No more old silos
TORONTO – CBC News general manager and editor in chief Jennifer McGuire today unveiled a brand new structure for CBC News which aims to obliterate the old silos separating TV from digital from social.
In a memo circulated to all staff on Tuesday, she wrote that the organization has to be quicker “ to further grow and prosper in an ever changing news environment. News today is continuous, it is immediate, it is interactive, and it is social. And in a world of expanding voices, CBC News will be increasingly defined by the truly unique work we do: our current affairs, our analysis and opinion, and our investigative journalism,” reads the memo.
McGuire noted that despite the CBC’s work and expansion onto digital platforms, the corporate structure is still “organized around broadcast platforms, newsgathering, and a separate digital operation.” That’s changing, she explained, as the focus shifts to the stories themselves.
Its first area of focus will be on daily news, adds the memo, where the CBC will create a new story-based central news desk that will drive content on all of its platforms.
The second area of focus will be on stories of “depth, context and analysis,” she wrote. “This group will include The National, World Report, The World at Six, The World This Weekend, and our News Network programs including The Passionate Eye and On the Money. It will also include the parliamentary bureau, including Power and Politics. The digital content we create that is dedicated to depth and analysis will also live here, as will our fully integrated content units.”
Third, a new group dedicated to investigative journalism will also be created and will include the fifth estate, Marketplace, Go Public, The Investigators, and its investigative content unit, including the CBC’s data journalists – which will also support regional centres.
McGuire also noted the company will be hiring a new leader responsible for the audience and content experience who will push “the evolution of our storytelling and presentation. Specials, program development and product development will also live within this area. Out of the gate, the focal point will be pushing the visual and audience experience of The National.”
The memo also said Brodie Fenlon, currently senior director of digital news at CBC will lead the Daily News section and Jonathan Whitten will move from executive director of news content at CBC to overseeing the new team producing depth and context and will be McGuire’s deputy, she added.
As well, a new head of investigative will be hired or promoted.
“We are not building new silos,” insisted McGuire in her memo. “By definition the work we do crosses boundaries between breaking news and depth, long form and short form, investigative and live. This new structure will require us to work in an even closer and more integrated way. Second, there are still many unanswered questions about how this structure will work day to day and what it means to individuals across our news organization. We will be looking to all of you to help re-imagine this. The first job for Brodie, Jon and myself will be determining how we restructure our managing editors in an organization no longer built along platform lines.”
When it comes to the flagship The National, changes have been under study at the CBC for some time – especially after long-time anchor Peter Mansbridge announced last fall he would retire this July 1st after anchoring the CBC’s coverage of Canada’s 150th birthday.
The National’s “successful redevelopment is dependent and inextricably linked to this reinvention of our news service. These changes will allow both to grow and prosper,” added McGuire.
Steve Ladurantaye will shift from managing editor, CBC News to managing editor of The National, reporting to Whitten, and “will take all the research and strategy discussions we collectively have been having over the past few months and begin to build a team and design what the new National will offer,” says McGuire’s memo.
“The new National will be more than just a one hour program at 10 PM. It will be synonymous with depth and context on all platforms and throughout the day. It will be the home of innovation, both in the way we tell stories and in the way we deliver them. It will create digital native content as well as content for the destination newscast.”
Ladurantaye and Whitten will be hiring a new executive producer for the overhauled show soon.
McGuire also confirmed that both CBC News head of strategy Andrew Cochran and director of CBC News chief of staff Gino Apponi, will soon be departing.
Cochran will be starting “a new business in strategy, leadership, and change. We will be a customer. Among other projects he will be helping with the transition on The National,” reads the memo. McGuire is currently searching for a new chief of staff to replace Apponi.
