NPR bosses knew about harassment allegations, but kept top editor on job

Michael Oreskes resigned from his position at NPR on Wednesday. (Chuck Zoeller/AP)

By Paul Farhi November 1 at 7:00 PM 

NPR’s senior management was aware of multiple harassment complaints by women against its top newsroom executive during the past two years but took no action to remove him from his job until news reports about his conduct appeared on Tuesday.

The public broadcasting organization formally severed ties on Wednesday with Michael Oreskes a day after The Washington Post reported that he had been accused of making inappropriate advances toward two women when he ran the New York Times’s Washington bureau nearly two decades earlier.

NPR itself reported Tuesday night that a third woman, a 26-year-old assistant producer named Rebecca Hersher, had complained to NPR’s management about a sexually oriented conversation that Oreskes initiated in October 2015.

NPR’s chief executive, Jarl Mohn, and chief legal officer, Jonathan Hart, were aware of all three allegations against Oreskes but didn’t act to remove him until Tuesday, after publication of The Post article.

Oreskes’s behavior, and the organization’s response to it, has stirred a virtual rebellion in NPR’s newsroom, particularly among female employees. In a draft petition signed Wednesday by dozens of women, including some of its best-known hosts and correspondents, the women wrote: “We are profoundly concerned by how NPR has handled sexual harassment reports and senior management’s insufficient efforts to create a workplace environment free of harassment and one that ensures equal opportunity for all employees.”

Oreskes, 63, is among several journalists who have lost their jobs because of sexual-harassment allegations; the others include political commentator Mark Halperin and editor Leon Wieseltier. The rapid developments follow multiple accusations leveled against film mogul Harvey Weinstein and former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly. The surge in complaints has various industries grappling with how to deal with misconduct allegations that sometimes date back decades.

Current and former NPR employees said Oreskes’s misconduct was an open secret in the newsroom and expressed dismay that he was allowed to keep such a powerful job despite management’s awareness of the accusations.

NPR officials, including Mohn, Hart and NPR board chairman Roger Lamay, either declined interviews or did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.

In a statement Wednesday, Oreskes said, “I am deeply sorry to the people I hurt. My behavior was wrong and inexcusable, and I accept full responsibility.” He said he was grateful to his colleagues “for every minute I’ve had to work with each of you. . . . Public radio matters so much and I will always be your supporter.”

Source: washingtonpost