CBS, PBS Sever Ties With Charlie Rose Over Sexual Harassment Allegations
November 21 2017 - 2:42PM
Dow Jones News
By Maria Armental
CBS Corp. fired veteran broadcast journalist Charlie Rose on
Tuesday, a day after reports of allegations of sexual harassment
that the media company called "extremely disturbing and
intolerable."
The Public Broadcasting Service, which had distributed Mr.
Rose's trademark interview program the "Charlie Rose" show and
"Charlie Rose: The Week," also terminated its relationship with the
longtime journalist.
On Monday, The Washington Post published accounts from several
women who alleged that Mr. Rose sexually harassed them. The women
had worked or aspired to work for Mr. Rose at the "Charlie Rose"
show from the late 1990s to as recently as 2011. The show is
produced by Charlie Rose Inc., an independent television production
company, and appeared nightly on PBS member stations and in prime
time on Bloomberg Television.
Mr. Rose, 75 years old, had also co-hosted the morning show "CBS
This Morning" and was a contributing correspondent on CBS's "60
Minutes." His firing from CBS was announced to staff in a memo from
CBS News President David Rhodes.
"Despite Charlie's important journalistic contribution to our
news division, there is absolutely nothing more important, in this
or any organization, than ensuring a safe, professional workplace
-- a supportive environment where people feel they can do their
best work. We need to be such a place," Mr. Rhodes wrote in the
memo.
On Tuesday morning, Mr. Rose's "CBS This Morning" co-hosts,
Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell, addressed the allegations.
"Charlie does not get a pass here. He doesn't get a pass from
anyone in this room," said Ms. King, who had been hired with Mr.
Rose to anchor "CBS This Morning" in 2011 and described Mr. Rose as
a friend and partner. Ms. King said she intended to speak to Mr.
Rose Tuesday.
Mr. Rose on Monday apologized for inappropriate behavior, saying
in a statement posted on his Twitter account: "I have behaved
insensitively at times, and I accept responsibility for that,
though I do not believe that all of these allegations are accurate.
I always felt that I was pursuing shared feelings, even though I
now realize I was mistaken."
PBS and Bloomberg LP said Monday that they suspended
distribution of the "Charlie Rose" show, in light of the
allegations. The program had been on since 1991, and Mr. Rose was
host and executive editor.
In terminating its relationship with Mr. Rose on Tuesday, PBS
said it "expects all the producers we work with to provide a
workplace where people feel safe and are treated with dignity and
respect."
Bloomberg had no further comment on Tuesday.
Companies across industries are reassessing their policies
following a wave of allegations of workplace sexual misconduct,
including accusations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein,
comedian Louis C.K. and political analyst Mark Halperin. Mr.
Weinstein has apologized for his past behavior with colleagues but
denied allegations of nonconsensual sex. Messrs. C.K. and Halperin
expressed remorse, and Mr. Halperin denied some of the
allegations.
On Monday, the New York Times suspended political reporter Glenn
Thrush following a report of inappropriate behavior toward women.
Mr. Thrush apologized "to any woman who felt uncomfortable" in his
presence.
Also on Monday, 21st Century Fox said it was setting up an
advisory committee for Fox News as part of a settlement with a
shareholder over sexual harassment and racial discrimination
complaints at the company.
21st Century Fox and Wall Street Journal parent News Corp share
common ownership.
CBS's Mr. Rhodes said that maintaining the news organization's
credibility requires managing "basic standards of behavior."
"I've often heard that things used to be different. And no one
may be able to correct the past. But what may once have been
accepted should not ever have been acceptable," Mr. Rhodes
wrote.
Joe Flint contributed to this article.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 21, 2017 14:27 ET (19:27 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
CBS (NYSE:CBS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
CBS (NYSE:CBS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024