Departed Bermuda Broadcasting Company boss Bill Craig has told how the firm's board members marched into his office and ordered him out — but insists he still wants to keep his job.

The CEO and president had to hand over his company laptop, cell phone and office keys when he was told to leave on Monday because the BBC was "lagging in all key areas", but he retains hope that he can stay, as board chairman Fernance Perry never actually said he had been fired.

Canadian Mr. Craig also told The Royal Gazette how he arrived at the BBC at the end of last year to find a demoralised ZBM newsroom where staff were constantly badgered and bullied.

He said he fell foul of key board members who didn't seem to approve of his suggested staffing changes and his plans to introduce new technology to improve ZBM's notoriously bad picture during advertising breaks.

"On Monday afternoon I got a call saying Mr. Perry was up at the station," said Mr. Craig.

"The door was open in my office. The full board walked into my office and said they would like me to leave. They gave me an envelope with a cheque in it.

"I picked up the pictures of my two sons and gave them my keys and phone and then my laptop.

"There was no row. I said okay. He had brought his board with him but they didn't say anything. I live on the premises and he told me I could stay at my apartment.

"He just told me to leave and gave me a small severance cheque. They didn't say the word 'fired'. They just said: 'Pack up your things and go.'"

Revealing he still hopes to continue in his job, Mr. Craig added:"I'm quite happy even after this fracas. I knew Fernance Perry is a character; I was warned by many people to be prepared for some shenanigans."I also think this is an incredibly important broadcast corporation in Bermuda. Next to The Royal Gazette, it's the strongest news operation on the Island. I'm a broadcaster at heart and I love and respect Bermuda."Mr. Craig said the sequence of events which led to his departure left him "flabbergasted".At a board meeting on January 22, he was given the go-ahead to push through various changes including a move to digital conversion, but says later he got the impression board members were stalling on that idea.Mr. Perry said last night it would be "highly irregular" and "disrespectful" to publicly discuss Mr. Craig's departure.But he added that steps had been taken in the past few days to "put the company on track with the transformation of the television plant to digital" and that engineers would be arriving in the next fortnight "to advise on the way forward and to assist in the implementation process".On Thursday last week, Mr. Perry wrote to Mr. Craig saying:"The Bermuda Broadcasting Company board of directors, in analysing the position of the company after close to four months of your leadership, has decided that in the best interest of the BBC it is no longer advisable to retain you in the post of chief executive officer."We have based our decisions on the critical factors for success at our company, and the fact that we are still lagging in all of the key areas."Mr. Craig wrote back saying he did not want to leave and would willingly continue with his responsibilities. When he met members after that he was not told the letter would be followed through until Mr. Perry turned up in his room on Monday afternoon with his nephew Gary Perry, former CEO Rick Richardson and deputy chairman Shirlene Ratteray.Key areas in which the board said he was going wrong were:l "Staffing and productivity: There has been virtually no buy-in from staff to the proposed changes you have put forward, and as a result productivity is decidedly down."Mr. Craig argued he wanted to increase efficiency by having staff in the television control room do camerawork when they were not busy.Asked whether staff were against the move, he said they needed to have it explained to them, but Mr. Perry had warned him he was not allowed to talk to Bermuda Industrial Union.l "Revenues are not moving at a pace that would move the company any closer to finishing in the black, certainly not even break-even. Revenues remain at 2008 levels with little or no sign of improvement. It is a known fact that 2008 levels were more than $300,000 below the revenues raised in 2007."Mr. Craig argued it was impossible for him to improve these figures given that he arrived at BBC at the end of November.l "Overall direction: It is obvious that you are at variance with the board in many areas, particularly in the area of staffing."Mr. Craig argued:"Yes, in a board meeting you do have discussions, but I've never done anything that I haven't got resolution on."l "Industry partners: The relationship with key industry partners (Bermuda Cablevision and WOW) has not been developed to the benefit of BBC."Mr. Craig said he was under instructions not to communicate with Cablevision and WOW because that was Mr. Richardson's job.The letter concluded:"In light of the above we ask that you tender your resignation immediately, or the company will terminate your employment with a notice of one month."Referring to the state of the workplace at ZBM, Mr. Craig said:"It's a good group of people there. I think morale has improved under me. They are people that haven't been well managed in my judgement."When I first walked into the station, there was name-blaming going on: what I call 'CYA', which is a real sign of people who are being badgered, bullied. I understand there was a lot of yelling and screaming going on there."He said many talented broadcasters have left ZBM in recent years, including some now at Hott radio such as Thaao Dill, Miss Thang and Glenn Blakeney.Mr. Perry said: "In regards to staff morale, the Bermuda Industrial Union has made specific mention of most recent developments with the CEO, but these will remain confidential."