On Sunday, October 26, the Canadian public broadcaster,
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) fired its premier radio and media star, Jian Ghomeshi, the host of CBC’s then very popular radio morning cultural/entertainment show, “Q”.
Ghomeshi was figuratively and literally the face of “Q”. Ghomeshi was its driving force since “Q”s inception in 2007.
The show, “Q” is a very rare CBC success story. It is heard on 180 U.S. public radio stations as well on several U.S. television stations.
As reported by the
Globe and Mail, the show, “Q” “was one of the few bright spots for a public broadcaster beset in recent years by federal budget cuts, changing audience habits and attacks by partisan critics.“
CBC receives over
$1 billion in taxpayer money. It justifies its exalted status on the basis that it is the only Canadian broadcaster that consistently develops and broadcasts quality Canadian programming for its Canada-wide Canadian audience. CBC maintains that it alone tells quality and uniquely Canadian stories to its Canadian audience.
Ironically, CBC’s own sordid Ghomeshi tale may lead to CBC’s undoing. And may once and for all knock CBC off its precious perch as a self-acclaimed provider of Canadian news and information, purveyor of Canadian values (ie the equality of women and men in Canadian life and the workplace)- and a necessary organ in Canada’s political and cultural body politic.
I believe things are going to get a whole lot worse for CBC. “L’affaire Ghomeshi” may do to CBC, what the Enron scandal did to well-known and established international accounting firm, Arthur Andersen.
GhomeshiGate may sink the very insular and still bloated bureaucratic Titanic CBC
Enron sunk Arthur Andersen and GhomeshiGate may sink the very insular and still bloated bureaucratic Titanic CBC.
First, let me briefly describe what Ghomeshi meant to CBC and then summarize what Jian Ghomeshi, is allegedly to have done to now nine women, who have come forward with their stories.
Recall for years CBC had promoted Ghomeshi, as its ideal radio and media personality- Not only the face of his show, “Q”, but the multicultural face of CBC. Until Ghomeshi’s firing, an imposing, bigger than life photo of Ghomehsi dominated the lobby of CBC’s Front Street Toronto head office.
Ghomeshi and CBC promoted himself as politically progressive, (much closer to NDP Layton and Liberal Justin Trudeau than Conservative Harper) environmentally sensitive ( he was a big fan of CBC favorite and climate change advocate David Suzuki) and extremely sensitive to multicultural and women’s rights ( his supporters included such women rights advocates as Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, Judy Rebick, and former MP Sheila Copps).
Ghomeshi, born in England of expatriate Iranian parents, and raised and schooled in Ontario, also epitomized a multicultural Canadian success story. Ghomeshi was proof positive of the success of Canada’s opening up its borders to immigrants from certain countries, which do not share our Canadian values, ( ie equal treatment of women), but who apparently adopted these Canadian values upon settling within Canada’s borders.
To date, nine women have come forward to the
Toronto Star, Huffington Post and even CBC and have made serious allegations against Ghomeshi- accusing him of physical and verbal abuse, before, during and after sexual encounters.
Two women have gone public with their accusations of physical abuse. And the
Toronto Star has reported that three woman have filed complaints with the police.
Note that no charges to date have been laid against Ghomeshi and accordingly, these allegations have yet to be proven in a court of law.
The
Toronto Star has reported that Ghomeshi’s female accusers allege that Ghomeshi did the following to these women: “struck these women with a closed fist or open hand; choked them with his hands around their necks to the point they almost passed out; covered their noses and mouths so they would have difficulty breathing; and he verbally abused them before, during and after sex acts. The women advised the Star that none of them consented to this behavior.”
The focus of this article is not on Ghomeshi per se, but on what the CBC knew about Ghomeshi’s behavior and when they knew it.
These classic Watergate-like questions are clearly weighing on CBC’s executive.
The CBC is clearly in lock-down damage-control mode. CBC has circled the wagons. To mix metaphors, they have also have battened down the hatches.
In an effort to provide a legal paper trail to exculpate CBC from any wrongdoing, an internal memorandum was sent to CBC employees on Friday, October 31, in which Heather Conway, executive Vice President of CBC English Services, wrote that in the early summer (2014), CBC conducted an internal investigation with CBC employees and management over whether Ghomeshi’s questionable behavior (presumably rough sex without consent) had crossed over into the workplace.
“This investigation determined that there were no complaints of this nature about Jian’s behavior in the workplace,”
Conway concluded .
Conway further noted that “the turning point came on October 23, when the CBC saw for the first time, graphic evidence that Jian had caused physical injury to a woman.” (ironically provided by Ghomeshi himself).
Conway further noted that, “At no time prior to last week was CBC aware that Jian had engaged in any activities which resulted in the physical injury of another person.”
Conway also confirmed that CBC “will be engaging in an independent investigation of any complaints of workplace violence or harassment that are brought to our attention.”
CBC has a huge problem on its hands because the issue is not about whether Ghomeshi physically attacked CBC employees in the workplace. The issue for CBC is that there is growing evidence that Ghomeshi allegedly sexually harassed CBC female employees, used his powerful CBC position to try to have sex or had sex with CBC guests and was known to prey on young female CBC employees and young women he met through CBC and CBC-related activities.
Allegations are now being leveled against CBC by the
National Post and the
Toronto Sun that all these activities may have been within the knowledge of fellow employees and producers at CBC. It is also alleged that these CBC employees protected Ghomeshi, turned a blind eye and generally enabled Ghomeshi to continue these activities in plain sight of CBC staff and with the apparent consent of CBC staff.
In other words, CB may have permitted Ghomeshi to thrive in a culture of sexual harassment and sexual entitlement. (
Here,
here and
here)
In a subsequent article, I will look at these allegations more closely and I will suggest that it is not sufficient for CBC to investigate itself. CBC has lost the trust of the Canadian taxpayers who fund the public broadcaster. The only recourse for CBC is to request the federal government to initiate a full and independent judicial inquiry into CBC’s conduct or potential negligence in enabling Jian Ghomeshi throughout his CBC career and other CBC stars, who may also have sexually or inappropriately taken advantage of CBC employees.
