WINNIPEG – In an internal memo sent late Friday, Canwest CEO Leonard Asper encouraged staff to “keep doing what you do best”, saying the company “will get through this – but only with your help.”
“Last week, I told you that we were involved in a pretty structured process with our lenders and examining various options. Not much has changed from that, except I can tell you that discussions are ongoing and the banks have agreed to extend the timeframe of these discussions until March 11th,” the memo continued.
“While these corporate matters have very little to do with what you do every day, I want to say that the great work that you have all been doing has helped the team as it meets with the banks. Your efforts to reduce our costs and increase revenues have made an impression and it demonstrates not only our current success but also our commitment to coming out of this even stronger.
I really feel that all of us are pulling together and as I told a number of our senior advertisers and agencies this week, Canwest continues to represent the best national and local cross-platform opportunities available to them in Canada. I also told them that we will keep delivering results now, and for years to come. They have been extremely supportive and we continue to win business away from our competitors.”
The note recapped some company highlights from the past week including a revenue record for online display advertising set this month by its Vancouver digital sales team; announcing that popular handyman Mike Holmes will have his own special on Global and HGTV, and write a column for Canwest’s newspapers; three of its newspapers were recently recognized for design excellence by the Society for News Design; and its plan to take “a hard run at the Toronto news market by launching the only hour-long late night newscast that will provide viewers with an in-depth look at the day’s headlines.”
