Issue 114 – August 2022
Weasel words only get you in deeper trouble
Using weasel words to try to hide the facts is never a good idea. The truth always, always comes out sooner or later.
Two weeks after Bell Media and CTV announced that their Chief News Anchor and Senior Editor, Lisa LaFlamme, was leaving after 35 years, the uproar continues. It’s a dumpster fire set with weasel words and fanned by rumours of ageism, sexism and a toxic work environment. Phew!
You could smell the BS right from the headline, “Lisa LaFlamme Departs CTV News,” as if the departure was her choice.
“Recognizing changing viewer habits, CTV recently advised LaFlamme that it had made the business decision to move its acclaimed news show, CTV NATIONAL NEWS, and the role of its Chief News Anchor in a different direction…”
LaFlamme herself posted a dignified summary of what had happened on Twitter, saying she was “blindsided.” She was told there was a “new direction” on June 29 and had to keep quiet about it until the August 15 announcement. There’s still no word on what this “new direction” is.
Social media and news channels across Canada and around the world have picked up the story. LaFlamme’s age (58) appears to have been a factor in the “new direction,” although her male predecessor retired at 77 with appropriate long and fond public goodbyes. She was also criticized for letting her hair go grey over the pandemic.
Bell denies that age, gender or grey hair played into the decision, but we’re not buying it. Reaction includes Wendy’s changing its red-haired mascot’s hair grey on social media, and Dove running ads talking about women with grey hair “being edged out of the workplace.”
There may have been no way to make this palatable to the viewers who made the newscast one of Canada’s most popular. Still, executives could have tried to explain the “viewer habits” and the “business decision.” They could have tried to explain the different direction, although clearly the Chief News Anchor’s different direction was out the door.
Let’s play ‘guess what the weasel words mean’
Using weasel words to try to hide the facts is never a good idea. The truth always, always comes out sooner or later. Better to be honest (“transparent,” as companies like to call it) from the start. Like this:
- Weasel words: Lisa LaFlamme is departing the network (We’ve cancelled Lisa’s contract)
- Weasel words: Recognizing changing viewer habits (Our efforts to reach a younger and more diverse audience aren’t working?)
- Weasel words: We’ve made the business decision (We’re introducing a younger person of colour to reach this audience? We need to cut costs so we’re giving the job to someone more junior? We’re giving the job to someone who doesn’t have grey hair?)
- Weasel words: Moving the news show in a different direction (We’re trying to reach a younger and more diverse audience?)
On August 19, Bell Media held a town hall meeting with employees. Its stated purpose was answering staff questions, but a leaked transcript shows more weasel words, few answers and a demoralized staff.
Bell Media has since released a statement that said they are “taking steps to initiate” an independent third-party internal workplace review of their newsroom. Notice they aren’t committing to a review, they’re taking steps.
And on August 26, an internal memo added more weasel words about the Bell Media executive at the centre of it all. Michael Melling has apparently "decided to leave from his current role effective immediately to spend time with his family.”
I can only hope there weren’t any communications people involved in this mess. If there were, they should be ashamed.
What’s your take on this whole sorry situation? I’d love to hear.
Related reading:
Firing of Lisa LaFlamme sends discouraging message to young journalists, experts say
“She should have been fired when she was 50” – Satirical take from The Beaverton
Recently in the Red Jacket Diaries:
Writing that’s awful, and sometimes awfully funny
Writing tips you might have missed in ICYMI, August edition
© Copyright 2022 Get It Write. All rights reserved. She/her. Find me online at GetItWrite.ca, connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on Twitter. And why not subscribe to Wordnerdery?