Helen Kapalos reveals details of ‘undignified’ sacking from Channel 10
Helen Kapalos has revealed details of her sacking from Channel 10, describing a “heavy handed” move before the shock news was delivered.
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Helen Kapalos has detailed her brutal sacking from Channel 10, describing the cull as “undignified” and “devastating”.
“A lot of my career has been defined by sacking,” Kapalos told the Herald Sun’s Sacked: Showbiz podcast.
“I’ve almost been better known for my exits than the entries.”
The popular news presenter had worked for Ten for six years, before the axe fell on a Friday evening, a day before Kapalos was due to jet off to New York for a holiday.
Kapalos helmed the news bulletin with Mal Walden.
“I had a couple of weeks of what I thought had been really successful work,” Kapalos said.
“I was doing a lot of fundraising, (and) I’d finished a marathon bike ride for Channel 10.
“I didn’t know anything like this was in the wings, other than there was some talk of Mal possibly retiring. That was all really.”
After wrapping the bulletin, Kapalos was called to an office. She tried to run a quick errand first.
“My news editor’s assistant actually grabbed me by the elbow and took me into this room,” she said. “I thought, ‘This is a bit heavy handed.’
“I walked into the room and there was the news editor, and beside him was the head of HR.
They got straight into it and said, ‘We’re going to a single reader news next year and it won’t be you.’”
Kapalos was blindsided. “Can you give me a reason?” she asked. “Has it been a performance issue?”
She said: “The conversation degenerated in a way because there wasn’t anything solid they could point to. It was, ‘No this is a change of direction for the network, thank you for your service. There is no real need to come back after your holidays,’ which was a massive blow. I thought, ‘Wow, I’m not even going to get to say goodbye to the viewers.’”
Kapalos said management told her to come back for her belongings after her vacation.
“I said, ‘No, I want to leave. I want this to be absolutely over. You don’t want me back, so I’m going.’ I was in shock.”
Kapalos believes her sacking wasn’t related to gender issues.
“This happens in newsrooms,” she said. “They get a favourite, and I think at that time they were just looking at Quarters (journalist and presenter Stephen Quartermain) because, in their mind, he represented the constituency better than I did.
“I think what was disappointing for me was, it felt like a very undignified way to be treated after such hard work and loyal service. It was quite devastating to be farewelled in that way.”
After her stints with the TV networks, Kapalos wrote, directed and executive produced the doco, A Life Of Its Own, based on a series of stories about medical marijuana she did for Sunday Night.
Kapalos also served as Chair of the Victorian Multicultural Commission for four years.
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