Source : Canadian Press

by Jennifer Ditchburn

Robert Rabinovitch, who has worked in the broadcasting field both as a public servant and a high-powered executive, has been named CBC president.

The appointment takes effect Nov. 15, the Prime Minister's Office said Monday. Rabinovitch, 56, is currently executive vice-president of Bronfman-owned Claridge Inc. in Montreal. "It's a hell of a job, it's going to be a very difficult job," Rabinovitch told CBC-TV on Monday.

"I think I'm going to be working with some very good people, but there's no guarantee of success."

The appointment brings an end to months of speculation over who would replace Perrin Beatty. Beatty, who presided over the CBC during some of its toughest years of budget cuts, officially finished his mandate in March, but stayed on until August at the request of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.

Chrétien took his time naming the successor, fuelling criticism that he did not take the CBC seriously.

Behind the scenes, a political tug-of-war was brewing between supporters of Rabinovitch and those who liked other candidates, particularly CBC executive vice-president Jim McCoubrey.

In the end, the favourite of Heritage Minister Sheila Copps and Chrétien adviser Eddie Goldenberg won.

"I think that the appointment of Bob Rabinovitch means that the CBC is going to continue to be a very strong, healthy and public institution for many years to come," Copps said Monday.

"I'm very pleased, I think he will bring his talent both from the public sector and the private sector to a new and invigorated CBC."

Copps's emphasis on Rabinovitch's public-sector roots follows a heated debate among CBC supporters and staff over whether McCoubrey was the right person for the job.

McCoubrey was criticized by some as not having sufficient public broadcasting experience to run the corporation.

There were also questions raised over how well he was able to function after a car accident last January. He will face impaired driving charges in a Hull, Que., court in the new year.

Rabinovitch dealt directly with public broadcasting issues as deputy minister of the Communications Department from 1982 to 1985, and as director general of the social policy and broadcasting programs branch from 1974 to 1976.

In the private sector, he has served on the boards of Cineplex Odeon, NetStar Communications, and advised MaxLink Communications and Loews Cineplex.

Vince Carlin, former head of CBC Newsworld and chairman of the Ryerson School of Journalism, said the corporation has been hurt by a lack of public broadcasting experience at its highest levels.

Those on the CBC board of directors, for example, are generally political appointments with often no history in broadcasting.

"It really has to get back to being a public enterprise, and anyone who can do that, who can touch the real wellsprings of public interest ... and rally them, he'll be performing a great service," said Carlin.

Rabinovitch will arrive at the CBC in time to deal with one of the biggest events in its recent history: the federal regulator's review on its licences.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will release its word in late November on the direction the CBC should take in the short and long term.

The decision will indicate support or rejection for the CBC proposal to create a "constellation" of channels to compete with the dozens of speciality television networks crowding the dial.

Rabinovitch told the Globe and Mail he wants to take another look at the company's expansion plans, suggesting quality programming is more important that more channels.

"I don't think it's necessarily the right answer for the CBC to have more channels; I'm not sure that is the answer," he said.

"I'm not sure we're in the ratings game where at the end of the day you sum up and say: 'Over the five channels, guess how many people we reach.' I think it's more important to have quality programming."

Observers at the CRTC licence hearings noted that CBC chairwoman Guylaine Saucier monopolized the proceedings, while Beatty stepped further into the background.

Sources said Saucier went as far as advising the Prime Minister's Office against Rabinovitch, in favour of her pick McCoubrey.

Ian Morrison, spokesman for the pro-CBC Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, said he's confident Rabinovitch will ensure there is a minimum of government meddling in corporation business.

"It's a fine appointment," said Morrison.

"He's strong enough that under him the board of directors will get out of the job of governance and get into the job of managing the organization."

Staff morale will also be an issue for Rabinovitch.

The CBC lived through a difficult six-week strike last winter, and some veterans such as TV news director Bob Culbert and English Networks boss Jim Byrd left.

Budget cuts are a constant rumour among employees, who are still reeling from $414 million the corporation saw slashed from its books this decade.

Carlin said the CBC needs a president who will recognize the limitations of the boss's office and put faith in the creators.

"The good ones are the ones who support risky decisions, and then have faith in the people who are know what they're doing," Carlin said.

"The constant carping and second-guessing – you cannot have creative activity in that kind of atmosphere."

Rabinovitch is expected to bring a group of advisers with him to his new post, but Copps would not indicate who they might be.

© Canadian Press