PBS cancelled the Tavis Smiley Show and fired Charlie Rose following claims of sexual misconduct.
Network president/CEO Paula Kerger today explained how PBS came to those decisions and what they mean for the network moving forward, per TVGuide:
“[Regarding Smiley], Because we were contacted by someone [directly], we hired a law firm that has expertise in this area and they conducted the investigation. I’m sure many of you have seen what [Smiley] has spoken about in the press. The investigation included, quite frankly, an interview with him,” Kerger explained. “It was based on multiple allegations of inappropriate behavior, as well as his own words about what happened, that led us to the decision to suspend his program.”
On Rose:
“As you know, the way that we’re organized is that the production that comes to public broadcasting is all done by independent organizations, as was [Rose]’s. It was an independent production company that was housed at Bloomberg. That’s where he produced his program. He managed the program himself — all of the human resources — all of that came out of his own organization. We didn’t have the kind of view into that organization and we learned of the issue with Charlie Rose the morning they actually wrote the story in The Washington Post.”
Reporter Christiane Amanpour has replaced Rose while the network seeks a permanent replacement. Kerger said:
“I am particularly happy to have Christiane Amanpour, who I think is an amazing talent, and creating an opportunity to bring her to public television has been great. But look, Charlie Rose was on the air for 25 years, and I think we have a moment to really think very hard about what we want to do at 11 o’clock broadcasting, and so we’re looking at a lot of different possibilities, of which Christiane may very well be a part.”
What do you think of PBS’ decisions on Tavis Smiley and Rose?
Charles (Chuck) Dabney says
The content on Charlie Rose was a vital part of my US and International understanding of our world and how it all interacts. The Regular guests that Charlie had on, like Dexter Filken, who lived and worked in the middle of their news beats, were the ones who could bind it all together and, sometimes, dissect to the cause of the issues. Charlie could bring them out to us.
There were others within Bloomberg who stood in for Charlie when he was either ill or on assignment, who did an adequate job and, given some time, could grow into his caliber of effectiveness. Al Hunt was excellent and should be considered, if only on an interim basis.
We need an HOUR-LONG SHOW, not a couple of thirties, and we need an interviewer who can put one together that gets us to where we needed to be. It is a bloody shame this had to happen with Charlie, but I feared that age was going to force some change sometime soon. Let’s go ahead and “update” ourselves and get this show back on the PBS airwaves. You also need to preserve as much of the research talent as was in the Charlie Rose organization. They were a crack team.
BTW, The clear glass table that Christine used the other night was the perfect substitution for Rose’s round oak one. You need a table and not two people sitting stiffly in two arm chairs.
I am a true appreciator of what we have lost with the demise of Chariie and would gladly serve as a viewer soundboard for you as you move forward to put these pieces back together!