commissioned its own programming. At the same time, the principals at Paragon were running into financial trouble over losing bets theyâd made on feature films. Theyâd taken to drawing on the profits from the distribution division so that my divisionâs bills were suddenly going unpaid. I didnât like the outlook for the future.
When a headhunter contacted me about becoming general manager and vice-president of programming at Trio/Newsworld International, a US cable channel that reached thirty million American homes, I didnât hesitateâeven though it meant leaving behind my âpresidentâ title. Earlier that year, Iâd given birth to my first child, and Paragonâs CEO, concerned that my departure might say too much about the overall health of the company, told people I was leaving because I wanted to âtake it easyâ since becoming a mother. I made it my business to let him and my contacts know that slowing down had nothing to do with it. I was leaving for a better professional opportunity.
The content at Trio had been built to appeal to Canadian expats in the United States with a lineup of all-Canadian shows, like Traders and The Littlest Hobo . But its owners, the Desmarais family of Power Corporation, realized the independent channel could no longer stand alone in a sea of ever-greater consolidation among broadcasters. They intended to fix it up to sell it, revamping the networkâs programming to increase its popularity and profitability in order to make it more attractive topotential buyers. In other words, if I did my job well, eventually I wouldnât have one. Trio would be sold. But, to me, gaining the experience of reinventing and rebranding a network made the move worthwhile. (And Paragon went into receivership six months after I left.)
To boost its value, I figured Trio had to break away from running only Canadian shows, so I set a plan in motion to transform it by infusing it with international shows that would appeal to the viewer curious about the world around them. (This was before people could find everything from everywhere online.) Picking up movie packages and original dramas from around the world, such as Cracker with Robbie Coltrane from the UK and the Rebus detective series featuring Scotlandâs John Hannah, I grew the networkâs worth and profile within a year. Big players came calling, including Disney and NBC. By 2000, the transformation landed Power Corp a handsome sale of the channel to USA Networks for US$155 million. The Desmarais family was so happy with the deal that they gave everyone who had worked at the company a DVD player, an expensive gift at the time. They wanted to fly me from Toronto to their head office in Montreal for a dinner in order to present my gift to me in person. I was nearly eight months pregnant with my second child and I tried to decline. They wouldnât hear of it, and so I went, waddling, and after the dinner they took me aside and handed me an envelope. Inside was a cheque, for more money than I had ever seen in one lump. It wasnât part of my contract (I didnât have one) or my compensation, but a thank-you for a job well done. Their generosity touched me deeply and taught me a great deal about the importance ofrespecting the people who work for you, and showing how much you appreciate their contributions, just as I had learned from Isme Bennie the value of rewarding initiative.
Risky Business
THE JOB PROSPECTS FOR ME in Canada after leaving Trio were grim. Canadian cable networks had yet to take off and there was little demand for my particular brand of programming expertise. I had no choice but to cast a wide net. The new owners of Trio had mentioned the possibility of a broadcasting job in New York, but with a toddler and a newborn, and a husband who had just finished teachersâ college, the idea of putting in long hours in Manhattan didnât make sense for us. But then a
When a headhunter contacted me about becoming general manager and vice-president of programming at Trio/Newsworld International, a US cable channel that reached thirty million American homes, I didnât hesitateâeven though it meant leaving behind my âpresidentâ title. Earlier that year, Iâd given birth to my first child, and Paragonâs CEO, concerned that my departure might say too much about the overall health of the company, told people I was leaving because I wanted to âtake it easyâ since becoming a mother. I made it my business to let him and my contacts know that slowing down had nothing to do with it. I was leaving for a better professional opportunity.
The content at Trio had been built to appeal to Canadian expats in the United States with a lineup of all-Canadian shows, like Traders and The Littlest Hobo . But its owners, the Desmarais family of Power Corporation, realized the independent channel could no longer stand alone in a sea of ever-greater consolidation among broadcasters. They intended to fix it up to sell it, revamping the networkâs programming to increase its popularity and profitability in order to make it more attractive topotential buyers. In other words, if I did my job well, eventually I wouldnât have one. Trio would be sold. But, to me, gaining the experience of reinventing and rebranding a network made the move worthwhile. (And Paragon went into receivership six months after I left.)
To boost its value, I figured Trio had to break away from running only Canadian shows, so I set a plan in motion to transform it by infusing it with international shows that would appeal to the viewer curious about the world around them. (This was before people could find everything from everywhere online.) Picking up movie packages and original dramas from around the world, such as Cracker with Robbie Coltrane from the UK and the Rebus detective series featuring Scotlandâs John Hannah, I grew the networkâs worth and profile within a year. Big players came calling, including Disney and NBC. By 2000, the transformation landed Power Corp a handsome sale of the channel to USA Networks for US$155 million. The Desmarais family was so happy with the deal that they gave everyone who had worked at the company a DVD player, an expensive gift at the time. They wanted to fly me from Toronto to their head office in Montreal for a dinner in order to present my gift to me in person. I was nearly eight months pregnant with my second child and I tried to decline. They wouldnât hear of it, and so I went, waddling, and after the dinner they took me aside and handed me an envelope. Inside was a cheque, for more money than I had ever seen in one lump. It wasnât part of my contract (I didnât have one) or my compensation, but a thank-you for a job well done. Their generosity touched me deeply and taught me a great deal about the importance ofrespecting the people who work for you, and showing how much you appreciate their contributions, just as I had learned from Isme Bennie the value of rewarding initiative.
Risky Business
THE JOB PROSPECTS FOR ME in Canada after leaving Trio were grim. Canadian cable networks had yet to take off and there was little demand for my particular brand of programming expertise. I had no choice but to cast a wide net. The new owners of Trio had mentioned the possibility of a broadcasting job in New York, but with a toddler and a newborn, and a husband who had just finished teachersâ college, the idea of putting in long hours in Manhattan didnât make sense for us. But then a
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