CBS’ BLACK EYE
Network’s leniency toward CEO Moonves sends wrong signal
CBS made the wrong call. The board of directors for the No. 1 commercial broadcast network agreed on Monday to keep its embattled chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves in power.
Since the bombshell New Yorker story from Ronan Farrow on Friday alleging that Moonves sexually harassed and intimidated six women, including actress and Quincy native Illeana Douglas, CBS Corp.'s stock has dropped 10 percent, the network reported yesterday.
Media analysts predict it will continue to fall.
While the board has pledged to launch an independent investigation, you have to wonder how much freedom it will have with Moonves still behind the big desk.
Moonves, who made $69.3 million last year, denies the claims, saying, “I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances.
Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely. But
I always understood and respected — and abided by the principle — that
`no' means
`no,' and I have never used my position to harm or hinder anyone's career.”
He deserves the benefit of the doubt, but the board missed a chance to send an important message to its own workforce by placing him on administrative leave. Instead, they left Moonves where he is and opted to postpone the annual shareholders meeting scheduled for Aug. 10. So much for accountability.
It's worth noting that CBS suspended — and ultimately fired — Charlie Rose within one day after eight women told The Washington Post in November that the morning anchor sexually harassed them. Are on-camera talent held to stricter rules?
The timing of the New Yorker story has some suspicious. Moonves is locked in a contentious legal battle with Shari Redstone, a majority holder in the network, for the very future of CBS. She wants to merge the network back into Viacom; he wants to keep CBS separate — and presumably hang on to his own power base. Redstone denies being part of a hit job.
Any action against Moonves would probably have an immediate effect on CBS — his wife, Julie Chen, is a major asset, hosting “The Talk” in the afternoon and “Big Brother” at night. Chen wouldn't want to stay where her husband isn't welcome.
On Friday, she tweeted: “Leslie is a good man and a loving father, devoted husband and inspiring corporate leader. He has always been a kind, decent and moral human being.”
She reiterated her support Monday on “The Talk,” referring to her tweet and adding, “I will stand by that statement today, tomorrow, forever.”
Others at the network would appreciate due process.
Stephen Colbert, on his late-night show Monday, said, “I like working for him, but accountability is meaningless unless it's for everybody, whether it's the leader of a network or the leader of the free world.”
For the last decade, Moonves made CBS the No. 1 commercial broadcast network.