It was in June of this year that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) laid off several individuals at Turner Classic Movies, among them Pola Changnon, general manager of TCM, Charles Tabesh, senior vice president in charge of content and programming, and Genevieve McGillicuddy, vice president of enterprises and strategic partnerships. The outrage on the part of TCM fans was swift and immediate. After all, not only did they perceive the layoffs as a threat to TCM's existence, but many fans had met Pola Changnon, Charlie Tabesh, and Genevieve McGillicuddy and think very highly of them. It was right away that the hashtag SaveTCM began appearing on multiple social media services. Directors Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Paul Thomas Anderson, all of them ardent TCM fans, even met with David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Discovery, to discuss the future of the cable channel. It was only about a week after the layoffs that WBD reversed course and restored Charlie Tabesh as Turner Classic Movies' programming chief.
It was just this Tuesday, August 1 2023, that long time TCM host Ben Mankiewicz announced on Twitter (seen above) that the return of TCM Film Festival Director Genevieve McGillicuddy was imminent and she was already at work on the 2024 TCM Film Festival. For TCM fans this is particularly good news. Genevieve McGillicuddy has organized the TCM Classic Film Festival for literally years and she is so strongly identified with the festival that many fans believe that it could not take place without her. What is more, she has always had a very close relationship with fans, to the point that she has granted several interviews to bloggers over the years. Essentially, Genevieve McGillicuddy's return would seem to be something of a guarantee of both TCM and the TCM Classic Film Festival's survival.
Of course, while I have no doubt that fans are overjoyed at the return of Genevieve McGillicuddy, I have no doubt they are still angry over the layoffs (I know I am). Indeed, to many of us the layoffs simply did not make sense. We all realize that Warner Bros. Discovery is deep in debt and CEO David Zaslav wants to make it profitable. We also realize that there have been massive layoffs across the board at WBD. That having been said, TCM costs much less to operate than many other divisions of WBD. What is more, it has always been profitable. Laying off individuals who had been with TCM for literally decades (Charlie Tabesh had been with TCM since the beginning) would seem to endanger the channel's profitability. It should be little wonder that fans were terrified that WBD was plotting to shut TCM down entirely.
Regardless, the outrage over the layoffs on the part of fans demonstrates just how valued TCM is. And there is every reason it should be. It is currently the only cable channel that shows classic movies commercial free 24 hours day. It has played an active role in both preserving classic films and in introducing new generations to classic movies. It is little wonder that Turner Classic Movies is an integral part of many of its fans' lives. It is a treasure that should and must be preserved.
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