In the last half-century, waves of budget cuts and consolidations have transformed the CBC into a primarily national broadcaster. Regional directors have relatively smaller budgets and less control over them. Most stand-alone, regionally produced documentary and variety shows have disappeared. Local news survived through it all, but barely in some markets, as it went through a bewildering series of Toronto-directed changes in format, length and broadcast times. At one point, CBC headquarters dictated that the local news shows in two of Canada’s most dynamic metropolitan areas — Edmonton and Calgary — be merged into one. You’d be surprised (CBC executives were) how little Calgary residents were interested in Edmonton news. The ratings were so low that a CBC cameraman joked to me that it would save money to shut down the transmission tower and hand-deliver VHS tapes to anyone interested.
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