A LOOK BACK AT MOVING
FORWARD
HOW WE ’ VE KEPT CANADIANS INFORMED & MANAGED THE LOCKDOWNS
By Francois Turenne , Roberto Capretta , Ron Searles , TJ Heideman , Dinu Cebzan , Andrew Roberts & Chris Jackson
CBC SPORTS SENIOR PRODUCTION SWITCHER DAVID HUSTLER WORKING ON A BASKETBALL BROADCAST
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns , the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has kept Canadians informed while adapting to new and innovative technological workflows .
CBC ’ s Broadcasting Centre in downtown Toronto is a hub for the public broadcaster ’ s English Service news coverage . It is home to our 24-hour News Network channel and the centralized control rooms that support key English local television news broadcasts across the country . In normal times , we have a sizeable open-concept newsroom where dozens of writers , producers , journalists , and support staff assemble the stories of the day , while we broadcast live using two open-concept studio floors , serving our news channel and the main network .
Starting in early March last year , our flagship program , The National , asked the operation to rethink the way we produce daily news , and to focus on enabling as many newsroom staff as possible to work safely from home . When COVID-19 hit , we had to fast-track a communication system that would allow an undetermined amount of people to accomplish tasks from home which they normally would do from their desks , or from any of the eight TV news control rooms broadcasting from regions across Canada .
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION Our news operations rely on six Torontobased RTS ADAM intercom matrixes , totaling 2,344 ports , which are linked through RTS ’ s Trunk Master Infrastructure with RVON ( RTS Voice Over Network ) to additional RTS matrixes at CBC facilities across Canada .
Our staff are well versed in communicating over RTS ’ s KP key-panels in the control rooms or at their desks . From there , they can interact with on-air talent and anyone else who is part of our giant RTS network . When the work-at-home model became an ongoing necessity , we needed to find a quick solution utilizing our existing intercom infrastructure .
26 | Summer 2021