|
 ParkerVision touts its "crew of one"
capability on the
home page of the company's web site. PVTV is essentially
a television
control room in a box.
11 July 2003
Digital TV revolutionizing CBC newsrooms
Master plan kept from workers facing dramatic changes
Canadian
Media Guild | TNG Canada
Local 30213
The CBC is leading
a technology charge that will revolutionize television
newsrooms across the nation, but it's keeping the
troops in the trenches in the dark about what the
future holds for them.
Two new technologies — ParkerVision
and desktop television — have already been implemented
at some CBC locations and many more are in the offing.
They will dramatically change the nature of television
work performed by members of the Canadian Media Guild
in the next couple of years.
The Guild has already raised with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
its concerns about such a major change in the workplace.
A number of issues must be addressed, including employee
numbers, the nature of the work itself, training, the
overall quality of television programming, and most
important, workload.
The Corporation has not appropriately addressed any of these issues to
date.
ParkerVision
ParkerVision is essentially a television control room in a
box. It is a Windows-based automation system that replaces traditional
broadcast components (i.e. switchers, audio mixers, video effects)
and, most important, people. One person, the director/switcher,
can program a computer to direct the entire newscast.
A standard control room requires six or seven people; PVTV needs only
two, and some simple programs could be put to air by a single person.
PVTV is designed for news, particularly for a show with a relatively
consistent format and line-up, but it probably can be adapted to do other
programs as well. It can be run in conjunction with iNEWS or by itself.
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ParkerVision has been operating at CBC Windsor since last December. The
Corporation now has plans to implement it in many other centres.
Charlottetown is scheduled to launch its PVTV-driven program in September;
Edmonton in November; Fredericton in March 2004; two studios (local French
and English News) in Ottawa in Spring/Summer 2004; and in Quebec City
at a later date. Some potential future sites include Newsworld newscasts
in Toronto; Regina and Winnipeg French local news; and local English
newscasts in Yellowknife and St. John's.
The CBC says PVTV is not being used by any major U.S. network operation,
but that it is used in medium markets such as Austin, TX, Watertown,
NY, and San Diego, CA.
Employees who operate PVTV will need five to six weeks of training, which
will be provided by the CBC in conjunction with ParkerVision. Each location
would have to have at least two people trained on the system, to provide
relief for sick leave or holidays.
The CBC cites operational issues, resources and updating to digital technology
to justify its implementation of PVTV, noting that this is an attempt
to ensure that supper-hour shows stay on the air. The Corporation says
it believes that some of the people who put together a newscast in the
control room and studio could be better utilized in the field. Management
also claims that specialized and multi-skilled jobs within the control
room are difficult to maintain.
The Guild has been assured that the implementation of PVTV is not an
expense-cutting exercise — it costs the same as conventional technology.
The Guild is most concerned about the impact on members. Windsor has
maintained an associate director in its control room to assist the director/switcher,
but there are fears that some of the functions in the control room may
no longer be necessary.
The Guild has also expressed concerns about training and workload issues,
as well as the potential problem of converting skilled directors into
computer operators.
Desktop Television
The CBC has developed a short list of six locations where desktop
television systems will be introduced; a final decision is expected
in August. At that point, Guild representatives will visit Montreal
to see desktop TV in operation and speak to the employees who
are using it.
This technology is being used in Montreal for both French and English,
local and national TV. It is expected that several other CBC locations
will have the system in place: Edmonton, Ottawa and Quebec City within
the next year, and Toronto by 2005.
Desktop TV is essentially a server-based system that manages the majority
of tapes shot or recorded in a given location. It can replace edit suites
and tape editors, allowing producers or reporters to cut their own items.
Tapes arrive on location and are taken to ìingest sitesî where
they are loaded onto a server. Within minutes the tape is viewable on
all desktops online with the system. Two copies are downloaded: one for
viewing and one broadcast-quality that can be put to air. Up to 20 tapes
can be digitized at the same time; systems have a capacity of hundreds
of hours of video.
Newsroom staff are able to isolate clips or even do a rough cut of an
item without leaving their desks. The CBC says that the system actually
allows people to do full edits of their own items, but that this would
not necessarily become a requirement.
The CBC says the system will provide more capacity.
The Guild has pointed out that there is a fine line between capacity
and need.
(This story first appeared on the Canadian
Media Guild website.) |
