Media

The Liberal Journos Accused Of Inappropriate Behavior In 2017

(Youtube screenshot/Bloomberg) (Youtube screenshot/HollywoodLife) (Youtube screenshot/ MSNBC)

Justin Caruso Contributor
Font Size:

Many liberal men in the establishment media were accused of inappropriate behavior this year. The journalists facing accusations worked for some of the biggest names in the business.

Charlie Rose

Veteran news anchor Charlie Rose was accused by several women of sexual harassment in the workplace. Rose — who hosted programs on CBS, PBS TV and was a contributing correspondent for “60 Minutes”  –was accused of being a “sexual predator” in a Washington Post report from November. Rose would allegedly appear naked in front of female coworkers, grope them and make sexual advances.

Rose responded to the allegations by saying, in part, “It is essential that these women know I hear them and that I deeply apologize for my inappropriate behavior. I am greatly embarrassed. I have behaved insensitively at times, and I accept responsibility for that, though I do not believe that all of these allegations are accurate. I always felt that I was pursuing shared feelings, even though I now realize I was mistaken.” (RELATED: 8 Women Accuse Charlie Rose Of Sexual Harassment)

After the allegations became public, Rose was fired from CBS and PBS.

Mark Halperin

NBC News journalist and author Mark Halperin was accused by multiple women of workplace harassment while he worked at ABC from the 1990s to mid-2000s. After the allegations were made public, he was fired from the network.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - AUGUST 11: Executive producer "The Circus" Mark Halperin speaks onstage at '"The Circus" of Politics' panel discussion during the Showtime portion of the 2016 Television Critics Association Summer Tour at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 11, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – AUGUST 11: Executive producer “The Circus” Mark Halperin speaks onstage at ‘”The Circus” of Politics’ panel discussion during the Showtime portion of the 2016 Television Critics Association Summer Tour at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on August 11, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

One woman alleged, “The first meeting I ever had with [Halperin] was in his office and he just came up from behind — I was sitting in a chair from across his desk — and he came up behind me and [while he was clothed] he pressed his body on mine, his penis, on my shoulder.”

She added, “I was obviously completely shocked. I can’t even remember how I got out of there — [but] I got out of there and was freaked out by that whole experience. Given I was so young and new I wasn’t sure if that was the sort of thing that was expected of you if you wanted something from a male figure in news.” (RELATED: NBC’s Mark Halperin OUT After Multiple Sexual Harassment Allegations)

Allegations against Halperin came after he previously attacked President Trump over the “Access Hollywood” tape, tweeting, “When people say some new Trump tape could have material that is WORSE than the @accesshollywood video, what exactly could be WORSE?!?”

Matt Lauer

Another veteran news host, Matt Lauer, was accused of sexual misconduct and sexual assault and fired from NBC News as a result. One woman alleged that she had sex with Lauer in his office and passed out during intercourse, while another woman said that Lauer gifted her a sex toy and left a note saying he wanted to use it on her.

NBC News’ Andrew Lack said NBC received “a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer. While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over 20 years he’s been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.” (RELATED: Two More Women Accuse Matt Lauer Of Inappropriate Conduct)

Senior Producer With CNN’s Jake Tapper

Teddy Davis, a senior producer on CNN’s “State of the Union” hosted by Jake Tapper, was fired after being accused of inappropriate behavior.

Tapper said, “When CNN executives were told about these complaints, they reacted swiftly and appropriately, as they should. Workplaces need to be safe and I am fully supportive of CNN’s action.” (RELATED: Producer For CNN’s Jake Tapper Fired After Misconduct Complaints)

Davis’ lawyer said that he was not accused of sexual harassment or other sexual misconduct, saying, “My client was not accused of sexual harassment.”

“Nor was he ever accused of any physical contact, language of a sexual nature or any sort of lewd conduct.  While we are not going to get into details, out of respect for all those involved, this was something entirely different than what is being reported by some media outlets,” he added.

Leon Wieseltier

Leon Wieseltier, a longtime editor at The New Republic, was accused of harassment and making inappropriate sexual innuendos in the workplace. Among other accusations, he is accused of leaving a note to a female colleague “thanking her” for wearing a miniskirt, according to The New York Times.

He apologized, saying, “For my offenses against some of my colleagues in the past I offer a shaken apology and ask for their forgiveness. The women with whom I worked are smart and good people. I am ashamed to know that I made any of them feel demeaned and disrespected. I assure them I will not waste this reckoning.”

Wieseltier was planning to launch a new magazine, but after the allegations surfaced its publication was suspended.

Ryan Lizza

Ryan Lizza was let go from his position as a New Yorker writer after being accused of “improper sexual conduct.”

Lizza responded by rejecting the claims. He said, “I am dismayed that The New Yorker has decided to characterize a respectful relationship with a woman I dated as somehow inappropriate. The New Yorker was unable to cite any company policy that was violated. I am sorry to my friends, workplace colleagues, and loved ones for any embarrassment this episode may cause. I love The New Yorker, my home for the last decade, and I have the highest regard for the people who work there. But this decision, which was made hastily and without a full investigation of the relevant facts, was a terrible mistake.” (RELATED: New Yorker Fires Ryan Lizza For ‘Improper Sexual Conduct’)

Lizza, also a CNN contributor and Georgetown University lecturer, has been taken off the air on CNN and will not be teaching at Georgetown during the upcoming semester.

Chris Matthews

It was confirmed in an exclusive report by The Daily Caller that NBC paid a settlement to a woman who accused MSNBC host Chris Matthews of sexual harassment. (RELATED: NBC Made Payment To Staffer After Sexual Harassment Claim Against Chris Matthews)

Matthews paid $40,000 to a former female producer of “Hardball with Chris Matthews” in 1999. He allegedly made inappropriate comments and jokes, and he was given a “formal reprimand.”

Matthews has yet to face any consequences over this settlement becoming public.

Stephen Henderson

Detroit Free Press editor and columnist Stephen Henderson was terminated in December after the paper’s investigation, prompted by an allegation that Henderson committed sexual harassment, found that Henderson had allegedly engaged in inappropriate behavior.”

Gannet, the company that owns the Free Press, released a statement reading, “Effective today, Stephen Henderson will no longer be employed by the Detroit Free Press. The decision was made after an internal investigation was conducted which uncovered credible allegations that Mr. Henderson’s behavior has been inconsistent with company values and standards.”

Henderson had previously won a Pulitzer Prize in 2014.

Note: This post has been updated to include a previous statement from Teddy Davis’ attorney.

Follow Justin on Twitter

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel