PRIME news can no longer claim to be “live and local” with the company’s decision to present the nightly bulletin from its Canberra headquarters next year.
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Staff were told this week that the bulletin won’t be presented locally by Helen Ballard and that two existing production crew members will be offered roles in Canberra as part of a cost-saving shake-up.
The station has been broadcasting news from its Union Road studios since the 1960s.
Prime chief executive officer Doug Edwards said yesterday there would be no job losses associated with the move which will see the Albury, Wagga and Orange bulletins all presented from Canberra.
The Albury bulletin is expected to be pre-recorded, but by no more than 30 minutes before going to air at 5.30pm.
A recent $200,000 studio upgrade to show its news in widescreen was interpreted as ensuring the bulletin would remain in Albury and a possible precursor to the company entering the Victorian market to take on its regional rival, WIN.
Mr Edwards said to fully upgrade a studio digitally would cost $1 million and the company decided to pool its resources and create a “super facility” in Canberra.
“We’ve got six newsrooms and it doesn’t make a lot of sense to go out and fully digitalise six newsrooms when you can invest that money into a super facility in Canberra and be able to present much better news,” he said.
“We are looking at new sets, new technology and I think we can do that by investing money into a presentation facility in Canberra that will give a better product on screen.
“Nothing changes on the ground, same reporters, same amount of people, we just think we can put out a better product by centralising it in Canberra.”
Mrs Ballard will remain in Albury as a senior reporter alongside other journalists, Lauren Hilbert, Crystal Kerr, Briena Barrett, sports presenter Paul Murphy and news editor Paul Terry.
