Revelations of sexual harassment allegations continue to explode, spanning various fields including media. A report that came out on Tuesday says former New York Times bureau chief and the head for National Public Radio has also been accused of sexually assaulting two women who were applying for a job under him about twenty years ago.
Michael Oreskes, NPR’s senior vice president of news, is now under investigation by the organization amidst allegations of breaking off from interviewing women-applicants in the past to French-kiss them.
The women were working as journalists nearly two decades ago and gave similar stories recently. They spoke with a national newspaper on the condition that their identities will not be revealed.
The women both claim that Oreskes was Washington bureau chief for the Times then. They spoke to him about the possibility of working for the said paper, and from nowhere he just pounced on them. The women said the incidents took place in the 1990s.
The women contacted an NPR lawyer about their stories in mid-October, triggered, too, by revelations of sex abuse and rape against once influential film producer Harvey Weinstein.
The NPR lawyer reached back to the women and informed them of an internal probe the NPR is undertaking on the matter.
Oreskes joined NPR in 2015. He also worked previously for the Associated Press.
NPR also issued a statement on the issue. Part of it reads: “We take these kinds of allegations very seriously. If a concern is raised, we review the matter promptly and take appropriate steps as warranted to assure a safe, comfortable and productive work environment. As a matter of policy, we do not comment about personnel matters.
Oreskes has yet to give a personal statement on the matter, and has not responded to requests for comments.
Source:
http://nypost.com/2017/10/31/npr-chief-hit-with-sexual-assault-allegations/
