by jon » Fri Nov 28, 2014 6:46 pm
Spoiler alert: what CBC's fifth estate will reveal in Jian Ghomeshi investigation
by Charlie Smith on Nov 28, 2014 at 4:45 pm
straight.com
Here on the West Coast, we see network television shows later than Canadians who are already in the dark back east.
So it will be several hours before Vancouverites will be huddled around their TV sets to watch the fifth estate's review of management's handling of former CBC broadcaster Jian Ghomeshi.
The CBC, however, has provided a preview on its website of the results of the show's investigation.
Apparently, some CBC managers knew last June about allegations that Ghomeshi had punched and choked women, according to the fifth estate.
In addition, the fifth estate reported that CBC managers did not contact most "known staffers" on the radio show Q, which Ghomeshi hosted, during an internal probe earlier this year.
The head of CBC Radio, Chris Boyce, told the program that Ghomeshi was never "given the choice to walk away", as the former broadcaster had claimed in his famous Facebook post. Ghomeshi has since deleted his social-media accounts.
Boyce's comment prompted media critic Jesse Brown to tweet: "Hmm. If CBC never gave Ghomeshi a chance to walk away quietly as he claims, why did they immediately deny he'd been fired when I reported it?"
In May, Boyce met with Ghomeshi, who alleged at the time that an ex-girlfriend was threatening to go public with details about their sex life.
"He looked into my eyes and he said, 'I have never crossed any ethical or legal line'," Boyce recalled in an interview with fifth estate correspondent Gillian Findlay.
The fifth estate also revealed that two Q staffers went to their boss after reading a Twitter account with disturbing allegations about Ghomeshi. That reportedly led to "an emergency meeting" on Canada Day involving Boyce and Todd Spencer, the corporation's head of human resources.
A subsequent CBC investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing or workplace harassment.
Ghomeshi was fired in October and on November 26, he was charged with four counts of sexual assault and one count of choking a person to overcome resistance. The latter count has a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The former broadcaster has been released from custody after his mother posted $100,000 in bail. Ghomeshi's next court appearance is on January 8.
He plans on entering a plea of not guilty, which means his accusers could face a brutal cross-examination in court.