YELLOWKNIFE – After two days of outcry in the Far North, the CBC today said it wouldn’t merge English-language morning radio newscasts in the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
On Monday, the CBC announced local newscasts were to be merged into a single, pan-territorial broadcast in January 2020. Local politicians, CBC employees and many other northerners didn’t hold back in their criticism of the plan.
According to a press release from the Canadian Association of Journalists, the move showed the CBC was ignoring its commitments to upholding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action because it would reduce coverage in largely Indigenous territories.
"Reversing this plan to merge newscasts in the North is heartening," said Karyn Pugliese, president of the CAJ in its release late Wednesday. "It recognizes that our national public broadcaster has a special role to play in bridging the many cultural and regional differences that exist in Canada's North."
"We hope the broadcaster continues to remember its commitments to accurately represent northern stories and Indigenous stories to northerners as well as the entirety of Canada," added Pugliese.
In an email to staff announcing the reversal, CBC North managing director Janice Stein said: "Overall the response we received from staff and the community was not supportive of the change."
