Will CBC kill the 6 o’clock news?
Gary Cunliffe, managing editor of CBC Edmonton, argues the public broadcaster still has an important role to play in TV news, despite ratings that trail far behind those of Global and CTV.
As it struggles with budget cuts and a changing media landscape, the public broadcaster considers overhauling its local TV news in cities like Edmonton, where costs are high, ratings are low and private broadcasters dominate.
EDMONTON—“Good evening,” Gord Steinke intones, and the camera sweeps toward the veteran Global News anchor sitting at a news desk in a cavernous green studio — green walls, green floor, even green cables snaking from the monitors.
On the screens in the dark control room overlooking the studio, Steinke’s surroundings are transformed. The expansive green screen is digitally replaced with a slick, computer-generated set awash with photos from the night’s top stories. The segment includes panoramic live shots of downtown Edmonton from the Global News helicopter.
“That chopper — we’re the only one in town with that,” Steinke remarks offhandedly during one of the bird’s-eye traffic reports.
Across town, CBC anchor Adrienne Pan reads the news in the broadcaster’s local newsroom with low grey cubicles as her backdrop. Over her shoulder, a single television displays headlines.
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