RDI : MANAGEMENT’S CHOICES UNDER OBSERVATION

Press release | January 16th, 2025  – The changes to RDI’s programming, announced on January 13, raise their share of fears. The main one is that by essentially grouping into two 2-hour shows each on weekday afternoons, the Réseau de l’information will become the Network of dialogues or of collaborators.

A quick reminder that the announced changes provide that Zone Info, hosted by Gérald Filion, will be on the air from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and that En direct avec Patrice Roy will take over from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. They will be preceded by Les Mordus de politique, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Finally, the morning show will begin at 6 a.m. This new schedule will be effective as of January 20, next Monday.

The fear, therefore, is that this change will be to the detriment of the work of journalists, cameramen and editors across the country. This would not be without impact on the possibility for viewers to have access to quality reports on topics of interest from our colleagues, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Even though management was reassuring during two meetings in Montreal, STTRC members are asked to remain vigilant. In addition to maintaining a strong presence of the regional station newsroom teams in these two programs, management assures that there will be no job cuts. It promises to be accommodating and open to adjustments for those whose assignments will change.

As for the on-air presence of the regional station reporting teams, management wants to have one major story per day; the others will be broadcast or brought to the screen in the same continuous news logic that already exists.

We deplored the fact that the January 13 announcements were made only to RDI production employees reporting to the Information department in Montreal. The technical and administrative staff, although impacted by these decisions, were left on the sidelines by their respective management, the same for the regional stations. The result of this silo communication strategy was to cause an unnecessary amount of worry and fear.

We understand that the time between the decision made by management, just before the end-of-year holidays, and the announcements on January 13 were tight. But out of respect for CBC/Radio-Canada employees, change management must no longer be done in silos. Furthermore, a more open approach to consultation would encourage greater commitment from its employees to the public broadcaster.

The STTRC elected officials will remain particularly attentive and available. Vigilance is required to ensure that commitments are respected and to avoid deviations and slippages, which are always possible during significant changes to the organization of work.

We already know that 2025 will be a year of great turbulence for the public broadcaster. One more reason to prevent our managers from adding to it.