Merger of CBC radio operations could water down local service by Chris Cobb and Susanne Hiller
Source : National Post/Ottawa Citizen
Aug 30, 2000
by Chris Cobb and Susanne Hiller
The CBC is merging its Toronto Radio One station, CBL, with the national radio network news operations in a move critics say will result in a reduction of CBC service to the largest radio market in the country.
Alex Frame, the CBC's vice-president of radio, said the move is purely in the interest of journalistic excellence and providing the Toronto region with better coverage. The move is not being driven by economics and there will be no layoffs, he said.
"Our listeners will not notice a difference," said Mr. Frame. "There will be no program changes and the hosts will remain the same."
But Ian Morrison, a spokesman for Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, said the merger is disrespectful to the CBC's largest single radio audience.
"It means that Toronto, which is the largest region of the country served by CBC Radio One, will not have a team of creative people focused on covering the region," said Mr. Morrison.
"We have recently seen the CBC sever the regional roots of its Toronto TV station, CBLT," he added. "Now the same thing is happening with radio."
CBL, which serves Toronto and about an 130-kilometre radius beyond the city, reaches six million listeners and represents a quarter of CBC Radio One's national audience. CBL has 22 news employees and the national news operation about 70.
Mr. Frame said details of the changes are being worked out, but no deadline is set. He did not know how the new organization would be structured.
"There are a lot of issues to be addressed," he said. "If we find there is duplication, then people will be reassigned. There will be no reductions."
One radio employee, who asked not to be identified, feared the focus of local journalists will now become national and that regional coverage will be watered down.
"We are trying to understand the logic of all this but we can't," said the employee.
Under the plan, the storefront studio, in the main lobby of CBC's headquarters on Front Street, could be turned into rental space for a restaurant or some other business, a source said. Toronto newscasts Metro Morning and Here and Now are broadcast from this studio, but its proximity to the SkyDome, CN tower, the theatre district and the convention centre, make it a valuable piece real estate.
The changes at the centre of the CBC Radio news and current affairs operation in Toronto come as the public broadcaster is preparing for the October launch of its new regional supper-hour TV programs.
Originally, the CBC wanted to scrap all existing regional TV programming, but backed down after a public and political outcry. The new hour-long news shows will comprise part regional news and part national news from Toronto. CBC sources say the order will vary across the country.
