Night newsroom floor with an anchor desk and a silhouetted figure walking past a dark monitor wall

Inside the Newsroom

CBC studios, sound stages, and anchor desks

Name: Inside the Newsroom
Address: 250 Front Street West, Toronto, M5V 3G5, CA
Telephone: +1-416-205-3311

Studios are the visible part of a broadcast: the desk, the backdrop, the lights. Here is how the rooms are laid out, what a sound stage is for, and how the sets get ready for air.

Read about the control room See how regional newsrooms work

What a sound stage is

A sound stage is a large, controlled space built for production. It has the height, power, and acoustic treatment that a normal room does not. In a broadcast facility, a sound stage may host a large set, a special program, or a production that needs more floor space than a standard studio. The point of a sound stage is control: over light, sound, and the movement of people and cameras.

Height Room for lighting grids, raised sets and camera cranes without clipping the shot. tall

Power Enough supply for a full lighting rig, monitor walls and the gear a special program drags in. rigged

Acoustics Treated walls and floors so a set can be quiet enough for live audio. dead

Floor Flat, marked and big enough to walk a camera around a full anchor set. open

Access Doors and ramps wide enough to bring a set piece in without breaking it down outside. wide

Control Light, sound and people managed from one place, so the floor stays predictable take after take. held

Empty studio floor at night with three broadcast cameras pointed at an anchor desk

How a news studio is laid out

A news studio usually has an anchor desk, a backdrop or video wall, and space for a weather presenter or a guest. Cameras are positioned to cover the desk from several angles. Lighting is arranged so that the anchor looks consistent regardless of which camera is live. The layout is designed around the shots the director needs, not around how the room looks to a visitor.

That last point decides almost everything. A studio looks odd in person: dark floor, cables taped down, lights hanging low and hot. The wide shot that opens a newscast has to show a clean set, and the tight shot on the anchor has to keep the background from competing. Every camera position is chosen for one of those jobs, and the rest of the room is arranged to keep them working.

Wide shot Sets the space and shows the desk opening

Mid shot Carries the read and the hand gestures body of story

Tight shot Holds on the anchor for a serious line emphasis

Guest angle Covers a second chair or a panel two-shot

The anchor desk and what it signals

The anchor desk is the visual center of a newscast. It signals stability and continuity, which is why it rarely changes dramatically. When it does change, it is usually tied to a new program format, new hosts, or new technology. The desk itself is often less important than the shots it enables: the wide shot that establishes the space, the tight shot that focuses on the anchor.

Backdrop A wall or video screen that stays readable on camera behind desk

Camera set Two to four positions covering the desk and a guest chair fixed marks

Lighting Set so the anchor looks the same from every live camera matched

When it changes A new format, new hosts, or a rebuilt set rarely

Sets are rebuilt, sometimes fast

CBC has described tearing down and rebuilding a local TV set over a weekend when a newsroom was refreshed for new hosts. That kind of change happens between broadcasts, with crews working when the studio is dark. The old set may be open to the newsroom before a renovation, which gives staff a chance to see the space change. After the rebuild, the studio is ready for the next program.

The reason it can move that quickly is planning, not speed for its own sake. A rebuild is scheduled around the broadcast calendar, the new set pieces are built and tested off the floor first, and the technical crew re-marks camera positions before the first rehearsal. When the studio comes back up, the lighting and camera marks are already close, so the first rehearsal is about the program and not about starting over.

The set you see on air is therefore a working object with a maintenance life. Panels get scuffed, screens get replaced, desks get rewired. A studio that looks unchanged for years is usually one where a lot of quiet upkeep is happening out of view.

Between broadcasts

A weekend rebuild means the studio is stripped, the new set is set out, lighting and camera marks are re-done, and the room is checked again before the next live program.

CBC Toronto Studios and the Toronto Broadcasting Centre

The Toronto Broadcasting Centre at 250 Front Street West is described by CBC as a major production and broadcasting building. It houses English-language radio and television networks, and it includes master control and production spaces. For anyone studying broadcast operations, it is a useful example of how much infrastructure sits behind a single newscast.

Studios across the network

Toronto Toronto Broadcasting Centre, 250 Front Street West. Radio and television networks with master control and production space. Front St W

Vancouver CBC Vancouver Broadcast Centre, 700 Hamilton Street. An integrated newsroom with TV control rooms, news sets and radio booths. Hamilton St

Ottawa Production centre downtown, serving English and French operations and political programming. The newsroom is visible from Sparks Street through ground-level windows. Sparks St

Regions Local newsrooms across the country feed the national programs and keep their own studios on air. network

Studios Each location has its own sets, its own camera positions and its own control space behind the wall. on air

The CBC Vancouver Broadcast Centre

The CBC Vancouver Broadcast Centre at 700 Hamilton Street is described by CBC as an integrated newsroom home to CBC News in BC, The National, and CBC Radio One in Vancouver. Its newsroom tour highlights TV control rooms, news sets, and radio booths. CBC says the redeveloped Broadcast Centre and Plaza brought new life to the downtown entertainment district since 2009.

The CBC Ottawa Production Centre

CBC's Ottawa production centre is an office and studio complex in downtown Ottawa, serving English and French operations in the National Capital Region. It is associated with political programming such as Power & Politics and Rosemary Barton Live. The newsroom is described as visible from Sparks Street through large ground-level windows, which makes the work unusually public for a broadcast facility.

Local newsroom at night with mostly empty desks and a studio visible behind glass

Talk show set with a host desk, guest chairs and empty audience seats

How sets differ by program

A national newscast, a local newscast, and a political talk show need different sets. A talk show may use a desk for a host and a guest, with space for a live audience or a panel. A local newscast may use a smaller set with a weather area. The set is built around the program's format, and it changes when the format changes.

National Wide, formal desk with room for a national backdrop one desk

Local Smaller footprint with a dedicated weather area compact

Talk show Host desk plus guest chair and panel platform two chairs

Special A sound stage build when the program outgrows the studio off desk

What visitors can see on a tour

CBC has published newsroom tour material for some facilities, including Vancouver and Edmonton. Tours typically show control rooms, news sets, and radio booths, and they explain how the spaces connect. They do not show everything. Security, proprietary systems, and live editorial decisions stay off the tour.

This site is an independent educational resource. It does not arrange tours and it is not affiliated with CBC. If you want to ask a question about how a studio is put together, use the contact page.

On a published tour

Included TV control rooms, news sets, radio booths, and how the spaces connect.

Often shown The path a program takes from the studio floor to the control room next door.

Not shown Security areas, proprietary systems, and live editorial decisions.

Published for Some facilities, including Vancouver and Edmonton.

Arranged by CBC where tours exist. This site does not arrange tours.

Questions about studios and sets

What is a sound stage used for?

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A sound stage is a large controlled production space used for sets and programs that need more room, height, or acoustic control than a standard studio.

Where is the CBC Vancouver Broadcast Centre?

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At 700 Hamilton Street in Vancouver. CBC describes it as an integrated newsroom home to CBC News in BC, The National, and CBC Radio One in Vancouver.

Can I visit a CBC studio?

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CBC has published tour material for some facilities, but access is limited. This site does not arrange tours.

Why does an anchor desk rarely change?

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The desk carries the continuity of the program. Changing it usually means a new format, new hosts, or new technology behind the scenes, so it is rebuilt only when one of those things changes.

Where the studio fits in the rest of the building

A set only works because the control room, the field crews, and the regional newsrooms are feeding it. If you want the whole picture, start with the control room or follow how a story gets from the field to air.

Read about the control room From field to air

Inside the Newsroom

250 Front Street West, Toronto, ON M5V 3G5, Canada

Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM · +1-416-205-3311 · [email protected]