CBC, Money, Labour and Marketplace in Jeopardy?

A bunch of stuff in InsidetheCBC.com today.

First (and second really) CBC President Herbert Lacroix was pretty busy last week. First at the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television last Thursday Lacroix reiterated that the CBC requires an extra 215 million dollars in order to maintain quality programming. This amount was suggested by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage back in February.

On Sunday Lacroix also became the first CBC President ever to speak at the bi-annual convention of the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), the union that represents the vast majority of the CBC's employees.

"Lacroix said poor communication between the senior executives and guild representatives underscored an urgent need to rebuild a proper relationship. Lacroix’s said his mission since he joined the CBC 18 months ago has been to build a greater level of respect and transparency at every level of the organization.
Lacroix called for a “paradigm shift” (yes, he actually said “paradigm shift”) in thinking to incorporate more pride and positivity. He added that he knew the job was hard because the same executives are in the same place as they were during the 2005 lockout. He also highlighted that each member of his senior management team had been fully briefed on the importance of the CBC/CMG relationship, and “failure is not an option” to them."

This is good news for the CBC across the board. With nothing having changed substantially since 2005 and a constant need for cash at the CBC I would have called a 2009 work stoppage likely just a few days ago. (I actually still think it's likely, but wish Mr. LaCroix all the luck in the world.) With public support somewhat weaker than it was in 2005 a work stoppage next year could be disastrous.
Finally it appears that Marketplace is going on a bit of a hiatus. It appears that the program is being replaced in it's 7:30 pm Wednesday time slot by the American game show Jeopardy. The show will resume in January 2009, replacing Royal Canadian Air Farce in its Friday evening time slot. It should also be pointed out that that same Heritage Committee Report Mr. Lacroix referenced on Thursday also recommended "That CBC Television's prime time (M-F 7-11 pm) be exclusively Canadian" and "That the CBC Reduce it's relative dependency on advertising revenues for television programs". From InsidetheCBC.com:

"Marketplace is the only adult show on CBC to not run ads, a commitment the show has kept since it started 36 seasons ago. This is in keeping with the shows spotlight on consumer affairs."