Marie-Philippe Bouchard new CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada [Video]

Quebec television executive Marie-Philippe Bouchard’s appointment as the next president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada comes with big challenges at the beleaguered public broadcaster, say observers who emphasized the need for renewed trust and a revamped funding model.

Marsha Barber, a former senior producer for the CBC’s flagship newscast, “The National,” said Tuesday that morale has been “extremely low at the CBC,” especially after millions of dollars in executive bonuses followed a round of layoffs.

She looked forward to “a fresh start.”

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“There have been job losses, there have been vacancies unfilled, the bonuses were a slap in the face to people working on the ground and trying to do their jobs,” said Barber, now a journalism professor at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Barber said low spirits have been compounded by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre vowing to defund the public broadcaster if elected in the next federal vote.

“When you take all of that, new leadership might signify that …