CBC News Axes Two of It's Best

Via J-Source and the Globe and Mail comes word that the CBC is axing two of it's best and most experienced foreign correspondents.

"Ending months of speculation, CBC management has confirmed that it is not renewing the contracts of two of its star, veteran foreign correspondents, Don Murray in London and Patrick Brown in Beijing."

It may just be me but it seems that the world is getting smaller and that international affairs affect Canadians more with each passing day. For evidence of this you have only to look at the current international banking crisis. The CBC claims that it is doing this to save money:

"However, Tony Burman, the former editor-in-chief of CBC News and now managing director of Al-Jazeera's English-language news service, said the CBC's rationale is to save money, even though the salaries of both total less than $200,000 a year, a fraction of CBC News's $170-million budget.

"I think it's shameful that two of the CBC's most distinguished foreign correspondents would be treated this way," he said in an e-mail."

So is it not worth $200,000 a year (thats about two-thirds of a penny per Canadian annually) for Canadians to get a knowledgeable Canadian perspective on events in London and Beijing (two of the world's most important cities from our national public broadcaster? According to the CBC it is not. Let us hope that this is not a sign of things to come for CBC News.