CTV executive behind Laflamme departure takes immediate leave
Michael Melling ‘to spend time with his family’
CTV vice-president Michael Melling has gone on leave less than two weeks after the ouster of news anchor Lisa Laflamme.
“I want to let you know that Michael Melling has decided to take leave from his current role effective immediately to spend time with his family,” reads an internal memo by senior vice-president Karine Moses and obtained by various media on Friday evening.
“His decision reflects our shared desire to support the newsroom and do what’s best to help the team move past the current circumstances to focus on delivering the stories that matter to Canadians.”
Melling was a central figure in the abrupt dismissal of one of the country’s most prominent TV anchors, which prompted widespread backlash and a national conversation about sexism and age discrimination in the media.
Laflamme, the face of Canada’s most-viewed nightly newscast since 2011, posted a video to Twitter on Aug. 15 announcing that she had been informed in late June that her career with CTV News was over, after parent company Bell Media decided to end her contract. She had worked for the network for 35 years and had just under two years left on her contract, according to the Globe and Mail.
“I was blindsided and am still shocked and saddened by Bell Media’s decision,” Laflamme said, adding that she had been asked to keep her firing confidential for weeks.
“At 58, I still thought I’d have a lot more time to tell more of the stories that impact our daily lives,” she told followers. “While it is crushing to be leaving CTV National News in a manner that is not my choice, please know reporting to you has truly been the greatest honour of my life and I thank you for always being there.”
In response, CTV issued a statement saying it had made a “business decision” to pursue a “different direction” for the chief news anchor role, citing “changing viewer habits.” The network announced that national affairs correspondent Omar Sachedina, 39, would step into the role.
Laflamme’s firing drew swift condemnation from viewers, colleagues in the media and prominent Canadians, including Anne Murray. Some called for Melling’s ouster, and CTV News was reportedly forced to do damage control with its own employees.
The network announced it would initiate an independent, third-party “internal workplace review of our newsroom.”
Several reports suggested various factors behind Laflamme’s firing, including clashes between the anchor and Melling over resources for coverage of the war in Ukraine and the fact that Laflamme had let her hair go grey.
Laflamme made headlines when she stopped dyeing her hair in 2020. During a special year-in-review broadcast, she told viewers that the pandemic had prevented her from visiting her hairstylist, and she was tired of spraying her roots each day before going on air, according to the Globe and Mail. “I finally said, ‘Why bother? I’m going grey,’ she said. “Honestly, if I had known the lockdown could be so liberating on that front I would have done it a lot sooner.”
The move resonated with Canadian women, but it apparently irritated Melling.
A senior CTV official told the Globe and Mail that Melling had asked who had approved the decision to “let Lisa’s hair go grey” and later commented on the purple hue of Laflamme’s locks under studio lighting.
Canadian women took to Twitter to celebrate the former anchor for owning her age.
“Lisa Laflamme allowed herself to age on camera and in doing so gave me the confidence to shine in my natural beauty as I age,” one Twitter user, Sarah M, wrote, calling CTV News’ decision “a massive mistake.”
Others worried that Laflamme’s firing would send a message to middle-aged women that they could face professional consequences if they opted for a more natural look.
Many suggested sexism and ageism had played a role in Laflamme’s dismissal. Some media experts pointed out that her predecessor, Lloyd Robertson, retired from the chief anchor role at 77 and was given an on-air send off.