Bell Media president, Wade Oosterman, has recently expressed his desire for news managers to take a more “balanced perspective” and provide a “positive spin” in stories related to Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE).
According to a detailed report by The Globe and Mail, which includes an audio recording of Oosterman and information shared by two former news managers, this request was made during a meeting on August 24th, following the dismissal of CTV anchor Lisa LaFlamme.
The news managers revealed that Oosterman criticized LaFlamme’s coverage for being too favorable towards the federal Liberal government. In the recording, Oosterman mentioned the need to address a situation where they were ignoring a significant portion of their viewers.
In the same recording, Oosterman emphasized the role of CTV journalists in “helping” with reporting on BCE. However, he did caution against becoming mere mouthpieces for the corporation. Oosterman provided an example of choosing a positive headline about the rise in profits instead of focusing on flat revenue when reporting on Bell’s finances.
Oosterman said, “But for God’s sake, if there is a choice between helping and not helping – help,” emphasizing the importance of supporting the corporation in news coverage.
These comments from Oosterman seem to contradict BCE’s policy on journalistic independence, which was introduced in 2015 after the removal of Kevin Crull, the then-president of Bell Media, for interfering in the coverage of a regulatory decision.
In response to the report, BCE’s senior vice president of communications stated that the company’s journalistic code allows executives to offer ideas for news coverage, but the final decisions are made by editors.
Oosterman also discussed the need to maximize the impact of delivering content to their 24 million screens to avoid cost-cutting measures.
“The economics of news are dismal,” Oosterman acknowledged, further stating, “If we don’t attract more viewers, we need to seriously consider cost-effectiveness.”
This report by The Globe and Mail follows Bell’s recent announcement of cutting 1,300 positions and closing or selling nine radio stations in response to what the company claims are unfavorable regulatory conditions. Additionally, Bell has approached the CRTC to request a relaxation of its spending and airtime requirements for local television news.
Source: The Globe and Mail
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