Helen Kapalos was sacked by the Channel Ten last Friday – an abject lesson for any company in how not to handle high-profile human resources issues.
“I am more proud to be a Greek than ever. We must never forget who we are… and persistence is how we find out who we are.
Her axing, along with that of other presenters, is the result of Ten’s sweeping changes to its news programs as it battles a massive slump in ratings and a subsequent loss of advertising revenue.
As Ten moves to a single-reader news format and cuts back on other news and current affairs output, it’s reported that around 100 staff, including journalists and technicians have taken voluntary redundancy or been forced out in recent months.
Kapalos had worked for Ten for six years before she was dismissed her after her Friday night bulletin. With no opportunity to say goodbye to her viewers, she turned to social media to sum up her reaction as she boarded a plane for a pre-planned holiday in New York. “Fall down seven times get up eight,” she tweeted diplomatically the next day.
Just days into her vacation, rather than head for retail therapy, Helen signed up to follow a medical team checking on the ongoing impact of Hurricane Sandy on residents of Staten Island, reporting the experience through her blog. Journalism is core to Kapalos’ DNA, with or without an employer. Having made little further comment until Neos Kosmos contacted her in NYC, she’s clearly moved by the public’s reaction to her treatment by Channel Ten.
“I have been overwhelmed by all the goodwill, love and support coming my way… it’s unbelievable.. and humbling,” Kapalos told Neos Kosmos.
“My philosophy has always been to get straight back up… dust myself off and move on with the next step. “Already there are genuinely wonderful opportunities to consider and plan for,” said Kapalos, adding that the Greek community were her “biggest asset”.
“We are a dignified, wise and resilient race. Those values hold me in good stead now. “I am more proud to be a Greek than ever. We must never forget who we are… and persistence is how we find out who we are.”
Kapalos said that recent events had reminded her of the debt she owed her family and particularly her late mother. “I suspect my strength and positivity comes from my mother.
I always feel her around during difficult times and know she may have even been guiding me towards a path more aligned with who I am. “First and foremost I am a journalist,” she told Neos Kosmos.
“I never want to lose that passion and connection.” Helen says she’s committed to being based in Melbourne to carry out “unfinished business” in relation to her extensive charity work, and whilst overseas is already having “interesting discussions” about her future direction and a return to TV.
Infact, the Channel Ten saga is likely to enhance Kapalos’ image and increase the former newsreader’s celebrity status. Her latest news story posted online from New York was headlined The People-Powered Recovery. It might be a fitting description for the next chapter of her own career. Meanwhile her sacking and that of other presenters leaves the Ten Network seriously damaged.
The axing of its most high-profile anchors is a major gamble, and the changes to its 5pm news bulletin are seen as potentially the most dangerous of its recent punts. To build familiarity and trust, the network has promoted its anchors voraciously through other media outlets. Severing that connection, particularly in the way Kapalos’ exit was managed and how the story has run since, may well provoke a backlash.
How Ten built the dreadfully-managed dismissal into their spreadsheets is unknown, but their number-crunchers are unlikely to have foreseen quite the level of indignation that now surrounds the affair. Kapalos’ treatment by Ten has been variously described as “sexist”, “stupid” and “disgusting” by her many fans on social media. Meanwhile, State member for Dandenong John Pandazopoulos chose to condemn the commercial broadcaster in the Victorian Parliament last week, suggesting that Ten’s actions amounted to an attack on cultural diversity.
“Commercial media is an anglo-blokes’ world,” the MP told parliamentarians. “Helen was an example to culturally diverse Victorians that irrespective of who you are, you could make it. “The decision shows that we still have significant work to do in shattering the glass-ceiling for women and those of diverse backgrounds,” said the MP.
While Kapalos is the most high-profile victim of Ten’s cutbacks, the door was also shown last week to long-serving newsreaders Ron Wilson and Bill Woods from Sydney and Craig Smart in Perth. Never mind the dubious management punt at the heart of Helen’s exit from Ten; for a company that deals in communications – and wants us to stay with it – its media management, let alone its management of what were key assets – has been appalling, and we’re unlikely to forget that in a hurry when our finger is next on the remote. As for Helen Kapalos – her passion and persistence will be warmly welcomed back to our screens.