, like the rest of the company, we are undertaking a significant cut to our budget next year. There are two primary impacts for us, one of which will be felt strongly and the other of which many of you may not notice.

The first impact is that CBC Radio 3 will be recording significantly less live music in the coming year. Our recording budget is being merged with the recording budget of CBC Radio 2, which in turn has been reduced by 50%. We will still be recording musicians from across the country, but how much we can do and whether those recordings will be live concerts or studio sessions we don’t yet know.

I will be working with CBC Radio’s head of music, Mark Steinmetz, in the coming weeks to create a new live music strategy between Radio 2 and Radio 3. This is very painful – I know how much all of you appreciate our live recordings and I also know how much it means to the many amazing Canadian musicians we record every year.

The second impact is related to our radio stations. Many of you may not know this, but CBC Radio 3’s Sirius satellite radio station (channel 86) broadcasts a separate and often distinct set of programming from the streaming radio station on our website. Yes, some of our programs are simulcast on both, but many are not. Moving forward, we will have the exact same programming on both Sirius and web radio.

Very sadly for all of us here, this will very likely mean an impact on our staff. We won’t know what that impact will be until mid-May at the earliest, as it depends on a number of factors such as the internal take-up on a voluntary retirement incentive plan and discussions with our union colleagues about how to minimize staff reductions.

This is a bad day for CBC Radio 3. There is no doubt about it. However, it could have been much worse and for that I think we are all thankful. We are moving forward with a very strong radio station, a brand new version of the website coming within a couple months, and a powerful, passionate community of artists and music fans. Despite today’s bad news, I’m personally very confident that Radio 3 will continue to grow and prosper in the future and that impact of the cuts to our budget has been minimized at best as humanly possible.

I would personally like to thank each and every one of you who raised awareness online about the risks to Radio 3 since the infamous ‘unload Radio 3’ quote was seen in the media. Your support and the visibility of that support was heard loudly inside the company and I hope was a factor in making today’s news considerably less than it might have been otherwise.

Steve Pratt

Director, CBC Radio 3

[phishtaper]

wow. that's quite the impressive letter. fwiw, i listen to cbc3 on sirius and have always loved it. sad news about staff cuts and less live sessions.