Radio

Radio-Canada announces changes to Atlantic Canada programming

Changes include shortening regional television program and a new podcast

Radio-Canada announced it will be making changes to its programming in Atlantic Canada starting this summer.

Nathalie Allaire, regional director of Radio-Canada Acadie, made the announcement Thursday, which includes shortening the television news program Le Téléjournal Acadie from one hour to 30 minutes.

Allaire said the decision comes after the launch of a new daily televised podcast for the region hosted by current television host Karine Godin, which aims to reach new audiences.

The shortened version of the television program and the launch of the new multi-platform podcast will begin on Aug. 31.

“To do that we had to make decisions and say we cannot add on more work for our reporters, for news anchors and [videographers],” she said.

“So we decided to shorten our Le téléjournal Acadie.”

At 6:30 p.m., the remaining half hour of the television program will soon be produced by the Ottawa-Gatineau bureau sharing national news.

Allaire said there will be no job losses associated with the changes.

The new multi-platform show, Sens large, will be an interview-style podcast available on live radio from noon to 12:30 p.m. and television at 1 p.m. It will also be available anytime on-demand. Allaire said it will cover two to three topics every day.

“What we want to do is go more in depth,” she said. “[People] want to understand the news better, understand the context surrounding the news.”

Pascale Bergeron, executive director of the Centre Communautaire Saint-Anne, said the decision to shorten the evening television program is disappointing.

“As a francophone New Brunswicker, that’s the news that I watch,” Bergeron said.

She said local news for francophones is already limited, especially in areas like Fredericton and Moncton.

She worries it will become difficult to cover the news of all four provinces and that the newscast could become less in-depth.

Bergeron said this decision will also impact seniors, as they are more likely to be the ones relying on television news.

Allaire said for audience members who rely on television for their news, the program will just be moved to another time during the day as the podcast will still be available on television.

Norma Dubé, vice-president of the Société Nationale de l’Acadie who is based in Fredericton, said the changes are positive.

She said the new multi-platform podcast provides the opportunity to share more content about issues of interest to Acadians.

“I actually think we might be able to achieve better local content, more local content.”

Dubé also said the change to air La billetterie Acadie, an arts and culture show, on Saturday evenings instead of Friday is also positive and can allow for more viewership.

She added that introducing a new podcast can help reach a younger audience, as they may digest their news differently from older generations.

Dubé said changing the last half hour of the television program to national coverage, will allow for people to receive more news about what is happening in francophone regions across Canada.

Hope Edmond is a reporter based in Moncton.

With files from Isabelle Leger, Nadia Gaudreau and Shift NB