by albertaboy4life » Mon Dec 19, 2011 10:29 am
Seems the above from the Herald was not the full story -
"And then there's what might be called Execuspeak, a silky smooth means of communication that relies on casual intimacy (including the use of a listener's first name scattered repeatedly through all conversation), on gung-ho corporatism and on the kind of euphemism and off-centre response that masks pesky unpleasantries. Talk of "growing the business," of "economies of scale," of getting "a piece of the pie," of developing new "skill sets" conceals a competitiveness that is intense at best, downright cutthroat at worst. Sudden and unexpected layoffs are the vaguely regretted byproducts of a dynamic company's need to "move forward."
Execuspeak was clearly the source, in 1991, for a Calgary Herald question-and-answer feature that looked into the fate of Kevin Nelson, late of Calgary and morning host for nine years at Majic 100.
"What happened to CHFM's morning man Kevin Nelson?" a Calgary reader wondered at the time, several months after he disappeared suddenly from the air. The answer? "According to officials at CHFM, the morning man with the irreverent sense of humour signed off his show on March 8 to return to his native Ontario and work at a new Ottawa FM station."
And so he did -- after unexpectedly being relieved of his duties by his Calgary bosses, a fact glossed over by the station's Execuspeaking "officials."
"I was the morning guy there for nearly 10 years," explains Mr. Nelson, "and they said, `We've hired somebody else."' He pauses, sighs. "It was tough to deal with for a couple of years. When I first moved here, I didn't trust anybody. I woke up every day thinking, `OK, this could be the last day."'
Despite protestations from its executives, radio is not an industry known for sensitivity to its personnel."
Taken from Radio wars: Firings, format changes, consolidation and a what's-hot mentality are fuelling a take-no-prisoners battle for the hearts and ears of Ottawans; [Final Edition]
Janice Kennedy. The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ont.: Apr 2, 2000. pg. C.3
Faster cars, younger women, older cheese, more money . . .