Ross Porter steps down as CEO of Toronto jazz station in wake of sexual-harassment allegations

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This article was published 08/06/2018 (3042 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadian jazz-broadcasting icon Ross Porter, who for a decade hosted a national CBC radio show out of Winnipeg, has stepped down as president and chief executive officer of a Toronto radio station in the wake of sexual-harassment allegations.

Porter hosted After Hours on CBC Radio 2 for 11 years before leaving to become vice-president of programming for Winnipeg jazz radio station Cool FM in 2003, and moving on to JAZZ.FM91 a year later.

The Globe and Mail is reporting Porter left JAZZ.FM91 last week following a workplace investigation that began after more than a dozen current and former employees complained he had sexually harassed staff and created a toxic workplace.

“We’re not aware of any complaints regarding Ross Porter during his time at CBC,” Chuck Thompson, head of public affairs for the CBC, told the Free Press Friday.

Roxane Gagné, who worked with Porter at Cool FM 99.1, said she never saw anything untoward happen at the Winnipeg station.

“When I was working with him, he was very professional and he was a very good guy. He was very professional and very focused on the jazz scene,” Gagné said.

“I’m sorry to hear this.”

According to the Globe, Porter had been accused of unwanted touching at JAZZ.FM91, made jokes employees should sleep with the not-for-profit station’s supporters, and would tell staff they should come up with ideas that would “make me horny.”

The station hired an employment lawyer to conduct an investigation into the allegations. The lawyer, Jennifer MacKenzie, interviewed 27 people, according to the station’s board of directors.

“Many of the complaints were unsubstantiated, while others warranted further consideration and action. Where the findings substantiated aspects of the complaint, the board has taken corrective action,” the board stated in a letter to the Globe and Mail about the findings of the investigation.

The music station has allowed Porter to receive the title of president emeritus and keep broadcasting his Saturday morning show Music to Listen to Jazz By. It posted a note on its website stating Porter has stepped down to spend more time with his wife, who is ill.

“I consider many of these accusations to be isolated, distorted and manipulated out of context,” Porter said in a statement to the Globe.