Ch.15, Pt.8: The meeting with Blaine that afternoon was far from routine.
The meeting with Blaine that afternoon was far from routine. He was not in his office when she arrived, and after waiting at his door for a few moments, she went to Reception. “Hi Betsy, know where Blaine is? Is he back from lunch yet?”
“Oh, yes, I just saw him a moment ago. He’s around somewhere.” The phone rang and Betsy said “Good afternoon, CMIS,” into her headset.
Katherine returned to Blaine’s office and checked her watch. Am I running early today? she wondered. Should I leave a note for him?
“Ah, there you are,” Blaine said as if he’d been looking for her. “Come in.” He went behind his desk and offered her a chair in front of it. “Right.” He took a deep breath and exhaled. “What this is about is the Health and Healing Show.”
Katherine nodded. “How are we doing reaching the younger demographic?”
Blaine picked up a letter opener and pressed the end into his forefinger. “Not so good.”
“That’s no surprise to me. It’ll take more time. But you know that I think it’s unrealistic to expect young people to be very interested in their health.”
Blaine nodded his head. “Yes, I think you’re right about that.”
Katherine sat back in the chair. “Can we stop being so concerned about young listeners as an issue?”
Blaine looked at the wall above Katherine’s head and she wondered why men seemed to be avoiding looking at her today. “I’ve had a recent meeting with the Board of Directors, and they’ve decided to eliminate Health and Healing.”
Katherine stared at Blaine in silence. After a brief glance at her, he continued “They agree with you that the show doesn’t have enough appeal to the younger audience.”
“What about the older listeners? Our existing audience? We have donors to the fundraising campaign who gave because of Health and Healing.”
“You’re right, there were some. But the Board doesn’t think there are enough of them, or that they represent a growing segment of the market.”
“An older market means a market that’s dying out, right? Isn’t that what the consultants say?” Blaine didn’t reply. Katherine continued, “So they want to kill the whole show? When?”
“We have to stop taping more shows from now on. We’ll air the ones already in the can.”
Katherine raked her fingers through her hair. “But what about the next year? You said the show’s a go for another year.”
Blaine twirled the letter opener. “The Board has changed its mind. They looked at the numbers and made this decision. I don’t like this any more than you do, but we have to wrap up this show.”
“You have to let us do a final show, thanking our listeners and guests. You can’t just pull us off the air without letting us say goodbye. This is absolutely necessary.”
Blaine dropped the letter opener and held up his hands. “Absolutely. That’s fine. I agree. Especially as there are show donors.”
“What will happen to the staff? To Lawrence and Janine? And me?”
Blaine cleared his throat. “I’m going to try and find positions for you elsewhere in the station. I’m sure Lawrence will be all right, because we can always use a technician on other programs. And we may be able to find an administrative job for Janine somewhere.” He paused.
Katherine felt numb. “And me. Any ideas for me?”
“I don’t want to lose you, Katherine. Let me say that right up front. We’ll have to consider various possibilities for you.”
Katherine clenched and unclenched her fists. “Tell me the truth, Blaine. Is the station laying me off? Should I be looking for work?”
“No! We’re not laying you off.” He stabbed his desk blotter with the letter opener. “We’re looking for the right placement for you. Perhaps another show. Perhaps the news desk. We’re looking for openings for you.”
News desk, ran through Katherine’s mind. Could I bear to read the news after having my own show? Immediately, as she thought of being out of work, she knew she could.
“But of course,” said Blaine tilting his head, “it never hurts anyone to investigate other employment opportunities.”
Back in the program office, Katherine stood in front of Janine’s desk. “Could you call Lawrence in for a meeting, please? Right now.” She turned and lowered herself into her desk chair. Janine was murmuring into the phone.
“Are you all right?” Janine asked her. “You look kind of funny.”
“I’m okay. Is Lawrence coming?”
“He said he’ll be right down. Do you want a glass of water?”
“No.” Katherine pulled a stack of books toward her and then pushed them away. She barely noticed as Janine said she was going for some water. Katherine stared at her hands, empty in her lap. Then a glass of water was being put in her hand and Janine was saying “Take a drink.” She heard Lawrence’s voice asking “What’s the matter? Something wrong with her?”
Katherine breathed in and sat up taller. She took a gulp of water and then said “Close the door. I’ve got bad news. The Board. They’re pulling the plug on the show. They’re cancelling Health and Healing.” There was silence. Katherine looked at them and saw Janine glance at Lawrence, who was, for the first time that day, looking steadily back at Katherine.
“You don’t seem shocked,” said Katherine. “You don’t even seem surprised.” Lawrence gave a humourless grin and shook his head. Janine looked down at the floor. “Are you telling me that you know this already? How?”
“Blaine mentioned something to me yesterday,” said Lawrence quietly.
“Me too,” said Janine.
“And he didn’t tell me until today? Why? What’s going on?” Katherine thought for a moment. “Have you been offered other positions?”
“Blaine said there’s always work for technical producers.”
Janine straightened some papers on her desk. “He told me that he might probably have something for me.”
“Right,” said Katherine, tapping an arm rest. “He told me that too. It’s great that both of you will probably keep jobs here. That’s important.” Her voice faded as she realized that she alone might be out of work. “But it’s a shock about the show. Especially as we were told that we’re good for another year.”
“I’ll say. I don’t think the donors will be too happy about it.” Lawrence rolled a desk chair toward himself with his foot.
“How could you carry on with the show meeting this morning as if things were normal? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Lawrence glanced at Janine before turning back to Katherine. “Blaine asked me not to discuss it with you. Said he wanted to speak to you first.”
Katherine turned her gaze onto Janine, who shrugged and said “Blaine told me to carry on with the show as usual. He said the show’d continue until you told us it was over. I figured we were all right for a while.”
“We’re going to be able to do a final wrap of the show,” said Katherine. “We need to think about what we want to say. Let’s take this show out with dignity and grace.”
CHAPTER 16: Part 1: “We need a good cup… » »