The face of CBC News, whether it be online, on radio or on television will be dramatically different this fall as the monumental task of renewing CBC News picks up steam.

In a note to staff today, Jennifer McGuire, the general manager and editor in chief of CBC News, outlined some of the changes that are underway at the news department. As McGuire explains the news operations of radio, television and online will start to merge into a single news-gathering hub, which will be divided into content units that serve the needs of the three different platforms.

The news-gathering hub “will be the engine that drives our newsgathering “as it happens” 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” McGuire wrote.

She also outlined some major changes at Newsworld, including more immediacy and breaking news “but offering it up in a way that engages viewers and has authentic personality,” McGuire said.

McGuire also unveiled more details on the Newsworld schedule, including an expanded two-hour politics show from Ottawa, a new business show that starts at the market close, a prime-time two hour flagship news show, a documentary block airing seven days a week under the umbrella of the Passionate Eye, and finally more international coverage around the clock.

The changes at Newsworld will affect many of the producers working there. Previously Newsworld producers would usually be assigned to a single show, now they “will ideally be assigned to a story,” McGuire said “and will follow that story through all of its incarnations throughout the day.”

McGuire said the “task we have taken on is nothing short of monumental. It is complicated and time intensive,” but McGuire added that she hoped “to be ushering in a new era at CBC News.”

Do you work in the news department? What do you think of the changes at CBC News?

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	News & Journalism	Posted at 7:02 pm (29 Jun 2009)

^{A shot from a user-generated video of the protest in Iran, dubbed the Neda video}

When you look at the blurry, shaky, low-resolutions videos that have dominated coverage of from Iran recently, you may be looking at the future of broadcast journalism.

“I’ve never seen anything to this extent - the Mumbai attacks had some, but not this amount, day after day,” Leigh Felesky, the senior producer for user-generated content at CBC News said today.

The lock-down on mainstream media in Iran, combined with vivid accounts captured by Iranian citizens, has propelled user-generated content to the forefront of many newscasts - and has blurred the line between professional and amateur coverage.

“It think it’s crossed over into that area where there’s no distinction anymore,” Felesky said. “It’s part of the everyday telling of the story, and it’s incorporated into the story-telling.”

In Iran, restrictions on traditional media have forced many broadcasters to turn to the internet for content. Producers are looking to Twitter and YouTube for updates on the story, while their reporters are stuck in hotel rooms; and that’s changed the role of journalists.

“We used to have to make a lot of phone calls… Now it comes to you,” Esther Enkin, Executive Editor at CBC News said.

According to Rachel Nixon, the new director of digital media at CBC News, journalists are increasingly “taking on the role of authenticators and verifiers.”

Although the situation in Iran is unique, the advent of user-generated news content creates opportunities across the board.

The reality is that no news organization is staffed to cover every story, in every location. But user-generated content “allows news organizations to get coverage from the scene, even when they don’t have their own reporter on the ground,” Nixon added.

The advent of citizen journalism also creates opportunities for professional journalists to build relationships with their audiences “by reflecting the world as they see it,” Nixon wrote in a email this afternoon.

“Our audiences are telling us that they want to participate,” Enkin said. The audience then “becomes partners on some levels,” she added “It’s not just a compelling images, it’s also a resource that we can use to tell the story.”

But as journalists rely more and more on user-generated content, there’s also risks. The content is hard to verify, the sources are often anonymous and when the material was shot is usually not clear. The New York Times highlighted this problem on their blog recently, when they pointed out that at least four videos appeared on MSNBC recently that were dated inacurately.

“We know we can’t verify this stuff,” Felesky said, and that creates a obligation for professional journalists. Felesky said that the online audience can provide a solution. She said users will often correct errors and can help in authenticating clips.

Nevertheless, especially with stories like the protests in Iran, where tons of material is being uploaded by motivated activists, there is obvious risk.

“The duty to ensure that we are not being manipulated is even greater than it was… but the upside is well worth the risk,” Enkin said.

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	News & Journalism	Posted at 4:58 pm (24 Jun 2009)

On the eve of his last day at the CBC, Don Newman is hosting a live chat today at noon Eastern Time.

Newman is widely respected for his parliamentary analysis and long-standing coverage of Parliament Hill. In 1989 he helped launched CBC Newsworld, since then he’s covered every political story and scandal under the sun. It’s rumoured that some Prime Ministers used to call him directly, sometimes when he was on the air, to tip him off about breaking stories.

You can submit your questions in advance, or log in and ask questions live during the Q & A session, by going here.

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	News & Journalism, Parliament	Posted at 7:54 am (18 Jun 2009)

Two CBC reporters won individual awards for their work at a gala ceremony in Ottawa last night.

The award for Excellence in Science and Technology Reporting from the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance in English language media went to Peter Nowak. He wrote about the award on his blog. He said “the award is particularly satisfying because it’s a stamp of approval on the type of journalism I try to do, which is issues-based rather than so much of the product-based tech reporting out there.”

Reporting on important consumer issues such as net neutrality, copyright reform and competition problems - like the woeful state of Canada’s cellphone market - often rubs those in power the wrong way, especially when exposing a lot of the bull that goes on, so it’s nice to see some back-up from the people who matter most: the readers.

The same award for French language media also went to a CBC reporter, Bruno Guglielminetti, according to Nowak, Guglielminetti said it was ironic that two CBC reporters grabbed the top honours, while the corporation is laying off hundreds of people: “The CBC, if you haven’t heard, is cutting 800 people, most of whom (myself included) are anxiously waiting until next week to find out if they have jobs or not,” Nowak wrote on his blog.

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	Awards, News & Journalism	Posted at 10:35 am (20 May 2009)

^{Roy Harris at the CBC Archives}

The CBC Archives department picked up two awards last night at a ceremony in London, England.

The Digital Archives website won for Best Use of Footage on Non-television Platforms, and long-time CBC’er Roy Harris won a lifetime achievement award. Harris thanked the CBC “for understanding the importance of bringing our collective history to new audiences on new platforms.”

Paul Gorbould, senior producer for the digital archives project, said the award was “really gratifying to win,” because he says archival work is crucial, “an archive has no value if nobody sees the footage it contains.”

The CBC has an amazing legacy, “There’s a great opportunity, now more than ever, to bring all this great material back into the public eye, to see how our collective history unfolded,” Gorbould said.

The award is one of many that the CBC archives has won over the last couple of years. They’ve also won awards from the American Society of Archivists - a first for a Canadian institution - an EPpy, a Webby Award, A Prix Italia and several others.

Unfortunately, their work is under financial pressure. The digital archives site was launched in 2002 with money from the Department of Canadian Heritage. The federal government discontinued that fund in 2009. So now it’s up to the CBC to keep the project alive. “As you can imagine, it’s not a great time to look for new money. We’re working… to find ways to keep it going.” Gorbould said. “Fingers crossed.”

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	Archives/Vintage Media, News & Journalism	Posted at 3:58 pm (06 May 2009)

Jennifer McGuire, who started her CBC career as a producer for Ottawa Morning, is now officially general manager and editor in chief of CBC News.

McGuire has been serving as the interim publisher of CBC News since November 2008, when John Cruickshank resigned. Click here for an article on McGuire’s remarkable career (internal CBC link - sorry guys).

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	News & Journalism	Posted at 2:39 pm (06 May 2009)

Veteran CBC broadcaster Don Newman has announced his retirement. Newman was well known for his work on Parliament Hill over many years - as much for his distinctive trademark drawl as his lack of patience with political rhetoric and his uncompromising interviews.

His interview with Jean Chrétien in the wake of the former Prime Minister’s retirement stands out as one of his many memorable interviews.

Newman told CBC News that he’d continue hosting the Newsworld show Politics until June. According to the CBC he has decided to take the retirement package.

Newman’s career spanned 40 years and included reporting on events from the Watergate scandal to the Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords. A member of the Order of Canada, he has been working from the CBC’s parliamentary bureau since 1981.

During his show yesterday Newman addressed his retirement with characteristic professionalism, saying that he had become something no “that no reporter should - a story himself.”

“I very much appreciate all the kind comments and good wishes that I have been receiving. But I am going to be here for another seven weeks and there is lot of political news still to report.”

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	News & Journalism, Parliament, Personalities	Posted at 11:35 am (05 May 2009)

National Radio’s Health Reporter, Pauline Dakin, has some comments about language use in the flu story:

• “Suspected” means someone has symptoms but there hasn’t been a test to confirm a diagnosis.
• “Confirmed” means the diagnosis has been confirmed with a lab test.
• It is “a” swine flu, not the first. There have been previous swine flus. The World Health Organization has said regardless of pork producers’ concerns, there’s no plan to change the name.
• You can call it a “virus” or a “new influenza virus”…as in Joe contracted the virus, or he became infected, or even caught the virus.
• And we should not be using “pandemic” to talk about what’s happening now. We’re currently seeing outbreaks. If it becomes a pandemic, the World Health Organization will declare it.

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	News & Journalism	Posted at 4:30 pm (28 Apr 2009)

If you’ve been working on a pitch for the CBC News Renewal process, the deadline has been extended to February 20th.

According to a note from Jennifer McGuire, “We heard from many people who are still working on pitches for Newsworld Primetime. So, we have decided to extend the deadline for those proposals to the end of [this] week. Send them to newsrenewal@cbc.ca no later than Friday February 20″

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	CBC Newsworld, News & Journalism	Posted at 12:25 pm (16 Feb 2009)

Allegations from Manitoba aboriginal leaders that the CBC has provided a forum for hatred and racism on it’s web site have grown into a full scale debate between hate speech on one hand and freedom of speech and censorship on the other.

The leaders, which represent dozens of aboriginal bands, made the allegations after a year-long study of several news sites. One of the comments which they documented read: “Native people do not have the knowledge to look after a house. Build them a teepee seeing they were better off 300 years ago.”

When CBC News posted the story on its web site headlined: “First Nations chiefs say comments on CBC website forum for hate,” hundreds of comments started appearing on the page debating the merits of the accusations. On Thursday night the story had over 200 comments and was the most commented story on cbc.ca.

Many of the comments echoed the thought that the aboriginal leaders were blurring the lines between criticism and hatred. “I don’t think people’s opinions should be counted as racist because they may be negative in nature,” MikeNike wrote in what was the most recommended comment on the story. “This sounds like intimidation to me… Dissenting points of view are not hate speech,” another commentator GlobalWarmingNews.ca added. I should add that the CBC story did not contain the comments that sparked the allegations.

Nevertheless the story illustrates a problem that many media outlets are struggling with - sometimes the online comments become the story. And when that happens it introduces some thorny legal questions.

A media law professor told the Globe said that the CBC could be liable for the comments: “If you are screening the comments, you are responsible,” said Dean Jobb, assistant professor of Journalism at King’s College. But others disagree wether the CBC would be on the hook and most agree that the issue lies in a legal grey area than has not been mapped.

The problem becomes even more acute for the CBC because part of it’s mandate is to promote discussion among Canadians, and comments on news stories are a extremely effective way to do that.

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	CBC.ca web site, News & Journalism	Posted at 10:07 pm (12 Feb 2009)

Early Monday morning (01:00-05:00 ET Monday January 12, 2009) we will be taking the site off-line to perform some much needed maintenance on our storage device.

The CBC.ca website uses a lot of disk space. All of the media, news stories, podcasts, etc.. add up. We store all of this information on device produced by a company called BlueArc. All of the web and application servers “mount” the BlueArc to serve the website content. There is approx. 3 terabytes of data that is used for the website. 3 Terabytes is a lot of data, to put it in perspective:

1 Terabyte would be equal to 50,000 pages of printed material.
1 Terabyte of seconds would be 32,000 years.
850 Terabytes of storage is used for all of the pages in the Google search index
2,250,000,000 Terabytes of data in 1 gram of DNA

What will I see during the outage?
Because we need to take the BlueArc offline to perform the maintenance, all of the pages in CBC.ca will not be available. However, we are going to be providing an extremely limited site (what we’re referring internally as the “skinny site”). This site will be extremely light-weight and only offer the latest news.

A preview of the site during the maintenance.

All other content will be unavailable until the maintenance is complete.

If you have any specific questions on how the BlueArc works, or why we’re doing this maintenance, please feel free to post a comment.

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	CBC.ca web site, News & Journalism, Under the Hood	Posted at 3:42 pm (08 Jan 2009)

According to the Google Zeitgeist published last week, ‘cbc’  is the number one term for news sources in Canada.

The results mean people typed in the term ‘cbc’ into the Google search engine more often than any other news provider - beating out CTV, BBC, CNN, Global and several others.

This would seem to indicate that the CBC is a strong front-of-mind brand for news searches, which bodes well for CBC News in general and cbc.ca in particular.

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	CBC.ca web site, News & Journalism	Posted at 1:59 pm (15 Dec 2008)

Cedric Sam, an IT analyst with radio-canada.ca, has developed a custom electoral map using Google’s satellite imagery.

As you can see from the picture above, Sam used customized electoral maps and overlaid them on top of Google Earth’s satellite imagery. The technique was used once on-air for the federal election, and then several times for the recent Quebec provincial election.

To make it work Sam collected geographical and elections data from provincial and government sources and then feed it into a database. Then he incorporated the live elections results, and crunched it together to represent the ridings. “At each moment during the evening, by a click on the script, I could generate a fresh map with current data colored with the party in advance or elected in any given riding,” he said.

“The coolest map that we generated that night was that of parties finishing third in each riding. In a single shot, [we were] able to show how Quebec effectively returned to a two-party system with a map almost entirely colored in pale blue, the color representing Mario Dumont’s ADQ.”

Given that the next election is probably around the corner, this seems like a great application for the Canada Votes pages. To watch a Youtube video of the on-air presentation, click here.

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	Behind the Scenes, I.T., News & Journalism	Posted at 1:11 pm (11 Dec 2008)

The CBC Office of the Ombudsman, an independent body, has cleared Krista Erickson of allegations of bias.

According to the Winnipeg Sun,

There is absolutely no evidence of any partisan interest on her part — she is an aggressive reporter who will pursue a story no matter whose interests are at stake,” ombudsman Vince Carlin wrote in a recent report.

Erickson was reassigned out of Ottawa in January after a CBC investigation determined that she passed questions to Liberals during the Mulroney-Schreiber hearings. Erickson has since been reinstated to the Ottawa parliamentary bureau.

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	News & Journalism, Parliament	Posted at 12:01 am (10 Dec 2008)

In a quick email John Cruickshank explained that his decision to leave CBC News does not reflect on the CBC. “I’m going to The Star because I want to go back to newspapers because I understand them and love them. I miss the feeling of being directly involved with a story from conception or event right to the doorstep,” Cruickshank said.

As far as the concerns about his departure he said “One of the challenges Richard [Stursberg] and I have been working on is how to create more authority and accountability in all senior roles.

I believe the things we accomplished as a team in News were extraordinary. There’s now a great leadership group, we have a great plan, an inspiring and evolving mission and a structure that has brought all the News staff together,” Cruickshank said today.

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	News & Journalism, The Exit Interview	Posted at 1:14 pm (27 Nov 2008)