CHAN-DT - News Operation

News Operation

CHAN-DT currently produces a total of 48½ hours of local newscasts each week (with 7½ hours on weekdays, 5½ hours on weekends), along with an additional 3½ hours with Global's Vancouver-based English national evening newscast Global National and 2½ hours with Global's Mandarin national evening newscast Global National Mandarin. Unlike most Global stations that carry midday newscasts, CHAN airs its noon newscast seven days a week. The station's newscast schedule is very similar to that of an affiliate of the Big Three television networks in the United States (ABC, CBS or NBC). CHAN's news operation is well respected in the industry. Ever since the station decided to produce a one hour news bulletin in the late 1960s, a major part of the station's cash flow has gone into its news programming, and it has garnered high ratings and major awards since then. The station's on-air news style was even used as an inspiration for Ted Turner's CNN, as both use the newsroom as a backdrop during the broadcast.

In 1975, the current newsroom was constructed. It was rebuilt in the early nineties, moving the studio out of the newsroom, but keeping it as a backdrop, and remodelled again in 2001 and 2006. In addition to its various local newscasts, CHAN also produced Canada Tonight, an early-evening newscast focusing on national news. Two versions were produced: one for BC itself, hosted by CKNW radio commentator Bill Good (who later went to CIVT-TV, CTV's current Vancouver O&O station, and retired in December 2010) and a national version, hosted by Tony Parsons, who also presented CHAN's nightly news program, the News Hour. When Canwest purchased CHAN, the stories that were once sourced from CTV's other affiliates throughout the country, were replaced by stories sourced from Global's affiliates.

From 2001, when the station became Global BC, the news organization underwent a minor name change - BCTV News on Global. CHAN opted to keep the BCTV name for its newscasts, since the BCTV brand was still very well respected in the province. It also wanted to keep CIVT from using the name itself, as it contained the letters "CTV". In addition, CHAN became home to Global's national news centre and a new national newscast, Global National -- thus fulfilling its longstanding dream of producing a national newscast, currently anchored by former CTV and NBC correspondent Dawna Friesen (originally Kevin Newman beforehand). The program goes live from tape from Vancouver at 5:30 p.m. (Pacific Time Zone), and is followed by the News Hour at 6:00 p.m. with Chris Gailus. Carolyn Jarvis and Robin Gill share the anchoring duties on the weekend edition of Global National, followed by Robin Stickley, who anchors the weekend edition of the News Hour.

The BCTV brand was finally dropped when Global launched its new look on February 6, 2006. CHAN's local news brand became Global BC at this point. In 2006, Global struck a deal with the Canadian Traffic Network to supply the station with a Robinson R44 news helicopter with gyroscopic camera mounts. It will be shared with CKNW - the second news helicopter in Vancouver after that used by CIVT. Global has named the helicopter Global 1 - the same designation used for the news helicopters of other Global stations.

On December 16, 2009, Tony Parsons anchored his final newscast at Global BC after 34 years as anchor of the News Hour. It was expected that he would remain until after the 2010 Winter Olympics, but due to unknown reasons, Tony Parsons left the station much earlier than expected. Tony Parsons began anchoring CHEK Victoria's 10 PM newscast March 15, 2010 and also began anchoring the evening newscasts at CBUT on April 12, 2010.

Global BC debuted a new HD virtual set on October 4, 2010, but HD newscasts launched along with Global National's new anchor Dawna Friesen on September 20, which will utilize the same set with minor changes to the desk. A new graphics package also debuted. CHAN-DT uses Betacam SP analogue videotape for all of its local advertisements and non-live parts of their newscasts. MPEG-2 transmission is used in nearly all non-local broadcasts. The station is slowly moving away from Betacam SP and moving to a digital format.

On January 11, 2012, Shaw Media filed a license application with the CRTC for a Category B digital-only specialty service that will serve as a British Columbia-focused news channel operated by and utilizing news staff from Global BC. It will become the fourth regional news channel in Canada and the first outside of Ontario (joining Toronto-based 24-hour services CP24 and CityNews Channel, and Hamilton-based independent station CHCH-DT, which carries a heavy local newscast schedule along with some entertainment programming as both CHCH and CHAN were previously owned by Canwest). The application was approved the CRTC on July 20, 2012 and the station, dubbed Global News: BC 1 is expected to launch in early 2013.

On August 27, 2012, Global BC expanded its weekday morning newscast to four hours, with the addition of a half-hour at 5 a.m., the 5-6 a.m. hour of the newscast was retitled as the Early Morning News; in addition on September 2, 2012, the station also expanded its Sunday morning newscast to three hours with an additional hour at 7 a.m. The increase in the station's morning newscasts is part of an overall expansion of local news programming on Global owned-and-operated stations across Canada.