Lisa Laflamme Bell Media Firing Reality Check. By Jamie Gilcig

August 22, 2022 – You know it’s a slow day when the firing of a talking head garners so much media attention.

It’s hard to be a journalist in 2022. We media outlets have lost our revenue streams thanks to government deregulation, and essentially strangulation of most media in Canada. It happens all over the world too; it’s just we Canadians think better of ourselves, and yet we’re just as thuggish as other countries when it comes to journalism.

In the olden days a company like Bell would never be allowed to own a national media outlet like CTV. There is no unbiased optics even. Would any reasonable person for example expect a full core coverage of any foul doings by Bell or any of its many subsidiaries? Bad reviews? Much criticism at all?

You have companies integrating and essentially using media platforms of all sorts to push their products, and beliefs.

Amazon Prime video helps push a lot of Amazon streams of service and products.

While it might make sense to the stock market, it doesn’t really make sense for those that would seek real journalism. Where both sides are most times showed so that people can try and make up their opinions rather than be steered.

In the US for example, media have become partisan and essentially radicalized. The CNN and Fox comparisons for example which impact the country, and world, directly come to mind. It’s as though you “choose” the news instead of gain it. It’s become opinion driven more than fact driven, and too many people can’t tell the very real difference between opinion and facts; ie editorial & actual news.

Btw, feel free if you’re still reading to send us an email interec viewer donation (to info@cornwallfreenews.com) because we don’t get corporate or government cash and essentially live on the good wishes of a few souls.

As for Ms Laflamme. The talking head of any media outlet is in fact based on how they look and sadly which group(s) they belong too. The day of experienced old white men dishing are pretty much done as outlets race to find visible minorities of all sorts. That’s their business choice. The could be wrong and they could be right, but they have the choice to do what they wish as long as they pay for the privilege and don’t break the laws of the land.

Ms Laflamme clearly put this video out AFTER resolving her financials with Bell Media. This wasn’t someone being escorted out of their office. And while the optics of the mess are very real and Bell handled this very poorly it really doesn’t look like anything other than their business choice.

For example, some pundits are saying that her choice to go aux natural with her hair was a factor. Well it may have been. If Bell wants a younger demographic would they want an older looking talking head?

When you make it to the top of the mountain, as Lisa did, you surely know that there are others who would want to be there too, and many of the factors to how long you stay are within your control. Your appearance and behaviour are factors.

At the end of the day Bell Media is getting millions of dollars worth of exposure, including this story, and as all stories do, this will die down and a new story will replace it. It should be interesting to see where Ms Laflamme ends. But if Megyn Kelly can leave old school media and branch out on her own maybe Lisa can to? Or maybe she’ll just end up on CBC.

The bigger issue is how fast audiences are dropping for corded media and the Beeb. Real people vote with their wallets and their keyboards now. If the product just isn’t that good, no matter which political rhetoric you try and push, it won’t do well. Just ask the team of the new Batgirl movie that was dumped.

jamie@cornwallfreenews.com

1 Comment

  1. Well said Jamie!

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