TORONTO – A memo to CBC employees last week outlined some of the broadcaster’s plans to further automate its news production.
The memo, co-signed by CBC News general manager and editor in chief Jennifer McGuire and general manager, local services Fred Mattocks, expanded on last year’s initial announcement on the modernization project.
“Over the next year, all of News Network's daily programming in Toronto will adopt the Ross Overdrive automated production workflow and automated control rooms. The News Network evening program directed from Vancouver already uses an automated control room, and they too will adopt the new Ross Overdrive workflow. Power and Politics from Ottawa, On The Money from Toronto and Radio-Canada's news network (RDI) already operate on the new system,” says the memo.
Ross Video is a Canadian company, based in Iroquois, Ont., and one of the global leaders in automated production workflow.
“When introducing automation, we often hear concerns about loss of control and flexibility within the broadcast, especially for breaking news – and those concerns are heightened for News Network. We know from experience that these risks can be effectively managed. The new Ross control rooms and the systems built to support them will allow us to handle breaking stories as quickly and efficiently as we do now. Training programs are already in development and we're working closely with teams who have made the switch,” adds the memo.
Training is underway now in preparation for the production of the Edmonton local evening news, beginning in May, said the two executives. Construction of three more automated control rooms to support the regional remote control room project is well underway.
As well, the broadcaster’s plans to introduce and upgrade robotics systems in the Toronto broadcast centre are moving along, reads the memo. “The robotics desks in studios A and D are being replaced with new, multi-camera operating systems. Construction of a new robotics/video room has begun while other robotics upgrades in Studios A, B, C and D continue.
The memo also noted that implementing robotics and automation will inevitably result in some traditional job functions disappearing over the two years these projects will take to implement. For example, fewer camera operators are required. “As usual, we'll work with the CMG to ensure that we mitigate the effects of these changes as best we can,” says the memo.
