OTTAWA – Esther Enkin, currently executive editor of CBC News, has been appointed as the corporation's new Ombudsman for English services, effective January 1, 2013. Enkin was unanimously selected for the job by an expert selection committee with internal and external representation. Enkin succeeds Kirk LaPointe, who will remain in the position in the interim.
"Accuracy, integrity, impartiality, fairness and balance in journalism are key to the credibility of any news organisation, and credibility is the essential currency of a public broadcaster," said Hubert T. Lacroix, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada. "The Ombudsman is responsible for holding us accountable to those principles on behalf of Canadians. I can't overstate the importance of this job. Esther Enkin has spectacular credentials and a superlative track record in journalism. She's got everything it takes to assume this key role for us. "
"For the past five years, I have worked with CBC journalists to improve the quality and standards of their work. Taking on the role of the Ombudsman is another way to contribute to that quality. But now first and foremost, I represent the interests and concerns of our audience," said Enkin in a statement.
Enkin has over 25 years of journalism experience with CBC News. As executive editor, she is today responsible for the quality and standards of CBC journalism, overseeing the development of policy and ensuring CBC's journalistic standards are met nationally and regionally, on all platforms. She was responsible in 2010 for the rewriting and redevelopment of CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices, which are held up as a model around the world. Enkin is widely recognized in Canada and abroad for her knowledge and leadership in the field of journalistic ethics, theory and practice says the CBC.
The corporation added that she brings with her extensive editorial management experience, awareness and understanding of the impact that social media is having on the journalistic process, and a reputation for strategic thinking, credibility and integrity.
The mandate of Ombudsman was revised in 2011 by an independent Committee to update and modernize the mandate to better reflect the current realities of the public broadcaster. The Ombudsman acts as an appeal authority for complainants who are dissatisfied with responses from CBC information or program management to determine whether the journalistic process of the broadcast involved in a complaint violated the Corporation's Journalistic Standards and Practices.
The Ombudsman is completely independent of CBC program staff and management, reporting directly to the president of CBC and, through the president, to the corporation's Board of Directors. Under Enkin, the Office of the Ombudsman will be relocated back to Toronto after having been in Vancouver since LaPointe's appointment in October 2010.
