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Ross Porter (Canadian broadcaster)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ross Porter C.M. is a Canadian former broadcast executive and music writer.[1]

Career

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Porter was a producer and host for CBC Radio 2, where he was associated with programs including Night Lines, Latenight and After Hours,[2] from 2004 to 2018 he was president and CEO of the Toronto non-profit jazz radio station CJRT-FM (JAZZ.FM91).[3] Porter was a pop culture reporter for CBC Television's The National and CBC Newsworld's On the Arts.[4] He was named vice-president of the jazz television channel CoolTV in 2003.[4]

Porter published a consumer guide to jazz recordings, The Essential Jazz Recordings: 101 CDs, in 2006.[5] He is a two-time winner for Broadcaster of the Year at Canada's National Jazz Awards, in 2002[6] and 2004.[7] In 2009, the Jazz Journalists Association nominated Porter for the Willis Conover-Marian McPartland Award for Broadcasting.[8]

In June 2014, Porter was made a member of the Order of Canada for his contributions to broadcasting and developing Canadian talent over a forty-year career.[9]

Allegations

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In 2018, after a group of employees, past employees, and contractors made allegations of sexual misconduct and workplace harassment against Porter, who denied these allegations but stepped down as President and CEO of JAZZ.FM.[10] The board of directors was overthrown the following year.[11] While donors expressed strong support of the station, some were reportedly "angry" Porter was still employed at JAZZ.FM.;[12] Porter made his final broadcast on April 27, 2019.

References

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  1. ^ "Variety key to new show covering all forms of popular music". Ottawa Citizen, March 29, 1992.
  2. ^ "CBC radio must renew itself or stagnate, top official says". Montreal Gazette, June 17, 1993.
  3. ^ "Porter to head CJRT-FM". National Post, June 8, 2004.
  4. ^ a b "Ross Porter joins CanWest: CBC jazz expert". National Post, May 27, 2003.
  5. ^ "The essential 101 for jazz lovers; A starting point for collections". Toronto Star, November 2, 2006.
  6. ^ "Hogtown grabs the spotlight". The Globe and Mail, February 26, 2002.
  7. ^ "Porter picked for jazz award". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, February 26, 2004.
  8. ^ "Top Honours". Jazz Journalists Association. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  9. ^ "Ross Porter named to Order of Canada". JAZZ.FM91.
  10. ^ Houpt, Simon (June 7, 2018). "Toronto's JAZZ.FM91 CEO steps down in wake of probe into sexual-harassment allegations". Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  11. ^ Houpt, Simon (February 15, 2019). "JAZZ.FM91 board overthrown by dissident member group". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  12. ^ Vincent, Donovan (August 31, 2018). "Angry donors pack Jazz.FM meeting amid corporate interest in deal with station". thestar.com. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
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