CBC Cutting Job and Programs

The CBC also announced that it will seek advertising and sponsorships for CBC Radio 2 and the French language service Espace musique.

This is the second round of cuts for the CBC. In 2009 CBC made up for a $171 million shortfall with program cuts and layoffs. 

The CBC announced they will be cutting 650 positions after their budget was cut $115 million by the Conservative Canadian government. There's more in an article in Billboard dated April 6th.

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/radio/canadian-broadcasting-corp-announces-cutbacks-1006692152.story

CBC facing $115 Million Budget Cut

The CBC is facing a $115 million budget cut in the government's new budget. So far management has been mum on how it will face the cuts.  CBC president Hubert Lacroix says the broadcaster will have more to say about how it will adapt to its new economic reality at a town hall meeting next week. Some experts believe the smaller markets...communities with less that 50,000 population...will feel the cuts most. Others say that Radio 2 will go dark.


There's more in an article by Jordan Himelfarb in the Toronto Star.

The CBC Faces Controversy and Cuts

Ottawa's Globe and Mail does a good job of explaining the issues facing the CBC. The CBC is going to be taking cuts in funding as the conservative Tory party looks to cut the governments deficit. Right now the CBC is funded $1.1 billion by the government to fulfill its mandate.
There are also fears that Troy calls to privatize the CBC would damage the service. A group called Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is mounting a defense of the service.
You can read more in the Globe and Mail.

CBC May See $100 Million Budget Cut

Pledge to CBC looks shaky

The CBC is embroiled in controversy and, criticism from the right. With charges of secrecy coming from its main competitor Quebecor, they may now need to find ways to cut back. This despite promises from the new government in May that their budget was safe.

Take a look at this article in The Winnipeg Free Press and an editorial in the same paper.

Article

Editorial

A Call For Fox To Help Fund NPR

An Op-Ed piece in the Washington Post by Steve Coll calls for commercial broadcasters and cable outlets, like Fox News, to fund public broadcasting. The idea is not new. I've heard the idea discussed since the early 8o's when I was studying Mass Communications. The idea is, a set aside from commercial broadcasters would be the best way to fund public broadcasting. This would help ensure Public Broadcasting's future and help it fulfill its mission to serve under-served communities.

Public Radio is grappling with this issue. Despite growth to about 30 million listeners in the past decade, public radio stations are looking for ways to increase diversity in its audience. Steve Coll included in his article the BBC's handling of criticism that its coverage was left leaning. BBC managers studied their coverage and did not find they leaned in any particular direction but, did find they were not covering stories that appealed to conservatives. According to Coll, the BBC solved their problem by broadening their coverage. Coll recommends a similar self-examination for NPR.

At the recent PRPD Conference in Denver, a panel that included representatives from the CBC talked about how they broadened their coverage to be more inclusive. (Panel: The Next Step Up: Inclusiveness -  Farai Chideya (Moderator); Keith Woods, NPR; Kashmir Birk, Bioss; Susanne Marjetti, CBC)   The CBC deliberately became more inclusive in their coverage to reflect the diversity of their communities served.  The panel members from the CBC their audience grew. Not just numbers, but also in diversity.

I strongly recommend this piece. There are many more ideas that can be drawn on to build a stronger Public Broadcasting system.


Steve Coll, a former managing editor of The Washington Post and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, is president of the New America Foundation.