Source : CBC News

As of this week, CBC News has a new look and sound. Everywhere.

No Canadian above the age of two will be allowed to escape. It'll be the law. Humming the new five musical notes that now introduce all our major newscasts will soon become a Canadian rite of passage.

We think it's better than before, or at least that's what we hope. More dynamic, sharp, memorable. But check it out yourself and make your own judgment.

It's the first time in the history of Canada's public broadcaster that all of CBC's news programming and services – on TV, Radio, Newsworld, Online and other platforms, such as cellphones, airports, elevators, refrigerators, microwaves, etc. – will appear and sound as if they come from the same family. Which, of course, they do. In marketing jargon, it's the external rebranding of CBC News 2006 as a single, integrated multimedia news and current affairs service.

But it's much more than that. It's the latest and perhaps most noticeable stage in the ongoing renewal of CBC News that's underway. This involves not only a new look and sound. More importantly, it is a rethink of what Canadians "want" and "need" from their news media, particularly the CBC, and how CBC News is responding.

And it's more than a coincidence that we're unveiling this at such a pivotal moment in the news year. This week's final leaders' debates launch the climax of what will likely be the top Canadian story of 2006 – the federal election.

If you listen carefully, you'll hear another gentle drum roll. It's for another, less earth-shattering first. And you're reading it now. This is the first of a regular series of "letters" – to you, from me, in my role as head of CBC News – about topical media issues that affect us all as citizens and as consumers of news and current affairs.

The media world is experiencing profound and dramatic change, perhaps more than at any other point in our lifetime. And each of us is somewhere in the thick of it – whether as journalists, listeners, viewers or readers of our online services.

How we respond to these changes will affect the heartbeat of our democracy and help shape the Canada of tomorrow. Who says the stakes aren't high?

In their own modest way, these letters, reinforced by your responses, are intended to contribute to a conversation. From our vantage point at the CBC, I'd like to trigger a dialogue and debate with you about the major media issues of the day.

You'll hear from me every Monday. But more importantly, we want to hear back from you, our audience, about what you think. In the weeks and months to come, your responses – sent to us in the box below – will be counted on.

This column will not focus only on the CBC. It will look at all media and some of the most important issues we all face, regardless of where in this complicated media world we're positioned.

For example, in the weeks ahead, these issues will be addressed:

Declining Public Trust: All signs point to a loss of public confidence in their news media. What can the media, including the CBC, do about it?

More International News: Contrary to conventional wisdom, Canadians are telling CBC News they want more coverage of the world, not less. What is going on?

Canada Votes: What are the media lessons from the federal election campaign? The debates? The polls? What worked? What didn't?

News Everywhere: Internet, blogs, podcasting, cellphones, 24/7 news channels, news-on-demand, etc. How do the changing expectations of audiences change what journalists should do?

Controlling Images: As hostage-taking increases in Iraq, does the broadcasting of hostage videos encourage more kidnappings or reflect reality? Where should the media limits be?

Of course, there will be many more issues in the months ahead and I welcome your suggestions.

At the heart of this renewal of CBC News is an important study we undertook of what Canadians think. It was the most exhaustive survey of its kind in Canada, and during the past year hundreds of CBC staff analyzed what it all meant. This week, and in the many months to come, Canadians will see, hear and read the results in a multitude of program improvements:

More Original Journalism: "By focusing on fewer stories and doing them better."

A Broader Definition of News: Through "more issue-based stories reflecting Canada's diversity, and more positive stories about accomplishment."

Complexity Celebrated: "Avoid the media trap of 'framing' complicated stories in conventional black-and-white ways."

Those are only some of the goals, and the test will be in the programming.

In the study, many Canadians told us they respect CBC's work immensely, but they wanted more humility from us.

"Be less defensive," they told us. "More open to our interests and less absorbed with yours. Stop being so self-righteous, CBC. Leave that baggage at the door."

That's another point to these letters. We'll unload our baggage ... and download your mail.

I welcome your response to anything we do, and to anything I write.

Tony Burman is Editor in Chief of CBC News – which includes news, current affairs and Newsworld. He is CBC's chief journalist, in charge of editorial content on radio, television and the internet. With more than 30 years experience, he has produced many award-winning news and documentary programs for both CBC-TV and Radio. He has covered stories in more than 30 countries, including the Ethiopian Famine of 1984, the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe and the release of Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

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