CBC Board Approves Budget.
Deep Cuts Ahead.
After a two-day meeting the CBC’s board of directors approved a budget that includes deep cuts in an attempt to grapple with a $200 million shortfall.
There were no further details about the size of the cutbacks.
CBC President Hubert Lacroix said last month that the current shortfall could be as high as $145 million. Add to that another $60 million in annual funding from the federal government that was not in this year’s budget, and the shortfall ends up being over $200 million. That shortfall is more than 10 per cent of the entire CBC budget, and would represent significant cutbacks.
Heritage Minister James Moore gave an interview to CBC Radio yesterday. He the CBC has some “difficult decisions to make in the near future.”
He also said when Canadians “turn on the CBC they expect to see Canadian drama, Canadian arts, Canadian kids programming, Canadian news and Canadian content, not American game shows.”
Moore also said he doesn’t favour adding commercials to CBC Radio.
For an article from cbc.ca see here.
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The way he’s orchestrating things, they’ll soon be seeing static, maybe a test signal.
And has anyone stopped to consider the high weirdness of a government minister, in a recession, actually trying to increase unemployment numbers?
Dear Pumpkins,
Has another stopped to consider the ‘high weirdness’ of a government pouring money into a tv network that is obsolete and doesn’t really have a weekend newsgathering operation?
I don’t agree with the “obsolete” comment but I would agree fully that it is nothing short of bizarre that in a city the size of Toronto we don’t have local ENG on weekends.
“Pouring” is kind of misrepresenting the CBC’s funding level compared to other PSBs worldwide, don’tcha think? “Dribbling” might be a better choice.
No! It is pouring money into CBC when Global is bleeding. At least they have weekend news! Come on you guys. You sound AIG justifying their bonuses. Are you tone deaf? The CBC does not have exception status to everything. You can do better with what is there.
Bonuses?..Haven’t seen one of those since 2002. But your reference to Global is enlightening. They have no official mandate and are allowed to pursue other avenues of funding which are, by our very charter, forbidden to us.
In other word. the exceptions that the CBC has are extra restrictions, language mandates, CANCON mandates, requirement to provide services in areas and language options that the private sector won’t even touch…inability to go to a bank…I am sure there are more.
Apples and Oranges, and I think I’m getting a whiff of a “Florida’s Best” at Chudleigh’s
.
Why should anyboldy except a shareholder, an employee, or a fan of CSI-whatever, care about Global?
Do you think Global cares anything about you except for your eyeballs/$$$?
But we can do better, agreed. I’d love to see local weekend programming back.
Hopefully the hatchetmen read you.
The most recent bonuses were an insult to 95% of CBC employees. They were offensive and the vast majority is as mad as you are. (all IMHO)
Minister Moore has issued a sharp rebuke to CBC TV programming, ie American games shows, the quest for
rating at all costs.
This obviously cost some funding and will result in greater, needless layoffs.
Will the architects of this programming strategy do the right
thing and resign? The CBC would be better off without them. Perhaps they will keep the paycheque and fiddle as Rome burns.
I just hope that CBC leaves the local supper hour news program intact…surely we have learned that they work!!! We NEED local news…a FULL local news show.
I have no interest at all in believing any mythology about supposed stealing from the private networks to pay CBC. I don’t believe the claim at all.
Any bonuses paid to the wrecking crew currently in charge are likely going to get an AIG like reception.
But don’t worry. Hubert says that bonuses this year will be cut in half.
How incredibly responsive. He can thus count on only half of an AIG like reception.
There should be no doubt that CBC TV and radio have an opportunity to fill the void in local news. Plus CBC.ca could aggregate the work and build new, younger audiences.
Research conducted at Harvard indicates that if current trends persist, local news will play a much smaller part in citizens’ daily lives. It suggests that if the trend of less local news continues it would adversely affect the democratic process.
The research also shows a strong movement in classrooms (ie. future audiences) towards the use of Internet-based news, and away from television news, a trend that is virtually certain to continue.
The challenge for the next generation of local TV news services, and citizens who value the impact of local news, is to create a multi-platform service that is relevant, economically viable and meaningful enough so that it builds a loyal audience.
“On the compensation front, executive salaries are being frozen at 2008 levels for 2009-2010. Potential bonus payouts for executives in 2009-2010 will be reduced by 50 percent. This means that the compensation for each of our eighty or so top managers will on average be reduced by 10 to 20 percent next year. I thought that you should know that management cares, and cares enough about CBC/Radio-Canada that it needed to send a clear signal that we will do our part. ” – Hubert Lacroix
Shouldn’t those two things be reversed Hubert?
Didn’t you mean to say that executive salaries will be reduced by 50% and potential bonus payouts will be frozen?
I’m sure you also meant to suggest that “eighty or so top managers” will be reduced by at least 50%.
The clear signal you are sending Hubert, is that you and your cronies in upper management get the gold while the worker bees get the shaft.
“…management cares…”?
Not a hell of a lot.
The Aspers and Canwest got into big debt trying to get bigger, they borrowed so much they now can’t make their payments, like any other company that is not crucial to the continued existence of Canada, let them suffer and face up to the realities of the marketplace. Something else will fill the void so created by their demise.
My feeling is maybe it’s time to rebuild a whole new CBC and Radio Canada International. The other day I tuned into RCI with a program called The Link. My question is linking who? As for the CBC, why should Canadians be forced to pay there tax dollars to keep jobs for a bunch of people who think they are better than everyone else. Why should my own tax dollars be used for a service I don’t listen to?
When I want international news I listen to the BBC, what does the CBC offer? The same. If I want local new I tune to local stations. Maybe is the CBC was to become more like the BBC they would have a better audience. If the CBC was to become like the BBC or the ABC in Australia then I would have no problem with my tax dollars being used. But the way it is now. LOL you’ve got to be kidding.