The axe has come down on CBC Radio’s
Dispatches and CBC TV’s
Connect with Mark Kelley along with 256 jobs in English-language programming over the next three years.
The details of the cuts — a result of
the federal budget that will cut the public broadcaster’s funding by 10
per cent, or $115 million, over the next three years — came in a “town
hall” announcement by Kirstine Stewart, the CBC’s executive
vice-president of English services.
The 256 job losses, the vast majority
of which will take place within months, are part of the 650 positions
being eliminated over the next three years. The CBC announced last week
that programming and positions would be cut.
Among the more high-profile casualties include
Dispatches, which is hosted by Rick MacInnes-Rae, and the television news affair show
Connect, which is hosted by Mark Kelley. Both will be cancelled as of June.
Other cuts include:
• Some 175
fewer hours of original programming — one-quarter of the total —
resulting in the cancellation of the equivalent of six primetime
television series.
• The
closing of news bureaus in South America and Africa and downsizing the
broadcaster’s Los Angeles bureau. Staffing will increase in the
Washington and London bureaus.
• The
elimination of drama on CBC Radio and a major reduction in the amount of
live music recordings and concerts on radio, with the closing of
recording space in St. John’s, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary and
Edmonton.
• A $4
million cut to CBC Sports, resulting in the loss of 14 positions, and
airing Sports Weekend primarily during the winter months, though some
summer sports events will still be covered.
• The elimination of a cross-cultural fund shared by the CBC’s English and French branches.
