TORONTO – Former CBC executive Richard Stursberg is the new president of the writers’ group Pen Canada.
The non-partisan organization works to defend freedom of expression as a basic human right at home and abroad.
Stursberg was voted in as the new president at an annual general meeting on Monday, succeeding novelist and academic Randy Boyagoda.
Stursberg is best known for a controversial run as executive vice president of English services at the CBC. He left that post in 2010.
Under his watch, the public broadcaster took a more commercial turn with programs including U.S. game shows “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune,” and homegrown hits “Battle of the Blades” and “Dragons’ Den.”
Before that, Stursberg served as executive director of Telefilm Canada, chairman of the Canadian Television Fund, president of Star Choice and Cancom (now Shaw Direct), president of the Canadian Cable Television Association, and was an assistant deputy minister with the federal government.
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Online: http://www.pencanada.ca
