New York Times: Plot Twist at Turner Classic Movies Upsets Film Fans

If you have noticed the hashtag #SaveTCM trending on Twitter, the attached article provides an intro to the current shake-up that Warner Bros. has brought about. There was tremendous pessimism and anger among people who post regularly on classic film, and now it appears that multiple filmmakers are also voicing their concerns.

No paywall.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/business/media/turner-classic-movies-layoffs.html?unlocked_article_code=lnz4o7HNTJrWxlYiIS0T1tZLEo-qJmFkPKZmeFlqydEAI0MUzi6rvvo8OTOyWbfZmUBFzZC67vkNnuzPIiTw4NP4Hb-eNFW2aRAu1hM6lb7pRYShF8rcLES5035sn6AFSTT_p7_vEf6fdgygWxuKvM_OBoETcoNltXtrHQgQ3YX9yOTMWzx-3T_dR5-KInTcXwX5mYwHbtwuJ_R0JfWiTaK9f7rQVkOuPIhVb89XtirFFpenZFH5-7t3IQktntoCC2EfAUdFgea2nFR5ej6tdjOHOd4Ol1j6QV4qkShs696mY28rtewsJM9gfDM1FdwSrDSX9BJDzE3UcVD0Hpz40XtzaAVuewHcTU26Xc5I&smid=url-share

On Tuesday, the network, known as TCM, jettisoned its five most senior executives through a mix of buyouts and pink slips. The departed were Pola Chagnon, the general manager; Charlie Tabesh, the channel’s lead programmer; Genevieve McGillicuddy, who ran the annual TCM film festival; Anne Wilson, a production executive; and Dexter Fedor, a marketer.

Warner Bros. Discovery, the network’s owner, promised that viewers would see little to no change on TCM. The channel will remain free of ads. “We remain fully committed to this business, the TCM brand and its purpose to protect and celebrate culture-defining movies,” Kathleen Finch, chairman and chief content officer for the company’s domestic networks group, wrote in a memo that was shared with news outlets.

But the channel’s loyalists responded to the cuts with hellfire, interpreting them as a further marginalization of an art form and a personal attack.