Communications company mangles the message By: Editorial Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Friday, Sep. 2, 2022

Opinion

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This article was published 01/09/2022 (845 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadians are connected coast to coast by thousands of kilometres of fibreoptic cable and hundreds of cellphone towers, requiring personnel who have trained for years to install and repair sophisticated equipment to keep the lines of communication open.

Creating and maintaining this vital infrastructure has helped telecommunications companies make a fortune in Canada over the years, to the point that some are among the country’s largest corporations. Their tentacles have stretched out to embrace other businesses, such as sports franchises and arenas, television networks and streaming services.

Bell Canada is one such corporation, and one of its subsidiaries, Bell Media Inc., which owns the CTV network, has recently faced a barrage of bad publicity over how it cut ties with Lisa LaFlamme, the anchor of its flagship CTV National News.

Ms. LaFlamme, 58, announced on social media Aug. 15 that CTV had ended her contract and concluded her 11-year tenure in one of the country’s most prestigious and visible TV jobs.

CTV executives’ actions since Ms. LaFlamme’s announcement have created a public-relations disaster, the corner-office equivalent to a telephone line worker who forgets their safety harness and falls off a pole.

The reasoned and calm communicator usually triumphs in the court of public opinion, which is where Ms. LaFlamme rather effectively made her case.

While Ms. LaFlamme remained composed while announcing her news, many of her loyal viewers could not restrain their outrage, especially after a Globe and Mail report cited an anonymous CTV official who said Michael Melling, the head of CTV News, asked who had approved the decision to “let Lisa’s hair go grey” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bell Media has denied such a thing was said, but Mr. Melling — in one of several company pronouncements laden with poor optics — has since taken a leave to spend more time with his family.

Even the venerable Anne Murray condemned CTV’s decision — and when the Snowbird sings, Canadians listen.

Audiences also heard — but clearly did not accept — CTV’s listless defence, which seemed rather patronizing to news viewers who regard Ms. LaFlamme as the equal of other (male) Canadian newscasting greats whose careers ended with tributes, celebration and grand farewells.

What CTV hasn’t said — beyond a blanket assertion of “business decision” — are the reasons why Ms. LaFlamme was let go. Confidentiality agreements were cited, and a requisite expression of enthusiasm was directed toward her replacement, CTV News national correspondent Omar Sachedina.

Bell Media has faced criticism in the past after sudden layoffs of high-profile personalities — including in November 2019, when it abruptly cast aside Gord Leclerc, CTV Winnipeg’s anchor for a quarter-century. The company has, on numerous occasions, laid off dozens of journalists, radio announcers, editors, producers, camera operators and other staff in cost-cutting measures.

The handling of such decisions has sapped much of the goodwill Bell Media has derived from its mental-health awareness campaign, Bell Let’s Talk, as its corporate decision-making often flies in the face of the annual promotion’s lofty goals.

Perhaps it’s time for Bell Canada, Bell Media and the executives who run the companies to communicate clearly about their businesses and their future. While they have the final say on personnel decisions, they should feel a responsibility to treat their workers with the respect, support and fairness the company takes such great pains to encourage all Canadians to embrace on Let’s Talk Day.

They would also be well advised to treat their audiences with similar respect, since viewers also have the option of a “business decision” that involves a remote-control click that renders all decisions about on-air personalities meaningless.