What CBC could have done with all that bonus money

This week, it emerged that CBC spent $14.9 million on bonuses even as it finalized plans to cut 800 jobs. When Catherine Tait announced the layoffs in a December appearance on CBC's The National, she awkwardly dodged questions from host Adrienne Arsenault about whether she would be forgoing her own bonuses for that year. And in a January grilling before the House of Commons heritage committee, Tait even claimed that bonuses “don't actually exist” (she called it “incentive pay”).

But the $ 14.9- million figure was derived in an access-to-information request made by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. And that figure is only current to Oct. 26, 2023, meaning that the final tally for 2023 might be higher. All told, the federation has tallied up $114 million in bonuses paid out by CBC since 2015.

While $100 million over nine years is a rounding error as far as federal spending goes, it's a gigantic sum of money in the realm of journalism or Canadian media generally.

Below, a cursory review of what CBC could have done with all that bonus money.

Hired more than 200 entry- level reporters ( for 2023 alone)

CBC salaries are public knowledge, and according to their latest collective agreement a typical reporter can expect to make $66,447.34 in their first year. That's the entry-level rate for a “senior writer,” a “provincial affairs reporter” or a “video-journalist.”

While there are non-salary costs to hiring a reporter (such as office space, health benefits, etc.) this means that with the $14.9 million in 2023 bonuses, CBC could have paid the salaries of 225 entry-level reporters.

Bought the Toronto Star ( twice)

While it's not in the CBC's mandate to buy up legacy media properties, it's notable that with just a few years worth of bonus money, the public broadcaster could have purchased the entirety of the Toronto Star.

In 2020, the Star was taken private in a deal worth $52 million. So, at $114 million in bonuses over nine years, this means that CBC could have subsumed the Toronto Star's entire operation for just over four years' worth of bonuses.

Produced the Planet Earth series twice over

When it comes to great achievements in public broadcasting, the BBC's Planet Earth series easily ranks near the top of the list. While there have been a myriad of sequels since, the original 2006 miniseries has been buried in broadcasting awards and has been syndicated in 130 countries.

It was also the most expensive nature documentary that the BBC had ever produced, costing an estimated US$ 25 million at the time. Accounting for inflation and the exchange rate, that's the equivalent of about $50 million. So, just nine years of CBC bonuses could have technically been put toward the most groundbreaking nature documentary ever produced — and done it twice.

Made Anne of Green Gables 12 times

Since we're on the subject of iconic feats of public broadcasting, one of the most-viewed pieces of scripted media ever produced by the CBC is the 1985 film Anne of Green Gables, starring Megan Follows.

The film's budget, adjusted for inflation, was $9 million. So, with just last year's bonuses, the CBC could have staged an equivalent production and still had $6 million left over.

Or, with the last nine years' worth of bonuses they could have produced an Anne of Green Gables-level production more than 12 times.

Funded Ken Burns's career- launching masterpiece

In the United States, one of the all-time triumphs of their public broadcaster is the 1990 Ken Burns miniseries The Civil War. The 11-hour series remains the single most- watched program ever aired on PBS, and completely changed the course of documentary filmmaking.

Its budget at the time was US$3.5 million. When accounting for inflation and the exchange rate, that's about $ 11.1 million — or, about eight month's worth of CBC bonuses in 2023.

Opened foreign bureaus on every continent

Across the board, Canadian media outlets are pulling back on foreign bureaus. According to a recent estimate by The Hub, Canada only has about 60 full-time foreign correspondents left, and 45 of those work for the CBC.

Foreign correspondence is expensive, and a 1990s-era rule of thumb was that it cost $250,000 to keep a reporter posted overseas. So, even assuming that the figure is closer to $500,000, the $14.9 million paid in bonuses last year would fund 30 correspondents. Or, twice the number of correspondents maintained by every other non- CBC Canadian outlet.