Speaking of MCTV by Steven Gallagher
Source : The Sault Star
Nov 29, 2001
by Steven Gallagher
Aside from the black attire of on-air staff and a few comments during the show, you would hardly have known that Friday was the last MCTV telecast from Sault Ste. Marie. And it appears that's the way MCTV big cheeses wanted it.
In an internal memo I obtained, Mark Oldfield, news director at MCTV in Sudbury, advised on-air staff that comments such as "last show" and "final show" serve "no purpose except to confuse viewers. The transition from Friday, November 23 to Monday, November 26 should be as seamless as we can make it.
At the bottom of the memo was a message from Sault MCTV station manager Brett Lund, who wrote: "No 'look back' or 'retrospective' pieces will be used in any market, as this material may confuse viewers concerning MCTV future presence in the community. Our focus now is the future."
Confuse the viewers? It would seem they are suggesting their audience is ignorant. They were actually confusing viewers by not mentioning that in fact this was the final local telecast.
Give MCTV execs some credit, however. They have been consistent in how they've covered the story of eliminating some 40 jobs in Northeastern Ontario as they centralized news in Sudbury and cut local telecasts in the Sault, North Bay and Timmins.
A recent public meeting, which explored the issue of losing the telecast, involving the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting and about 70 area residents, was not deemed a story for MCTV by station manager Lund.
Earlier, when the CRTC announced its decision on the cuts, the story was not carried by MCTV.
When MCTV anchor Jill Braido left the Sault a few years ago, there was a video montage of her career at the local station, including an emphasis on her changing hairstyles. That was one person who left and it got fine play, as she deserved. Now, we lose an entire local telecast and there is virtually no mention on air.
That is just another slap in the face to viewers, who are now left with a Sault Ste. Marie television satellite news bureau.
In the memo, Oldfield said that Friday's telecasts in North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins should end with: "That's it for tonight. We'll be back Monday, bringing you local news and a new look."
Viewers are wise enough to know what is happening; they realize they are losing their local telecast. There would have been no confusion by marking the last telecast with a "retrospective piece" and perhaps a few comments by the on-air talent.
Fade to black ...
