Covering COVID-19: CTV Ottawa broadcasters reflect on an unprecedented story

Behind the Scenes: Covering COVID-19, pt. 1 CTV Ottawa presents a candid, 30-minute look at the broadcasting landscape at Bell Media over the past two months.

OTTAWA — When Ottawa Public Health reported the capital’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 on March 11th, broadcasters at Bell Media quickly adopted innovative ways to bring its viewers and listeners critical, up-to-date information.  As the pandemic forced city-wide closures, the TV and radio station delivering your daily news, resolved to stay open.

“Absolutely impossible for us to shut it down to nothing,” said Richard Gray, Bell Media’s Regional vice-president and general manager for Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

“Shutting it down to nothing would have meant that we couldn’t broadcast in any shape or form.”

Instead, broadcasters at 87 George St. would find ways to report the story of the unprecedented virus, while not falling victim to it. For journalists, this presented a challenge. It is their natural instinct to get close to what they are covering.

“Trying to keep people safe is always difficult,” said Daniel Cress, News Operations Manager at Bell Media.

“When it’s a fire, or a shooting, it’s hard but when it’s a virus we can’t see and we don’t know who has it, that’s an extra challenge for us.”

The Director of News and Information Programming at Bell Media, Peter Angione, agrees broadcasters have to adapt to a “new normal”, learning to stay safe, while getting close to a potentially deadly story.

“The worst thing that can happen to us is our staff gets sick and we can’t provide the stories and information to our viewers and listeners.  So, we want to do everything we can to keep as many as healthy as possible,” he said.

In an era of physical distancing and social isolation, staying connected to the sources of information critical to the public is no easy feat. Still, broadcasters at Bell Media have made it their mission to report the story while following the protocols set forth by public health officials.

“It’s definitely something we have to practice and adhere to to set the example for the rest of the population,” says CTV Ottawa News Anchor Stefan Keyes.

“We can’t just deliver the sermon without putting into practice what we’re preaching.”

To begin, Bell Media management would ask the majority of the company’s employees to begin working from home.

“And for a broadcast facility that’s a monumental job because all of what we do is reliant upon the infrastructure that’s here,” said Richard Gray.

“So we had to figure out very quickly ways for people to do their jobs effectively at home.”

Most radio personalities would begin broadcasting remotely. Multi-skilled journalists—TV reporters who shoot, write, edit and present their own stories—would begin broadcasting from their homes and cars, as did the newsroom’s digital, web and graphic design teams.  The once bustling Byward Market building and studio became eerily quiet.

Daily news editorial meetings are now conducted by telephone, or on zoom. Television interviews are gathered using Facetime and Skype.  When MSJ’s do face-to-face interviews, they use microphones on long poles, in order to maintain a safe distance.

Monday at 6:30 p.m., CTV Ottawa presents “Behind the Scenes: Covering COVID-19”, a candid, 30-minute look at the broadcasting landscape at Bell Media over the past two months.  The television special focuses on the logistical and emotional impact of the world’s unprecedented story, and how the Bell Media teams at CTV Ottawa, CTV Morning Live, and Newstalk 580 CFRA are dealing with it.

Reporting the COVID-19 story comes with immeasurable responsibility, and the Bell Media team feels its weight.

“The public understands that this is life and death and the information is beyond critical. This is why we’re here,” said Graham Richardson, Chief News Anchor at CTV Ottawa.

“People are turning to us for information and we need to tell them the truth, but it’s really bad news,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion.

“The fact that every day we’re reporting on numbers of deaths, that’s heavy. And it’s not something we’ve ever done in the past, not something that’s normal,” said CTV Morning Live host, Annette Goerner.

“But it’s somehow become the norm that every day we’re updating people on the number of people that are dying. And just saying that right now, is heavy.”

The special also explores how that heaviness was amplified during the recent and horrific mass shooting in Nova Scotia; a camera in the Ottawa newsroom capturing the collective heartbreak of COVID-weary anchors and reporters, as they, like the nation, mourned the unthinkable.

“I think we were hoping that when COVID-19 got pushed out of the top slot in the newscast, it was because something more positive was there to replace it, not something like this, the worst mass shooting in Canadian history,” said CTV News Anchor Patricia Boal.

“It’s really hard,” said anchor Matt Skube, his voice giving way to tears.

“My heart broke into a million pieces.”

“Nova Scotia is a place of neighbours, kitchen parties, ceilidhs and beaches, not a place of horrific acts like this one,” said Leanne Cusack, the host of CTV News at Noon and a native of Halifax.

“I feel like we all want to wrap ourselves up in a big Nova Scotian tartan blanket and just sort of wish this was a bad dream that would just go away.”

In the face of the despair inflicted by COVID-19, and the East Coast shootings, the special does celebrate the resilience of the human spirit; how social isolation has given birth to stories of generosity, kindness and giving.  It also reveals broadcasters laughing at themselves, as they struggle to do their jobs from their homes.

“It’s lonely. There’s only so many conversations you can have with your cat,” said Multi-skilled journalist Leah Larocque.

“There’s camera equipment everywhere, I’m putting blankets over my head to try and voice stuff.  We’re going to laugh at this in a couple of years and think about it.  It’s crazy, but we’re doing it,” she laughs.

“Behind-the-Scenes: Covering COVID-19” airs on CTV Ottawa Monday at 6:30 p.m.