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Canada's CTV National News fires lead anchor LIsa LaFlamme in contract dispute


mouseboy33

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On 8/26/2022 at 10:00 PM, mouseboy33 said:

Ive never seen a story like this. Tonight it just took a weird-er turn

https://twitter.com/CBCNews/status/1563345202567593989

And CTV botched even that up. First they stated that he took leave to “spend time with family,” then they said it was pending a “workplace review.”

 

That being said, even if Melling ends up leaving, this will change absolutely nothing at Bell Media. Melling is only one cog in the machine; he was put in this position because his managerial style is exactly what Bell wanted. Besides, the decision to fire LaFlamme was not something that only Melling could execute; it had to be approved by the top brass at Bell.

 

Bell can conduct all of the “independent workplace reviews of the newsroom” it wants. What they apparently still don’t realize is that the newsroom doesn’t need a review; the executives do.

Edited by nycnewsjunkie
Grammar
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15 hours ago, EVVTV12 said:

“Head of Bell says Lisa LaFlamme’s departure not related to age, gender, or grey hair“

 

CTV didn’t write the article, The Canadian Press did, so, you know. Yeah. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/head-of-bell-says-lisa-laflamme-s-departure-not-related-to-age-gender-or-grey-hair-1.6045867

The ball keeps rolling with this story. There are now concerns over editorial independence at CTV due to their coverage (or lack thereof) of Dove’s campaign.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/caj-concerned-about-editorial-freedom-at-ctv-1.6564313
 

I was inclined to believe that the grey hair issue was merely a red herring on top of other issues, like conflicts with management, Bell being cheap, editorial issues, etc. Considering that CTV just censored their own newsroom over the issue, I’ve changed my mind.

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As if that wasn't enough, have a look at this!

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-bell-media-newsrooms-involved-in-at-least-three-previous-formal/ (paywalled, unfortunately)

 

In each of the past three years, there have been three previous formal reviews of the Bell Media newsrooms, so Bell Media is actually quite familiar with it. These were in response to, and I quote, "alleged bullying by managers, sexual harassment, and the use of the N-word during an inclusive-leadership training session." These all bear repeating: "alleged bullying by managers, sexual harassment, and the use of the N-word during an inclusive-leadership training session."

 

So, as another review looms, staffers are adamant that this next review won't change anything because they've learned from past experience that none of the three reviews mentioned earlier led to any significant changes, if there were any changes made at all to begin with! Plus, exactly what this next review will entail is unclear. Why "unclear?" Because Bell Media won't answer questions from The Globe and Mail regarding the details, according to the article. (Maybe it's because they want to save face and prevent further backlash, never mind that they already caused far too much of it for them to handle with a straight face?)

 

This is from the same company that just silenced their own network's newsroom regarding the matter at hand, might I add. The action of which that has given the Canadian Association of Journalists very good reason to worry.

Edited by DJonNews
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Bell Media is pushing back against accusations regarding LaFlamme's sudden firing.

https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/08/29/bell-media-lisa-laflamme-ctv-national-news/

 

Wade Oosterman, president of Bell Media, says this:

Quote

Just as the termination of Lisa LaFlamme’s contract had nothing to do with age, gender or grey hair, I can categorically confirm that no actions were taken which violate journalistic independence policy.

 

The journalists at CTV News say this:

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Her dismissal appears to be an egregious act of revenge, tainted by ageism, sexism and misogyny at the hands of a male boss.

 

And as for why the journalists are going unnamed for this story, according to CityNews:

Quote

...along with morale being low since Melling took on the role of vice-president of CTV News eight months ago, professional retaliation has also become a significant risk, so it was necessary to shield their identities.

 

Gee, I wonder who to side with here?

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Another day with this... Now Ontario MP Pierre Poilievre has some choice words regarding the firing of Lisa LaFlamme. Notice in the following quote that he's referring to Bell, the telecom company, which owns CTV through its Bell Media subsidiary.

Quote

So now we're hearing more stories of interference in news content by Bell Canada. It's disappointing but not surprising.

 

He says it's "not surprising" not only because it's yet another addition to Bell Media's history of newsroom interference, but also because LaFlamme's firing is one more reason as to why Canadians are leaving traditional media for other news sources. I bet that's the "changing viewer habits" Bell Media was (indirectly) referring to?

 

The article for those who want to see it: https://www.nsnews.com/bc-news/laflamme-firing-disappointing-but-not-surprising-poilievre-5755711

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Katie Couric with some choice words of her own in an Instagram post regarding the firing (the coverage never ends)...

Quote

[Lisa LaFlamme]...was unceremoniously dumped by CTV because…well…perhaps because she let her hair go gray or she was making too much $$$ or the guys in charge are idiots...the way this was handled was really boneheaded. Needless to say, this has created a major PR disaster for the folks in charge at CTV. We need to see women aging in every arena. Basically, this sucks. 

 

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/katie-couric-lisa-laflamme-ctv

 

You know the drill by now.

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41 minutes ago, DJonNews said:

Katie Couric with some choice words of her own in an Instagram post regarding the firing (the coverage never ends)...

 

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/katie-couric-lisa-laflamme-ctv

 

You know the drill by now.

Considering Katie Couric’s history (see her latest book, if you can stomach it), she really shouldn’t be commenting here. That said, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

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Omar Sachedina began his run at CTV National News this past Monday. At the end of the broadcast, he addressed Lisa LaFlamme’s departure. Reaction has been mixed; some viewers acknowledge that Sachedina was put in a tough spot, while others think that he is simply towing the corporate line.

Sachedina is in an impossible position. He is more than likely a decent man and a good journalist, and he certainly had nothing to do with LaFlamme’s ouster. That said, his initial response to the firing was extremely tone deaf. That alone made him an even bigger punching bag than he already would’ve been (which is likely what the Bell suits want to deflect the attention from them).

Edited by nycnewsjunkie
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1 hour ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

Omar Sachedina began his run at CTV National News this past Monday. At the end of the broadcast, he addressed Lisa LaFlamme’s departure. Reaction has been mixed; some viewers acknowledge that Sachedina was put in a tough spot, while others think that he is simply towing the corporate line.

Sachedina is in an impossible position. He is more than likely a decent man and a good journalist, and he certainly had nothing to do with LaFlamme’s ouster. That said, his initial response to the firing was extremely tone deaf. That alone made him an even bigger punching bag than he already would’ve been (which is likely what the Bell suits want to deflect the attention from them).

 

You can tell he feels very sorry for Lisa and everything that's happened over the past month, but I feel that he's in a very tough situation. I believe he's the first Muslim to anchor a Canadian newscast which would've been talked about all over the country, but it won't because people are obviously very upset over the treatment of Lisa. I feel very sorry for Omar for becoming the new anchor under these circumstances. 

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6 hours ago, Newsjunkie24 said:

You can tell he feels very sorry for Lisa and everything that's happened over the past month, but I feel that he's in a very tough situation. I believe he's the first Muslim to anchor a Canadian newscast which would've been talked about all over the country, but it won't because people are obviously very upset over the treatment of Lisa. I feel very sorry for Omar for becoming the new anchor under these circumstances. 

This is a case where Omar wishes he wasn’t Lisa’s replacement; He wishes he was the replacements replacement. 

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Lisa LaFlamme has joined CityNews to be a special correspondent for coverage of the queens death. She will report from London. 
 

it’s unclear in the release of this is only a temp gig for coverage of the Queen, or if this could lead to something more permanent 

 

https://ottawa.citynews.ca/local-news/lisa-laflamme-to-join-citynews-as-lead-correspondent-following-queens-death-5798651

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27 minutes ago, nickp said:

It's good PR for Rogers 

Yeah, that’s about all it is. Even if they end up launching a national operation (I doubt they will, it’s Rogers), they’ll inevitably dump her just like they’ve dumped other longtime staff. Rogers is just as culpable as Bell for creating a horrible media environment in Canada.

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  • 3 months later...
On 12/20/2022 at 10:52 AM, atlnews2 said:

A token gesture if you ask me. However, it will be enough for most people to forget about the whole thing. I suppose that’s good for Omar Sachedina, who’s been unfairly maligned as a result of this, but I doubt that the underlying issues at CTV are actually going to be addressed.

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