MUMBAI: Major organisational restructuring is currently underway at CNN International. As in a lot of cases, this one will leave a few people hunting for jobs. The broadcaster’s Hong Kong bureau has laid off up nine production staff members and also dropped at least eight freelancers.
Reports indicate that reporters, anchors and technical staff have not been affected by the job losses. Meanwhile the Atlanta headquarters will also reduce the production team headcount by 20. However, anchors do not have to worry about being without a job.
A report in the South China Morning Post indicated that CNN’s European headquarters in London could also see cutbacks.
When queried whether the cuts have come about as a result of the broadcaster implementing the Digital News Gathering (DNG) system, a CNN spokesperson replied, “The cutbacks are not as a result of the DNG system. We are making smarter use of the technology and staff available to better serve our audiences . The new technology, developed for and by CNN, enables correspondents to be more proactive in filing their stories, and enhance their ability to respond quickly to breaking news as it happens.”
DNG allows reporters to perform multi-tasking as video correspondents. They report the news and shoot it on camera. The new DNG system which combines new lightweight cameras and advanced satellite and Internet communications technology was pioneered by CNN’s New Delhi Bureau and will now be used by all 28 international bureaus.
The spokesperson, meanwhile, denied that the new developments would lead to shifting of production work done out of Hong Kong being shifted to London and Atlanta. “The production output will continue, as before, from Hong Kong and we will continue to broadcast 30 hours a week of programming from Hong Kong — with prime-time morning and evening news programmes plus the popular chat show Talk Asia. There will be no impact on what the viewers see on CNNI,” the spokesperson clarified.
CNN International recently reorganised its newsgathering operations to make more use of staff in its news hubs in London and Atlanta.
Tag: DNG
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CNN reduces Hong Kong headcount by 9
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CNN spruces newsgathering service; hires new correspondents
MUMBAI: In a bid to boost its broadcast and newsgathering operations, CNN has appointed new correspondents globally and will also be deploying a lap-top based Digital Newsgathering’ (DNG) system for the network’s broadcast and newsgathering operations, announced CNN International managing director Chris Cramer.
Pioneered by the 24-hour news network’s New Delhi Bureau, the digital news gathering (DNG) exclusive to CNN, will be used by all 28 international bureaus.“By pioneering this new technology and hiring the best journalists from around the world, CNN continues to be what all the competition strives to be, editorially sound and commercially strong. The announcements today underline why CNN is able to stay ahead of the competition,” offered Cramer.
Exclusively developed by its in-house engineering team, CNN’s DNG system combines new lightweight cameras, advanced satellite and internet communications technology. The technology helps the correspondents to report the news far more proactively and enable them to file stories for CNN’s television, radio, wireless and internet services. According to the release, the technology will also enhance correspondent ability to respond quickly to breaking news as it happens.
As for the appointments, CNN has appointed Martin Soong as an anchor/correspondent for CNN International Asia Pacific region. He will be joining the regional presenting team in Hong Kong, on 1 April 2004. He will anchor the news programs produced out of the network’s regional headquarters in Hong Kong and report from the territory and across the region. Prior to CNN International, he had been with CNBC Asia, as news editor and anchor, says a company release.
In the Middle East, CNN has appointed former NPR London bureau employee Guy Raz as Jerusalem correspondent to work alongside John Vause and bureau chief Tom Fenton. The second appointment at the Middle East bureau is that of Atlanta based Octavia Nasr, who takes on responsibilities as CNN’s senior editor for Arab affairs. She has worked across the CNN networks for 14 years of experience. According to the release, her in-depth knowledge of the region will enable the network to bring global audience a fuller picture of the complex issues and events taking place in the Middle East.
As for the new digital gathering development, CNN has immediately begun the deployment of strategically trained international Video Correspondents to report from around the world. The first three video correspondents to use the technology are Alphonso Van Marsh, Ryan Chilcote and Karl Penhaul. These journalists showcased the technology during the ‘breaking news’ coverage of the capture of Saddam Hussein, the logistically challenging coverage of the Bam earthquake and the dramatic fast moving events surrounding the recent Georgia revolution, adds the release.
The trio will comprise Soong’s core team. Based at the network’s headquarters in Atlanta, Marsh was previously a writer, producer and correspondent for CNN International. He joined CNN in 1997 as a freelance correspondent and producer. He has been an associate producer for CNN and time in the investigative unit and has served as the interim bureau chief for CNN in Nairobi, Kenya, says the release.
Marsh, who has worked as a journalist in over 20 countries including Afghanistan, Egypt and Cuba, has received numerous awards for his international reporting.
Based at the network’s Moscow bureau, Chilcote was previously a producer for CNN and has covered multiple stories from Russia and the former Soviet republics, including Russia’s last two wars in Chechnya. He has also reported extensively from Afghanistan and has been a journalistic force outside of Russia in CNN’s coverage of the U.S.-led war on terrorism. In 2003, he reported from the frontlines of Operation Iraqi Freedom from his embedded position with the 101st Airborne, adds the release.
Penhaul, who until today has been a freelance contributor for CNN, was an embedded journalist during the recent war in Iraq and has reported on the war in Afghanistan. He also covered Columbia extensively, including the drug trade, kidnappings, guerrilla tactics and internal strife in the country. Prior to working with CNN, Penhaul was an international correspondent for Reuters news agency in Bogotá, Colombia for four years.