CBC fires Jian Ghomeshi

CDNBear

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Sep 24, 2006
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I bet dollars to donuts that there are some nervous nellies in management at this moment.
It is becoming highly likely that his workplace behavior crossed the line. And on more than 1 occasion. For a University to have this 4 years prior knowledge, well I will increase the bet this information was passed to CBC management. May have been written, bit could have been verbal. They would be seen as protecting a money maker at the expense of employees be abused. Must have decided on the money maker.
You see it with temps and fresh recruits all the time in the field I work in. They want full time, they want a long term contract, they want to be picked up by a contractor. They'll eat shyte to get it.

If so, and if reported and swept away. Well some huge settlements could be coming.
Shush, lest you raise the ire of Jian's buddy.

One guy who always wore socks with sandals and followed me around a bit. Creepy.
Jian? lol!

Sure, sure. I'm not defending the CBC or anything. Just pointing out how that more than likely all began. You see it all the time in large companies. If you're the president of the company and you want to know which one your sales men is a lecherous creep, ask the ladies in the front office cuz they'll know.
They must all be ex's.
 

SLM

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Mar 5, 2011
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I bet dollars to donuts that there are some nervous nellies in management at this moment.
It is becoming highly likely that his workplace behavior crossed the line. And on more than 1 occasion. For a University to have this 4 years prior knowledge, well I will increase the bet this information was passed to CBC management. May have been written, bit could have been verbal. They would be seen as protecting a money maker at the expense of employees be abused. Must have decided on the money maker.
If so, and if reported and swept away. Well some huge settlements could be coming.

Goober I'll take that bet, because I'm absolutely certain it wasn't reported. Because nobody knew, not for sure and nobody anywhere is going to stick their neck out based on rumours and gossip. There may not have even been a drop in the number of candidates, it could have been disproportionately male.

Again, I'm not saying any of this to defend the CBC or even the university, I'm just saying it because this is how things work.
 

Sal

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Sep 29, 2007
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I don't know Sal, I have an issue with the fact that a university pretty much bans internships with a specific production, and there's no need for an investigation at the CBC.

I don't think they're as clean as they'd like to be.
yes but not officially banned, or openly endorsed or supported so it would be likely the department head and the professors together making the decision for females to protect themselves and the university...but males could go
As for CBC they aren't clean at all and they aren't ethical...they are a business, their job is to produce money. They have their own standards of what is ethical according to what the law allows. That's as clean as it gets in the business world. I would be surprised if they have done anything illegal or at least anything for which they can be held accountable.


I have to say, what was suggested by the prof to the students was probably not an official position of the university and likely based on rumours. Even university professors need to worry about liability issues. Often there is an unspoken understanding amongst the workers in the trenches that the big brass aren't aware of.
Agreed. Apparently there were various meeting held about this issue. A university is a business too. Barely more ethical on some levels perhaps but the professor knew something was wrong and they decided to err on the side of caution. These students are just kids really. Smart kids, but kids that need to be protected because the university too could be libel.
 

Sal

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Sep 29, 2007
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I bet dollars to donuts that there are some nervous nellies in management at this moment.
It is becoming highly likely that his workplace behavior crossed the line. And on more than 1 occasion. For a University to have this 4 years prior knowledge, well I will increase the bet this information was passed to CBC management. May have been written, bit could have been verbal. They would be seen as protecting a money maker at the expense of employees be abused. Must have decided on the money maker.
If so, and if reported and swept away. Well some huge settlements could be coming.

the cops say no

unless reported it can not be investigated

if not investigated, it simply didn't happen
 

Goober

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Goober I'll take that bet, because I'm absolutely certain it wasn't reported. Because nobody knew, not for sure and nobody anywhere is going to stick their neck out based on rumours and gossip. There may not have even been a drop in the number of candidates, it could have been disproportionately male.

Again, I'm not saying any of this to defend the CBC or even the university, I'm just saying it because this is how things work.

And what I am saying is that CBC may have decided to stick with the money maker. Companies that have bullies as supervisors / managers usually let them be.
Studies have shown this to be a fact of the workplace. Not all companies, but a substantial number.
Was their not a producer on his show that reported such behavior? I seem to recall a story on that?
She left.
 

SLM

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Mar 5, 2011
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Agreed. Apparently there were various meeting held about this issue. A university is a business too. Barely more ethical on some levels perhaps but the professor knew something was wrong and they decided to err on the side of caution. These students are just kids really. Smart kids, but kids that need to be protected because the university too could be libel.

They aren't kids though, not legally. They're adults. I don't disagree about the liability issue, even for adults, but these things take time to climb the ladder of authority in the university, or in any corporate climate. The president of our company, her office is right next to mine down the hall. Do you think she knows all the subtle innuendo that I might pick up on the course of my day dealing with various staff members throughout the company? Of course she doesn't. If something is a problem though it will make it's way up to her, eventually. Four years to me, given the size of Western and don't forget the bureaucracy that's installed in institutions of higher learning too, fours years to come to public light doesn't seem like a long time to me.
 

Goober

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Jian Ghomeshi created ‘environment of tyranny’ | National Post

Jian Ghomeshi created ‘environment of tyranny’

For a 27-year-old journalism-school graduate, it was the perfect job, helping build and produce a brand-new, national show on CBC Radio with Jian Ghomeshi, a reportedly “demanding,” but respected host.

So when the young producer heard lurid stories back in 2007 about Mr. Ghomeshi’s private life — including accounts even then of his hitting and choking dates — she wrote it off as merely kinky behaviour and pushed ahead.

The woman did assist in the birth of one of the network’s most popular and acclaimed programs but, she recounted in a lengthy interview Thursday, the next three years on Q were hellish.

It was marked by alternating charm, emotional “cruelty” and sexual harassment from Mr. Ghomeshi — and a shrug of the shoulders from her manager when she complained about the host’s behaviour, charged the ex-producer.

“We were always on pins and needles, and we were always scared,” she said. “Jian had created this environment of tyranny, no one was standing up to him, everyone enabled his behaviour.”

When in 2010 she revealed to the show’s executive producer that the host had said he wanted to “hate f—” her, and had groped her buttocks, the manager suggested there was no point confronting Mr. Ghomeshi about his actions, the woman said.

“[The executive producer's] comment to me was …’He’s never going to change, you’re a malleable person, let’s talk about how you can make this a less toxic work environment for you,” the woman recalled. “No one was going to talk to Jian, he was too big. The show was a f—-ing juggernaut at that point. His face and name were inextricably linked with the brand of Q.”
 

SLM

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And what I am saying is that CBC may have decided to stick with the money maker. Companies that have bullies as supervisors / managers usually let them be.
Studies have shown this to be a fact of the workplace. Not all companies, but a substantial number.
Was their not a producer on his show that reported such behavior? I seem to recall a story on that?
She left.

Sure I'm not arguing there may have been some of that going on. I don't know, I really haven't followed every piece of news on the subject to be honest, I mostly just dip in and out of this thread on occasion, lol.

But I will say too that we have to expect a certain number of "well, this was all reported/ignored/everybody knew" because hindsight is 20/20, and things that everybody suspected or perhaps thought becomes a certainty once accusations like these come to light.

Again, I'm not defending anyone or justifying anything.
 

Sal

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They aren't kids though, not legally. They're adults. I don't disagree about the liability issue, even for adults, but these things take time to climb the ladder of authority in the university, or in any corporate climate. The president of our company, her office is right next to mine down the hall. Do you think she knows all the subtle innuendo that I might pick up on the course of my day dealing with various staff members throughout the company? Of course she doesn't. If something is a problem though it will make it's way up to her, eventually. Four years to me, given the size of Western and don't forget the bureaucracy that's installed in institutions of higher learning too, fours years to come to public light doesn't seem like a long time to me.

exactly...the prof would have taken his concernes to the chair, the chair would have considered it to decide if it was an issue...then they would have had a meeting with all of the department and got their input, then they would have considered liability, then they apparently decided they had enough info to pull their females out

I doubt it would have gone any further within the University...there would not be a need

And I agree four years to reach the attention of the public with regard to the opinion of the university isn't long. Plus it was not the universities problem, had it been a prof it would have been their problem, but it was merely a company they used to place interns and they still sent females to CBC just not with him. With him they sent males. It would barely be noticed. AND we don't know what happened to that particular student or students with regard to Jian, maybe very little in the mind of the girls, or maybe big but regardless she/they chose not to report it.

that ties everyone's hands
 

Goober

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I do think if more women come forwards, and charges are laid, people from CBC- former- current - may, may come forwards.
But then with huge layoffs the norm I could not fault them if they did not.
 

Goober

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exactly...the prof would have taken his concernes to the chair, the chair would have considered it to decide if it was an issue...then they would have had a meeting with all of the department and got their input, then they would have considered liability, then they apparently decided they had enough info to pull their females out

I doubt it would have gone any further within the University...there would not be a need

And I agree four years to reach the attention of the public with regard to the opinion of the university isn't long. Plus it was not the universities problem, had it been a prof it would have been their problem, but it was merely a company they used to place interns and they still sent females to CBC just not with him. With him they sent males. It would barely be noticed. AND we don't know what happened to that particular student or students with regard to Jian, maybe very little in the mind of the girls, or maybe big but regardless she/they chose not to report it.

that ties everyone's hands
If as it was a significant concern on the placement of interns, went thru the University chain, they had an obligation to act.
They would also have an obligation to report why they had refused to place female intents with the CB and Ghomeshi.
 

Sal

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If as it was a significant concern on the placement of interns, went thru the University chain, they had an obligation to act.
They would also have an obligation to report why they had refused to place female intents with the CB and Ghomeshi.

why? and who are you going to report it to?
 

Goober

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and what would you report? and would you be prepared for a slander suit

Depends upon the information.
if they felt that women were not safe with Ghomeshi, then they had facts, not innuendo.