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