Q the End

Jian Ghomeshi's career, and perhaps Jian Ghomeshi himself, are toast. Burnt, unbuttered toast. There's not a broadcaster in the English speaking world who would dare hire him following the welter of appalling allegations that have emerged in the last week. But because he is now the slice no one wants doesn't mean his baby, the music-culture program Q on CBC Radio and NPR in the States, is following its creator out the door. It should.  

I fail to see how Q can survive such an unprecedented crash and burn by its public voice, its public face. Of course, the program isn't the host, and the art isn't the artist nor the book the author. But host and program are so inextricably linked here that there is a taint about the latter now, and the CBC's chances of removing it are close to zero, I'd say. The program should go on hiatus and get a stem to stern retooling - starting with the no-brainer of a new name - all the while keeping its music-culture focus. Finding a new host for the reimagined program, let's call it Hogtown Cool, will be more difficult. I've read that Stuart McLean, hugely popular thanks to his Vinyl Café program and live tours, and an experienced broadcaster, has been chosen to take over. Well, props to Stuart McLean for agreeing to such a difficult gig, but Hogtown Cool he ain't. Neither is Piya Chattopadhyay, the host following Ghomeshi's ouster.

If CBC were paying me big bucks for my advice - I did some yakking on CBC Radio and TV more than a decade ago, all gratis - I'd say look outside the corporation and the broadcast industry for the next host. In some Canadian city someplace there's got to be a sharp young mind waiting for a chance to shine. I only listened attentively to Q once, incidentally, because former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham was on and I am a lifelong fan of Mick and the boys. Loog Oldham tore Ghomeshi a new one: that was enough Q for me.