TORONTO, March 19, 2001 -- The future of public broadcasting in Canada and abroad in light of current media trends will be the focus of a forum at York University, featuring Canadian Broadcasting Corporation President and CEO, Robert Rabinovitch, Wednesday, March 21, 2:30 - 5 p.m.

Part of York’s The Triumph of Canadian Cinema lecture series, Rabinovitch will take part in an engaging and informative public discussion with York’s Robarts Chair in Canadian Studies, Prof. Seth Feldman on a wide range of issues including: how Rabinovitch sees his role as CBC President; what public television does and offers that is different than private sector television; how the CBC has fared compared to public broadcasters in other countries; and what changes have been necessary in the new broadcasting climate and how they have affected the quality of programming. Questions will also be fielded from the audience.

"The CBC is our largest single cultural organization," says Feldman. "Given its size and budget, all of us have a stake in how it is defining -- or not defining -- what culture itself means in this country."

Rabinovitch has been President and CEO of the CBC since November 1999. Immediately prior to joining the CBC, Rabinovitch was Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of Claridge Inc. From 1982 to 1985, he served as Deputy Minister of Communications, and in 1995, he was a member of the Government of Canada Policy Review Panel for Direct-to-Home Satellite Broadcasting. He has also served as Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for Planning and as Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet for Priorities and Planning. He is a graduate of McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned an MA and a PhD in Economics and Finance.

Rabinovitch’s discussion will take place in the Department of Film & Video Sound Stage (Room 130), located in the Centre for Film and Theatre, Faculty of Fine Arts, York University Campus, 4700 Keele Street.

The Triumph of Canadian Cinema series is sponsored by York’s Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies. The next event in the series will be the 15th Annual Robarts Lecture: Canadian Movies, Eh?, at York University, Thursday, April 5. It will be delivered by Prof. Feldman and will focus on the broader contexts of the history of film and of the global realities of the film industry today and in the foreseeable future. Following that, Marc Starowicz, Executive Producer of CBC’s Canada: A People's History, will discuss the success of his popular documentary series at York University, Wednesday, April 18.

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For further information, please contact:

Prof. Seth Feldman
Robarts Chair in Canadian Studies
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 77553
sfeldman@yorku.ca

Ken Turriff
Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
kturriff@yorku.ca
YU/031/01