Kevin Crull is out at Bell media. The president of the media unit of BCE has resigned after an embattled two weeks that followed his efforts to influence coverage on CTV of the company’s business. He apologized for attempting to censor input from the government regulator into the news. In a statement, BCE Chief Executive George Cope made clear that the departure of Bell Media that Mr. Crull (top) was related to interference in the editorial operations of Bell’s CTV television network. “The independence of Bell Media’s news operations is of paramount importance to our company and to all Canadians,” Cope said. “There can be no doubt that Bell will always uphold the journalistic standards that have made CTV the most trusted brand in Canadian news.” Globe and Mail newspaper, partly owned by BCE, reported Crull had told the head of CTV News not to conduct on-air interviews with the regulator’s chairman.Crull will be replaced at Bell Media by Mary Ann Turcke, BCE said. Ms. Turcke (inset bottom) was previously in charge of media sales, local TV and radio for the unit.BCE also announced several other executive moves, including naming Blaik Kirby as head of Bell Mobility, its wireless business, and Rizwan Jamal as head of residential services. Turcke, Kirby and Jamal will all report to Wade Oosterman, who was named group president of BCE and Bell. He had previously headed the wireless and residential units.
