CTV mourns newsroom executive
Days before LaFlamme firing, staff were reeling from death of senior director
When controversy erupted over the termination of anchor Lisa LaFlamme’s contract this week, the CTV newsroom was already reeling from the death of a beloved colleague.
On Friday evening, journalists working late spotted a post on Facebook that Allan Myers, the beloved 59-year-old senior director of CTV National News, had died.
Staff scrambled to confirm the information and CTV managers wrote an email Saturday to share news that family members had confirmed Myers’ death.
“A wonderful friend and colleague to so many, Allan and his remarkable work will always be close to our hearts,” according to the note to staff from CTV vice-president Michael Melling and managing editor David Hughes.
On Monday morning, CTV National News chief anchor and senior editor LaFlamme announced in a Twitter video that Bell Media had “blindsided” her by ending her contract. Public backlash was instantaneous, with critics alleging sexism and ageism as factors. LaFlamme had been anchoring the network’s national news program since 2011, part of a
35-year, award-winning career at CTV.
For friends and colleagues who adored both LaFlamme and Myers, it has been a rough few days.
“We were still reeling about Allan, and then we learned about Lisa’s departure at the same time as the public. It was a double-whammy,” said CTV producer Christy Somos, who worked with both LaFlamme and Myers.
Somos hopes that Myers will be celebrated as a “brilliant maverick” and remembered for his many contributions to film and television, and his “infectious, rambunctious” energy.
“He used to call me Doodlebug and we would lovingly bicker and act out a scene from Devil Wears Prada. He nailed the frosty Miranda Priestly voice,” Somos said, adding that the two enjoyed discussing queer culture, fashion and food together.
Lis Travers, a former CTV general manager, emphasized that Myers’ death is a separate event to any debates surrounding LaFlamme’s sudden departure, but said they were “two shocks in one week.”
Myers was found deceased in his apartment, his family learned Wednesday, confirmed Travers. She was a close friend of Myers and has been in touch with Myers’ family. She said family members are choosing to not share more information at this time.
“We’re all devastated and heartbroken. He was such an amazing person. He was a genius,” Travers told the Star.
She said she would never forget seeing Myers in the control room of CTV National for the first time.
“I felt like I was watching an aerobics class. He was unbelievable. So fast. I’ve never seen anything like it … and that’s why we called him the ‘conductor.’ ”
Bell Media expressed its condolences. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our team members, and offer our condolences and support to his family and colleagues,” a Bell Media spokesperson said in an email to the Star.
Myers did not have children and he is survived by his parents, three brothers as well as “a host of nephews and nieces,” Travers said.
A longtime employee at CTV, who requested anonymity, said that it was well known in the newsroom that Myers was coping with some health challenges that meant he wasn’t “always physically up for directing.”