, Bell Media President Wade Oosterman told news managers he wanted a more “balanced perspective” in news coverage and suggested they provide a “positive spin” on stories about parent company Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., said he was intent on trying to inject more balance into CTV news programming to attract more “eyeballs” and prevent budget cuts because of declining audiences.
“We cannot have a situation where we actively ignore I would say half of the viewers. We have got to fix that. I am not going to say howIn the same conversation, Mr. Oosterman said CTV journalists should be helpful in reporting on the telecom giant whenever possible, although he stressed that he did not want them to “shill for the corporation. I am not saying to distort reality to help.”
He also described BCE as a “jewel,” and “for the life of me, I cannot figure out why we are so reticent to embrace that.” In a statement Monday, Tammy Scott, senior vice-president of communications at BCE, said the journalistic code of conduct does allow BCE executives to “offer ideas for news coverage to Bell Media News teams,” but she stressed decisions on coverage are made by editors.
Mr. Oosterman said he was “incredibly disappointed” that many of the details of an Aug. 18 townhall about Ms. LaFlamme’s“We are not a company that is mean-spirited or tries purposely to damage people. I tell you 100 per cent unequivocally Lisa is not no longer with us because of the colour of her hair or her gender or her age,” he said.
The executive warned that CTV was losing audiences “at a quicker rate here than elsewhere” to on-demand and digital-streaming services and that the network must deliver compelling content or face steep cuts.