Canwest Broadcasting late last month announced a new content team, with Christine Shipton and Karen Gelbart in charge of original programming.

Shipton, formerly Global TV’s VP of original programming, is now SVP of drama and factual content, and, according to a statement from Canwest, will develop and commission dramatic and factual programming for its specialty channels, plus priority programming for E! and Global.

Gelbart has been named SVP of lifestyle content, in charge of commissioning, acquiring, scheduling and budgeting for the lifestyle channels – a position similar to her previous post at Alliance Atlantis.

In terms of defining which of the 13 Alliance Atlantis cable channels Canwest has absorbed are ‘lifestyle’ and which are ‘factual,’ a spokesperson for the broadcaster said she couldn’t answer, as ‘It could change.’ Canwest says more details will be available shortly.

Over at Showcase, the company late last month laid off its director of original productions, Rachel Fulford, who had been with the specialty for nine years. Fulford was a key figure behind Showcase series including Trailer Park Boys, Paradise Falls, Kenny vs. Spenny and Rent-A-Goalie. However, Fulford’s boss, Tara Ellis, the channel’s VP of content, remains in the fold.

Showcase is known for turning out edgy and daring domestic shows, and its future, following the $2.3-billion purchase of its parent AA by Canwest and Goldman Sachs, is of concern to many producers.

Both Shipton and Gelbart were at NATPE at the time of this writing and were unavailable for comment.

Canwest has been making cuts as it mingles with AA, but declined to reveal the full extent of layoffs.

Other members of the content team are Phil Piazza, VP of content acquisitions; Daniel Eves, VP of strategic programming, specialty; Zev Shalev, VP of strategic planning, E!; Andrew Janik, VP of program operations; Greg Treffry, VP of partner development and content strategy; and Laura Tanner, SVP of digital media.

Steve Wyatt has been named SVP of news and information, with responsibility for the news teams at Global’s local stations as well as the national news. Global National was to relaunch on Feb. 11.

The creative team reports to EVP of content Barbara Williams.

‘What results from the combination of these two teams is that Canwest Broadcasting now has the top talent in every genre and on every platform – lifestyle, comedy, hard news, drama, documentary, magazine, and all the hybrids in between,’ said Williams in a statement.