Five jobs are being eliminated in local news at CBC-TV in Halifax at a time when CBC is trying to relaunch expanded local supper-hour news. Meanwhile, CBC plans to create four new jobs in regional news in the Maritimes outside of Halifax.
“While there is no question that additional reporters are needed outside of Halifax, it doesn’t really make sense to gut resources in a city where viewership is on the rise again,” says Marc-Philippe Laurin, president of the CBC branch of the Canadian Media Guild. “The situation highlights a core problem at the CBC of trying to enhance local and regional programming with no new dedicated funding.”
The five jobs being eliminated in Halifax are: two producers, two general assignment reporters and a video producer. That will leave CBC News at Six with a single general assignment reporter for Halifax. One VJ position will be created in each of New Glasgow (in Northern Nova Scotia) and Sydney and both will report for CBC News at Six.
New positions in TV news are also being created in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
This week’s announcement follows the elimination of an additional seven jobs in English television at CBC in Halifax, announced in early April.
The CMG has called for the federal government to increase funding for the CBC, and designate a portion of the increase to expanded local and regional programming on radio, TV and the Internet. The CMG has been concerned from the beginning about CBC’s plan to expand local and regional programming with no new resources. The union understood that layoffs would not be part of the plan.
The Guild is meeting with the affected employees in Halifax and will ensure their rights under the collective agreement are respected.
For more information, please contact the Guild ([email protected]) at 416-591-5333 or 1-800-465-4149.