Bell Media has moved executive Michael Melling out of news operations following the conclusion of a workplace review of the CTV newsroom.

Richard Grey, who had been serving as interim VP of news following Melling’s departure, has now assumed the role on a permanent basis. Melling will remain with the company, though outside of news operations, as VP of shared services.

The change was announced Monday in an internal memo from Rob Malcolmson, EVP and chief legal and regulatory officer, and Nikki Moffat, chief human resources officer and EVP of corporate services.

Melling has been on leave from Bell Media since August, a move announced shortly after the company launched an internal workplace review of its newsroom culture.

Both events were brought on by the departure of CTV’s lead news anchor Lisa LaFlamme, which brought claims of sexism and ageism from the viewing public. Internal sources said Melling was responsible for firing LaFlamme, which came after alleged clashes over the resources that should be allocated to covering certain stories and comments about LaFlamme’s hair colour. People working within CTV’s newsroom also said they worked in a “culture of fear” and low morale due to a combination of management interfering with news coverage and several rounds of layoffs at Bell Media. Many also said losing LaFlamme exacerbated these issues: in addition to being one of the newsroom’s biggest defenders, someone of her stature being fired had many questioning their own job security.

The memo did not directly mention if the review addressed the issues around LaFlamme’s exit. It did, however, say there was a need to improve working conditions in the newsroom, for more respect and to fix a culture where staff are reluctant to voice concerns “for fear of reprisal or inaction.”

Grey has spent nearly 30 years with the company in some form or another through various ownership changes. He first joined Ottawa’s CHRO TV as news director in 1994 before transferring to become the VP and general manager of A Channel in Vancouver in 2004. He came back to Ontario in 2008 and has since held progressive VP positions for radio and TV in what is now Bell Media’s different regions, as well as a stint as national head of A Channel News (later CTV2 News).