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13 April 2010
DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS SERIES > HUBERT T. LACROIX
By James Townsend (2009-10 Sauvé Scholar)
Condemned to unsustainable development? –
The public broadcaster and the need for a Business Model 2.0
Hubert Lacroix has a tough job. As the man in charge of CBC, not only is he responsible for informing, enlightening and entertaining Canadians, he also has to do this with a significantly smaller budget than most other national broadcasters. CBC has around $34 per capita to spend each year, which may at first glance seem a lot but when compared with the BBC (which spends around $124 per capita) it seems positively miserly. And “everyone”, says Mr. Lacroix, “wants CBC to be the BBC.”
In sharing his thoughts on CBC with the Sauvé Scholars and guests, Mr. Lacroix explained that, in fact, CBC – as well as less money - has a vastly more complicated remit than the BBC. CBC has a huge space to which they broadcast (in the North of Canada, they reach 100,000 people living in a space that, if it were a country, would be the 7th largest in the world); they operate not in just one time zone but across 6 time zones; they broadcast in English, French and 8 aboriginal languages; and, crucially, CBC is allocated it’s budget on an annual basis making planning very difficult.
Despite these challenges, CBC is flourishing. As Mr. Lacroix explained CBC has “never been more watched, more listened to or more used.” The reasons he gave for this is that CBC is distinctive in its programming (providing a large number of current affairs, news and documentary programmes) and remains fiercely independent of government - Mr Lacroix himself pledged to walk out of the interview process for his job the minute any government minister was involved. This kind of leadership and commitment to CBC’s special status as a public service broadcaster is, you sense when listening to him, also an important part of CBC’s success.
We are grateful to Mr. Lacroix for sharing his insights with the Sauvé Scholars.
PHOTOS
[Photos by Tristan Brand]
ABOUT HUBERT T. LACROIX
Hubert T. Lacroix was appointed President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada on November 5, 2007, for a five-year term, and he began his mandate on January 1, 2008.
As President and CEO, Mr. Lacroix is responsible for ensuring that CBC/Radio-Canada is a well-managed organisation, in order that Canada’s national public broadcaster can continue to provide Canadians with distinctive, innovative and compelling programming of the highest quality, created by, for and about Canadians.
Before joining CBC/Radio-Canada, Mr. Lacroix was Senior Advisor with the Montréal office of Stikeman Elliott. Previous to that, Mr. Lacroix acted as Executive Chairman of Telemedia Corporation and of the other Boards of Directors of the various companies in the Telemedia corporate structure, and Senior Advisor to Telemedia Ventures. Before joining Telemedia, he was a Senior Partner with another major Canadian law firm.
Mr. Lacroix received his Bachelor of Civil Law (1976) and his Master’s degree in Business Administration (1981) from McGill University. Mr. Lacroix is included in the 2008 edition of The Best Lawyers of Canada.
