“I guess this is my sign-off from CTV.” That’s the line that killed me most in the video that award-winning journalist Lisa LaFlamme posted to Twitter on Monday afternoon, announcing that she was leaving her job as anchor of CTV National News “in a manner not my choice” and that she was “blindsided, shocked and saddened” to be going.
Her “sign-off” line slayed me and thousands more in and outside the media because, at the very least, she deserved a proper send-off. Her broadcast has consistently led in viewership. She’s won shelves full of awards, most recently the Canadian Screen Award for best news anchor, national. When her predecessor, Lloyd Robertson, left the job, he announced his retirement in July, 2010, and then worked for another 14 months. He bade his audience adieu at age 77, from the anchor chair, during a broadcast that included a congratulatory message from then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Over at CBC, Peter Mansbridge received a similarly lengthy, laudatory farewell, when he was 69.
By contrast, LaFlamme – who pointedly mentions in her video that she is 58 – had to say her goodbyes in a two-minute video recorded on her phone at her cottage.
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