TORONTO – CBC president Hubert Lacroix tried to quell speculation and set the record straight after last week’s surprise departure of executive vice-president, English services Richard Stursberg.
In a post on the Corp’s blog, Lacroix scoffed at rumours that Stursberg was escorted from the building, and said that the creation of a new strategic plan was “a good time to review the leadership of CBC.”
"The decision to change leadership was not a sudden decision triggered by any specific incident”, Lacroix wrote. “It was, rather, the culmination of a very long reflection on the future of the Corporation, the culture it needs to adopt in order to change and adapt in an evolving media environment and our ability to agree to a long term plan based on a shared vision.”
Lacroix described the new strategic plan as “a clearer definition of what the public broadcaster brand stands for”, and reiterated his support for the ‘pubcaster’s drama/entertainment strategy which he said will continue to be “a central plank” of its future strategy; the integration and modernization of its news services both regionally and nationally; Radio One and its new media initiatives.
“It is about building a public broadcaster for 2015 that is even more successful, more in tune with the needs and wants of Canadians and more engaged in their lives”, he continued.
