This from Paula Waddell, Executive Producer of Ottawa Regional News...

What can I scratch off the to-do list in the next fifteen minutes?

Viewers must be questioning some of those wonky wide shots during our newscasts in the last couple of days. Mastering robotic cameras is a little tougher than I thought. There are a few things to learn by launch day.

The CBC is going to be first in this city to deliver local news and weather in the evening. On Monday August 31, viewers will see CBC Ottawa's expanded local news programming. We are adding 2 new local newscasts: CBC News: Ottawa at 5:00 and CBC News: Ottawa at 5:30. Ottawa at 6 remains our flagship supper hour news program. Lucy van Oldenbarneveld will host all programs.

August has been a blur of organized chaos. Reporters are filing early, preparing for the new deadlines. We are conducting rehearsals, wrestling new technologies and helping staff deal with change. All this and we continue to deliver CBC News: Ottawa at Six. We have such a talented team of journalists here.

During this economy, it's a great feeling to be talking about "expanding" not 'cutting" local news. We're going for it.