CBC/Radio-Canada

06/01/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/01/2023 11:44

Catherine Tait reappointed President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada

Catherine Tait, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, is pleased to continue in her role at the national public broadcaster for an additional 18-month term. The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage, made the announcement earlier today.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am delighted that our CEO has agreed to extend her time at CBC/Radio-Canada, in order to complete several important initiatives," said Michael Goldbloom, Chair of the Board of Directors. "Her leadership over the past five years has been critical to positioning the public broadcaster for the future at a time of accelerated change in the news and media sectors in Canada."

Under Catherine Tait's leadership, CBC/Radio-Canada has advanced its transformation into a modern public service media organization, in order to better serve Canadians, on every platform they now access. Around 22 million Canadians now use its digital sites each month for trusted news, podcasts, music, and the best of Canadian programs on CBC Gem and ICI TOU.TV.

In an effort to better reflect the audiences served, Ms. Tait has been a champion in advancing the public broadcaster's commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. She continues to lead initiatives to deepen the public broadcaster's local presence, including expanding regional programming produced for national distribution; establishing partnerships with public library systems across the country; and hiring more journalists to serve underrepresented communities, such as Lethbridge, Alberta, Nanaimo and Cranbrook, B.C., and Kingston, Ontario. In her roles as President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada and Chair of the Global Task Force for public media, Tait is spearheading efforts with other media in Canada and around the world to improve the safety of all journalists and, in particular, to combat online harm targeting female and equity-seeking news professionals.

"In this second term I also want to focus on the work we have undertaken with other media and stakeholders to address the urgent issues of polarization and distrust, which are undermining democratic and open societies," Tait said. "It's a critical issue that all Western democracies are grappling with. I believe Canada's public broadcaster has a unique role to play to address disinformation, build trust in verified and trusted news, and, most importantly, to foster Canadian conversations in English, French and Indigenous languages."

Ms. Tait's first appointment was announced on April 3, 2018. She assumed her duties on July 3, 2018, becoming the first woman in this role. Since then, CBC/Radio-Canada has made enormous progress in realizing the objectives of its 2019-2024 strategic plan, Your Stories, Taken to Heart.

With today's announcement, Ms. Tait will continue to lead CBC/Radio-Canada until January 3, 2025. She will also remain chair of the Global Task Force for public media, the group of eight of the world's leading public broadcasters.

About CBC/Radio-Canada

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada's trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.