News anchor Lisa LaFlamme 'shocked' after CTV replaces her with Omar Sachedina
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She got hired briefly to cover the queen's death, but i believe it's been unemployment for her since. She was still getting a lot of public support then, now that people have forgotten about this it's less attractive to hire her.
Would not surprise me in the slightest. All about ageism in the journalistic world i'm sure. She'll probably call it " a million shades of grey".
Bell just promoted Michael Melling, the man who fired Lisa LaFlamme
It’s hard to conclude that LaFlamme wasn’t part of the problem at CTV National
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Dec 20, 2022 • Last updated 13 hours ago • 3 minute read
Bell Canada has promoted the man who fired Lisa LaFlamme this year following an internal, independent review of the workplace culture at Bell Media.
If you had any lingering thoughts that Bell didn’t fully back the decision to part ways with LaFlamme, drop them now.
Much of the coverage of the announcement by Bell has portrayed the news as Michael Melling being shuffled out of the top job at Bell Media. While that’s true — Melling has been replaced by one of my former bosses, Richard Gray — he’s been named vice-president of shared services for all of Bell Canada.
That’s a bigger job inside the overall company than running Bell Media, even if it isn’t as high-profile.
LaFlamme’s ouster as anchor of CTV National News in August shocked many and created a backlash against Bell from supporters of the longtime journalist. While LaFlamme didn’t say it directly, her supporters blamed her firing on ageism and sexism.
They pointed to concerns about her hair having gone grey during the pandemic. They pointed out she wasn’t given a chance to say goodbye on air like former longtime anchor Lloyd Robertson had been allowed to do.
What few media outlets covering the controversy did was ask LaFlamme’s coworkers what it was like to work alongside her or what the work culture was like.
Discussions with more than a dozen people who had worked with LaFlamme over the years painted a complex picture. While she had her supporters, she definitely had her critics, especially among female staff who believed LaFlamme and her then executive producer, Rosa Hwang, oversaw a toxic workplace at CTV National News.
Requests for comment last summer, when these allegations were made, were never answered by LaFlamme, Hwang or Bell.
“When I started reading the stories about the toxic work environment on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, it was like reading about the CTV newsroom,” said one source.
“Rosa was Lisa’s bad cop,” said another longtime co-worker of the pair.
Words like tyrannical, vicious and mean were used to describe the work environment.
That’s not how everyone felt, though, with several stepping forward to defend LaFlamme.
“I don’t find her toxic. She’s demanding, but she was the lead anchor for a national newscast,” said one longtime associate, who described the encouraging emails or notes they would get from LaFlamme.
A group of on-air personalities, some of them the most senior at CTV News, tried to push back internally, even talking about wearing a silver ribbon on camera in support of LaFlamme.
The now completed internal review found that CTV National has a “culture where people are sometimes afraid to raise concerns for fear of reprisal or inaction.” The review also found that there is a “need for greater civility and respect in the newsroom.”
Sounds exactly like what was being described by CTV employees back in August and September when LaFlamme’s name and story dominated headlines.
Only those in the newsroom will know what truly happened, but after hearing so many first-hand accounts, it’s hard to conclude LaFlamme wasn’t part of the problem at CTV National. As a former Bell Media on-air personality, someone who worked for various arms of the company over the years, there are deeper problems in the workplace.
That can be seen by the three high-profile complaints Bell is dealing with involving other former on-air personalities including the Sun’s Jamil Jivani, Patricia Jaggernauth (formerly of CP24) and Danielle Graham, who was on eTalk. Among the three cases are claims of racism, sexism and poor working conditions.
It doesn’t look like the HR headaches that plagued Bell Media in 2022 will disappear in 2023. In fact, they might simply get worse.
blilley@postmedia.com
torontosun.com
It’s hard to conclude that LaFlamme wasn’t part of the problem at CTV National
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Dec 20, 2022 • Last updated 13 hours ago • 3 minute read
Bell Canada has promoted the man who fired Lisa LaFlamme this year following an internal, independent review of the workplace culture at Bell Media.
If you had any lingering thoughts that Bell didn’t fully back the decision to part ways with LaFlamme, drop them now.
Much of the coverage of the announcement by Bell has portrayed the news as Michael Melling being shuffled out of the top job at Bell Media. While that’s true — Melling has been replaced by one of my former bosses, Richard Gray — he’s been named vice-president of shared services for all of Bell Canada.
That’s a bigger job inside the overall company than running Bell Media, even if it isn’t as high-profile.
LaFlamme’s ouster as anchor of CTV National News in August shocked many and created a backlash against Bell from supporters of the longtime journalist. While LaFlamme didn’t say it directly, her supporters blamed her firing on ageism and sexism.
They pointed to concerns about her hair having gone grey during the pandemic. They pointed out she wasn’t given a chance to say goodbye on air like former longtime anchor Lloyd Robertson had been allowed to do.
What few media outlets covering the controversy did was ask LaFlamme’s coworkers what it was like to work alongside her or what the work culture was like.
Discussions with more than a dozen people who had worked with LaFlamme over the years painted a complex picture. While she had her supporters, she definitely had her critics, especially among female staff who believed LaFlamme and her then executive producer, Rosa Hwang, oversaw a toxic workplace at CTV National News.
Requests for comment last summer, when these allegations were made, were never answered by LaFlamme, Hwang or Bell.
“When I started reading the stories about the toxic work environment on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, it was like reading about the CTV newsroom,” said one source.
“Rosa was Lisa’s bad cop,” said another longtime co-worker of the pair.
Words like tyrannical, vicious and mean were used to describe the work environment.
That’s not how everyone felt, though, with several stepping forward to defend LaFlamme.
“I don’t find her toxic. She’s demanding, but she was the lead anchor for a national newscast,” said one longtime associate, who described the encouraging emails or notes they would get from LaFlamme.
A group of on-air personalities, some of them the most senior at CTV News, tried to push back internally, even talking about wearing a silver ribbon on camera in support of LaFlamme.
The now completed internal review found that CTV National has a “culture where people are sometimes afraid to raise concerns for fear of reprisal or inaction.” The review also found that there is a “need for greater civility and respect in the newsroom.”
Sounds exactly like what was being described by CTV employees back in August and September when LaFlamme’s name and story dominated headlines.
Only those in the newsroom will know what truly happened, but after hearing so many first-hand accounts, it’s hard to conclude LaFlamme wasn’t part of the problem at CTV National. As a former Bell Media on-air personality, someone who worked for various arms of the company over the years, there are deeper problems in the workplace.
That can be seen by the three high-profile complaints Bell is dealing with involving other former on-air personalities including the Sun’s Jamil Jivani, Patricia Jaggernauth (formerly of CP24) and Danielle Graham, who was on eTalk. Among the three cases are claims of racism, sexism and poor working conditions.
It doesn’t look like the HR headaches that plagued Bell Media in 2022 will disappear in 2023. In fact, they might simply get worse.
blilley@postmedia.com
LILLEY: Bell just promoted Michael Melling, the man who fired Lisa LaFlamme
Michael Melling was vilified when CTV National parted ways with Lisa LaFlamme, he's now in charge of a significant operation inside Bell.
With two more firings, CTV ends Lisa LaFlamme saga
CTV's Lisa LaFlamme chapter is finally coming to an end.
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Jun 16, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
The layoffs this week at Bell Media bring an end to the Lisa LaFlamme story that rocked the company almost a year ago. As part of the layoffs, two of the main characters in the LaFlamme saga — Rosa Hwang and Michael Melling — have now left the company.
Hwang was LaFlamme’s long-time executive producer and right hand in executing her vision at CTV National News. Melling was the man who was sent in by Bell to update CTV National News and often clashed with the pair until LaFlamme’s departure.
Last summer, in response to the controversy surrounding LaFlamme’s exit, Melling was put on leave and never came back to the newsroom.
What’s interesting is that when LaFlamme was pushed out at CTV, she had a loud and boisterous group of people come to her defence publicly and privately. One group chat of journalists at CTV even discussed wearing silver ribbons on air, a hat tip to LaFlamme’s silver hair, to show displeasure with management.
Since the news of 1,300 layoffs at Bell broke Wednesday morning, including many high-profile journalists at Bell Media, LaFlamme’s Twitter account has been silent on this issue. She hasn’t issued a statement to express sympathy or solidarity, not even for Hwang who worked alongside her for years.
On Tuesday evening, LaFlamme was being feted by journalists at the Canadian Journalism Awards Gala, mostly because she became a cause celebre after her firing. On Wednesday morning, many of those she worked with were laid off, including Hwang, and LaFlamme has stayed quiet.
“Yes, it’s true. My relationship with CTV News ended today. But reminder — my relationship with my former CTV News colleagues did not. I’m proud of the work we did together, but I’m even prouder of the lifelong friendships formed. Thank you all,” Hwang tweeted on Wednesday.
The entire saga began long before last summer.
When Wendy Freeman left as head of CTV News in January 2022 after 12 years on the job, the company sent in Melling with orders to take the flagship operation in a new direction, including one that would see a digital-first outlook.
The plan had worked at BNN Bloomberg and at CP24, Bell Media’s Toronto-focused all-news station. When it came to web traffic, CP24 was nipping at the heels of CTV National despite much greater resources going into the national product.
LaFlamme and Hwang didn’t like Melling’s plans to change the news operation or to split up the dynamic duo. The pair had a long-standing working relationship but according to several sources who worked with them over several years, LaFlamme and Hwang were seen as contributing to a toxic work environment.
Hwang fought the decision to send her from CTV National to go run CP24 and LaFlamme backed her. They also fought attempts to curtail travel for stories bristling at suggestions that some trips couldn’t happen, or the size of the entourage would have to be reduced.
Mostly, LaFlamme objected to changes in how news would be reported and delivered, including Melling’s digital-first strategy. She wanted stories held for the national newscast at 11 p.m., not broken and posted on a website in the middle of the afternoon.
It was these factors, more than anything about hair colour or age, that soured the relationship between LaFlamme and Melling and eventually between LaFlamme and Bell Media. The company handled her dismissal horribly and the biggest broadcaster in the country was beaten on this story by a woman who posted a single video online recorded on a cell phone.
Yet, the narrative that would emerge, about LaFlamme being fired for her hair going grey, was completely false.
Now, almost a year after LaFlamme departed, her chapter and CTV and Bell Media comes to a close with the departure of Hwang and Melling and a lot of talented journalists who were let go on Tuesday.
torontosun.com
CTV's Lisa LaFlamme chapter is finally coming to an end.
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Jun 16, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
The layoffs this week at Bell Media bring an end to the Lisa LaFlamme story that rocked the company almost a year ago. As part of the layoffs, two of the main characters in the LaFlamme saga — Rosa Hwang and Michael Melling — have now left the company.
Hwang was LaFlamme’s long-time executive producer and right hand in executing her vision at CTV National News. Melling was the man who was sent in by Bell to update CTV National News and often clashed with the pair until LaFlamme’s departure.
Last summer, in response to the controversy surrounding LaFlamme’s exit, Melling was put on leave and never came back to the newsroom.
What’s interesting is that when LaFlamme was pushed out at CTV, she had a loud and boisterous group of people come to her defence publicly and privately. One group chat of journalists at CTV even discussed wearing silver ribbons on air, a hat tip to LaFlamme’s silver hair, to show displeasure with management.
Since the news of 1,300 layoffs at Bell broke Wednesday morning, including many high-profile journalists at Bell Media, LaFlamme’s Twitter account has been silent on this issue. She hasn’t issued a statement to express sympathy or solidarity, not even for Hwang who worked alongside her for years.
On Tuesday evening, LaFlamme was being feted by journalists at the Canadian Journalism Awards Gala, mostly because she became a cause celebre after her firing. On Wednesday morning, many of those she worked with were laid off, including Hwang, and LaFlamme has stayed quiet.
“Yes, it’s true. My relationship with CTV News ended today. But reminder — my relationship with my former CTV News colleagues did not. I’m proud of the work we did together, but I’m even prouder of the lifelong friendships formed. Thank you all,” Hwang tweeted on Wednesday.
The entire saga began long before last summer.
When Wendy Freeman left as head of CTV News in January 2022 after 12 years on the job, the company sent in Melling with orders to take the flagship operation in a new direction, including one that would see a digital-first outlook.
The plan had worked at BNN Bloomberg and at CP24, Bell Media’s Toronto-focused all-news station. When it came to web traffic, CP24 was nipping at the heels of CTV National despite much greater resources going into the national product.
LaFlamme and Hwang didn’t like Melling’s plans to change the news operation or to split up the dynamic duo. The pair had a long-standing working relationship but according to several sources who worked with them over several years, LaFlamme and Hwang were seen as contributing to a toxic work environment.
Hwang fought the decision to send her from CTV National to go run CP24 and LaFlamme backed her. They also fought attempts to curtail travel for stories bristling at suggestions that some trips couldn’t happen, or the size of the entourage would have to be reduced.
Mostly, LaFlamme objected to changes in how news would be reported and delivered, including Melling’s digital-first strategy. She wanted stories held for the national newscast at 11 p.m., not broken and posted on a website in the middle of the afternoon.
It was these factors, more than anything about hair colour or age, that soured the relationship between LaFlamme and Melling and eventually between LaFlamme and Bell Media. The company handled her dismissal horribly and the biggest broadcaster in the country was beaten on this story by a woman who posted a single video online recorded on a cell phone.
Yet, the narrative that would emerge, about LaFlamme being fired for her hair going grey, was completely false.
Now, almost a year after LaFlamme departed, her chapter and CTV and Bell Media comes to a close with the departure of Hwang and Melling and a lot of talented journalists who were let go on Tuesday.
LILLEY: With two more firings, CTV ends Lisa LaFlamme saga
The layoffs this week at Bell Media bring an end to the Lisa LaFlamme story.
Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE Inc.) has left workers reeling after announcing plans on Thursday to cut nine per cent of its workforce — 4,800 jobs across the country — in a historic and unprecedented mass layoff.
On top of the workers that have been or will be let go, Bell also announced it would be selling off 45 radio stations, closing more than 100 The Source stores and ending most of its noon and weekend newscasts.
“Restructuring decisions are incredibly tough for all of us because it affects the people we work with and care about,” Bell's CEO Mirko Bibic wrote in a company-wide letter.
Bibic told staff the company estimated the cuts could save BCE up to $250 million a year. He also said that the company’s news operations are losing roughly $40 million a year and ad revenues had fallen by $140 million in 2023, compared with a year earlier. Bell's cuts also follow CBC and Radio-Canada's move to layoff 600 workers and end some of its programming in December to help meet a $125-million budget shortfall.
Weekday noon broadcasts will end at all CTV stations except in Toronto
CTV's weekend 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. newscasts are ending for all stations except in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa
CTV's evening programs — The Debate, This Hour and Top 3 Tonight — are all being shut down and being replaced by a weekday nightly news broadcast
BNN Bloomberg's weekday daytime programming is also being "streamlined," to "reduce the number of separate broadcasts"
Bell Media's CEO among the highest paid executives in Canada
Just last month, weeks before Bell's seismic layoffs, Bibic was named Canada's 38th highest paid CEO in a list published by Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
In 2022, Bibic made over $13.5 million in total compensation, up from the $11 million he made the year before. He climbed fourteen spots to from 2021 to join the ranks of Canada's top 50 highest paid executives.
apple.news
Bell Media is ending multiple television newscasts and making other programming cuts after its parent company announced widespread layoffs and the sale of 45 of its 103 regional radio stations.
Bell has fought other regulatory decisions over the past year that it says makes things harder for its struggling broadcast division.
That includes an October application to the Federal Court of Appeal seeking to overturn a CRTC decision that renewed its broadcast licences for three more years. It argued that decision was made without a public hearing and could result in the regulator prejudging its requests last June to waive local news and Canadian programming requirements for its television stations.
Bell's decision to lay off thousands of its employees — including hundreds of journalists — has drawn the ire of the federal heritage minister, who said Thursday the telecom giant has broken a long-held promise to deliver quality local news.
Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill after Bell said it would slash 4,800 jobs, Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said past governments allowed the company to consolidate media and buy up local TV and radio assets in exchange for a commitment to maintain these services.
apple.news
St-Onge said it's not like Bell is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy…like the CBC (?) who said it expects to cut 600 jobs this year?
"They're (Bell) still making billions of dollars. They're still a very profitable company and they still have the capacity and the means to hold up their end of the bargain, which is to deliver news reports," she said.
Bell said the layoffs were prompted in part by "increasingly unsupportive federal government and regulatory decisions," a reference to a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decision that demands Bell allow wholesale access to its fibre networks.
On top of the workers that have been or will be let go, Bell also announced it would be selling off 45 radio stations, closing more than 100 The Source stores and ending most of its noon and weekend newscasts.
“Restructuring decisions are incredibly tough for all of us because it affects the people we work with and care about,” Bell's CEO Mirko Bibic wrote in a company-wide letter.
Bibic told staff the company estimated the cuts could save BCE up to $250 million a year. He also said that the company’s news operations are losing roughly $40 million a year and ad revenues had fallen by $140 million in 2023, compared with a year earlier. Bell's cuts also follow CBC and Radio-Canada's move to layoff 600 workers and end some of its programming in December to help meet a $125-million budget shortfall.
Weekday noon broadcasts will end at all CTV stations except in Toronto
CTV's weekend 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. newscasts are ending for all stations except in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa
CTV's evening programs — The Debate, This Hour and Top 3 Tonight — are all being shut down and being replaced by a weekday nightly news broadcast
BNN Bloomberg's weekday daytime programming is also being "streamlined," to "reduce the number of separate broadcasts"
Bell Media's CEO among the highest paid executives in Canada
Just last month, weeks before Bell's seismic layoffs, Bibic was named Canada's 38th highest paid CEO in a list published by Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
In 2022, Bibic made over $13.5 million in total compensation, up from the $11 million he made the year before. He climbed fourteen spots to from 2021 to join the ranks of Canada's top 50 highest paid executives.
CTV cancelling most noon and weekend newscasts as Bell cuts 4,800 jobs. Here's what shows are coming to an end — Toronto Star
W5, currently in its 58th season, will cease being a standalone series. The layoffs of a historic magnitude come just after a report that Bell Media's CEO landed in the top 50 best paid executives in Canada in 2022.
Bell has fought other regulatory decisions over the past year that it says makes things harder for its struggling broadcast division.
That includes an October application to the Federal Court of Appeal seeking to overturn a CRTC decision that renewed its broadcast licences for three more years. It argued that decision was made without a public hearing and could result in the regulator prejudging its requests last June to waive local news and Canadian programming requirements for its television stations.
Bell's decision to lay off thousands of its employees — including hundreds of journalists — has drawn the ire of the federal heritage minister, who said Thursday the telecom giant has broken a long-held promise to deliver quality local news.
Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill after Bell said it would slash 4,800 jobs, Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said past governments allowed the company to consolidate media and buy up local TV and radio assets in exchange for a commitment to maintain these services.
Bell Media in the political crosshairs as heritage minister calls job cuts 'extremely disappointing' — CBC News
Bell's decision to lay off thousands of its employees — including hundreds of journalists — has drawn the ire of the federal heritage minister, who said Thursday the telecom giant has broken a long-held promise to deliver quality local news.
"They're (Bell) still making billions of dollars. They're still a very profitable company and they still have the capacity and the means to hold up their end of the bargain, which is to deliver news reports," she said.
Bell said the layoffs were prompted in part by "increasingly unsupportive federal government and regulatory decisions," a reference to a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decision that demands Bell allow wholesale access to its fibre networks.
Just gotta get it down to approved licensed bloggers who are relatives of politicians, with the correct opinions.
Preferably from the Laurentian triangle, with the correct left pedigrees, to report the approved opinions, avoiding what the current government considers misinformation & cisinformation & disinformation from racist misogynists with unacceptable opinions.
Positions open to everybody, but selection isn’t. Good times. Get a VPN.
Good idea. That way you'll never, ever have to hear anything that opposes, or even casts question upon, Da Troof!