Executive chairman to replace Tonio Portughese at PBS

The state broadcaster is in for a major shakeup with Castille planning to replace Tonio Portughese with an Executive Chairman.

It is not yet clear what the role of CEO Charles Dalli will be at PBS.

Sources close to government said that the new role would give extraordinary powers to the new chairman.

Portughese was appointed chairman of Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) in 2013.

PBS falls under the remit of Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister Carmelo Abela.

The decision follows the appointment of Norma Saliba as head of news, replacing veteran journalist Reno Bugeja.

It also comes a few days after popular Friday night show Xarabank was axed from the winter schedule.

During the Labour Party leadership campaign, Prime Minister Robert Abela had pledged to reform PBS.

In an interview on Sunday, Abela denied having any say in the removal of Xarabank, insisting the decision came from the PBS editorial board.