Two local CBS television executives were placed on administrative leave Monday, hours after the National Association of Black Journalists demanded they be fired over a Los Angeles Times investigation into allegations that they had “cultivated a hostile work environment.”
The Los Angeles Times story, published Sunday, features images of a Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission complaint filed by a former employee accusing a director, CBS Television Stations president Peter Dunn, of being “racist,” sexist, homophopic and discriminatory remarks ”.
CBS said in a statement Monday evening that Dunn and David Friend, Senior Vice President, News for the TV Stations, “have been placed on administrative leave pending the results of a third-party investigation into issues raised in, among others, ( de) recent report from the Los Angeles Times. “
“CBS is committed to a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace where all voices are heard, claims are investigated and appropriate action taken where necessary,” the company said.
Among the allegations reported in the Los Angeles story, two former employees in management positions at the CBS station in Philadelphia said Dunn used the word “ jive ” multiple times to describe the anchor and noted Philadelphia journalist Ukee Washington.
In another allegation, one employee said that when Dunn refused to renew a black female anchor’s contract, he raised “bizarre objections” such as saying, “I hate her face.”
The same employee claimed that Dunn also wondered if an applicant for another anchor position was “too gay for Philadelphia.”
Boyfriend is accused by the two former employees of inappropriate workplace behavior, including criticizing a new anchor’s accent and yelling that she’s the [expletive] up. ”
In a statement posted to the National Association of Black Journalists website on Monday, the organization, which represents more than 4,000 journalists across the country, “said it had heard from numerous CBS employees around the country and informed to have been charged with multiple lawsuits and investigations ”.
“It is clear that there is a huge problem among CBS stations owned and operated, and to transform the corporate culture it must start with the firing of Dunn and Friend,” the organization said.
ViacomCBS told the Los Angeles Times in a statement that “in response to a CBS investigation in early 2019, then senior management discussed the situation with Mr. Dunn, and the company has not received any complaints about its conduct during the period since then. “
Friend told the paper that any comments he made about employees or candidates “were based only on performance or qualifications – not on a person’s race or gender.”
“I believe I – and our stations – have a strong track record of hiring, supporting and placing women and BIPOC journalists in key roles as anchors, reporters and news directors,” Friend said in a statement, according to The Los Angeles. Times.
Senior ViacomCBS executives met with members of the National Association of Black Journalists on Sunday evening to hear their concerns. Executives included George Cheeks, CEO of CBS Entertainment Group and Marva Smalls, the company’s global head of inclusion. According to the NABJ statement, they agreed on the need for an external investigation and “pledged to work with NABJ on a path forward.”
Brien Kennedy, the former general manager of the CBS station in Philadelphia that filed the complaint about Pennsylvania Human Relations, also claimed he was fired in retaliation for cooperating with an internal review of Dunn’s behavior. CBS disputed the retaliation, saying Kennedy was “fired for acting.”
In August 2018, the board of directors of CBS Corporation hired two law firms Investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against former CEO Les Moonves, as well as more general allegations about corporate culture.
In a statement on December 17, 2018, the CBS board of directors said Moonves had been fired for “ good reason ” and that “ the investigators had taken note of previous incidents of inappropriate and unprofessional behavior, and concluded that the historical policy, the practices and structures of the company are not reflected. a high institutional priority in the prevention of intimidation and retaliation. “
However, the statement also stated that the law firms “concluded that harassment and retaliation are not ubiquitous at CBS.”
The board of directors never made the findings of the investigation public.
Margaret Cronan, one of the associates who spoke to the Los Angeles Times about Dunn and Friend, wrote on her LinkedIn page on Sunday that “keeping quiet was not an option.”
“I’ve always believed that when we see racism, discrimination and other offensive behavior in the workplace, we MUST say this. I wish I had done that sooner,” Cronan wrote.
The Los Angeles Times reported in a separate story on Sunday that the two law firms also learned of an unusual benefit CBS received after it acquired WLNY, a small television station in Long Island, New York: membership in an exclusive country club that only was accessible by invitation. with an initial cost of $ 1 million. According to the Times, membership was in Dunn’s name. The club is owned by the founder of WLNY, who sold the channel for $ 55 million.
In a statement, CBS said, “As part of the acquisition a decade ago, CBS was offered a membership to Long Island’s Sebonack Golf Club. Membership was disclosed to senior management and legal counsel in advance. Club rules, this is a corporate membership. that is used to receive customers and business partners. Annual dues are paid by CBS and all personal expenses of executives are paid out of pocket.