CBC unveils new integrated structure to employees
CBC English Services today unveiled its new organizational structure, bringing radio, television and digital platforms into alignment under one “integrated management framework.”
The announcement, in front of a live audience of employees at the CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto, was broadcast via closed-circuit to CBC locations around the world.
During the announcement, Stursberg reaffirmed that the CBC’s continuing commitment to Canadians remains unchanged. “This is not about a change in vision or direction for each service—their respective strategies stay the same.”
* Read the CBC’s backgrounder on these changes [internal link only] on iO, the new CBC intranet.
According to Stursberg, the revised organizational structure will “provide the best support for creating programming” across the CBC’s different media lines — radio, television and digital —but each will continue to pursue its existing strategies.
As part of the newly announced structure, Stursberg announced a revised management committee. Changes will take effect immediately.
In the announcement to staff, moderator and CBC Radio host Michael Enright asked Stursberg “What exactly is the central inefficiency that this reorganization is intended to correct? And who is served by it? What have we been doing wrong so far.”
Stursberg: When i look at the news service and the sheer quantity of resources we have, we don’t have enough breaking stories. I frankly find it strange that the most popular all-news network in Canada is a foreign news network [CNN]. That is untrue of newspapers…. When we look at the array of resources we have — and much of the aueience is watching — Are we available for breaking news all the time? The answer: Nope. Are we the ones who are dominating the newscasts all the time? Nope. We should be the most dominant, original, impoirtant news centres of all in the country.
Enright: “There’s concern about whether television [decisions are now made by] one person. Can you address this amazing centralization that the power and decisio- making lies in your office and you. You might hear the name King Richard mummered in the halls of the Broadcast Centre.”
Stursberg: “I don’t think that’s true at all. What we’ve tried to do is to hire very powerful, gifted, intelligent executives and said “Go and make it happen.”…. I think that over the course of the last little while, we have been able to attract an extra-ordinary colection of execuitves. When executives have left, people have been stunned at [the calibre of their replacements].
How do you feel about the continuing integration of services and centralization of decision-making?
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It remains to be seen, but I don’t understand Richard when he says "we don’t have enough breaking stories". Surely the quantity of "breaking" stories has to do with how much interesting news is going on that day? I hope we’re not going down the FOX! Action! News! path of attributing the word "breaking" to everything just so that we can say we have a lot of breaking stories.
I’ve heard the term King Richard written here and on the Tea Makers site, can someone explain the meaning, and also the origin please.
Julian: I think it means that the CBC should be the first to report on more stories.
Now, this could mean targetting stories and issues that are complicated and take time to research and present, and hence are ignored by the competition (differentiation). Or it could mean having a nose for blood and a faster van than the local Fox-alike’s (commodification). Only time will tell.
After a night of thinking about yesterday’s consolidation of power, which is another way of looking at "restructuring", I’ve come to the conclusion that politics and the establishment of unaccountable power at the very top is the true meaning of these changes. While some people were moved from Radio to TV for their experience, nobody was fired. Why not?
When power is centralized in this fashion, who holds the VP of English Services accountable at the management level?
Is the King keeping his friends close and his enemies closer?
Just asking.
Of course we’re not breaking news. Not enough fresh perspective at the top of the editorial ladder. CBC National seems to be incapable of leading its newscast with anything but stories out of Ottawa. Even on a slow news day in July, when the house isn’t sitting, The National would opt to start its newscast by telling us what the Prime Minister had for breakfast, rather than some human interest story that might hook its audience and their eyeballs for the next 30 minutes. Yes…I exaggerate…but not by much.
I still cannot understand why we don’t’ have more International news stories on the "World" broadcasts. It’s silly to have to dial up the BBC to find out what is going on overseas.
Will this new consolidation sort that out? I doubt it.