Protesters storm NBC over handling of Matt Lauer, Harvey Weinstein allegations
Protesters and activists from UltraViolet stormed the NBC headquarters in New York City demanding Comcast and NBC executives take action and responsibility for allegations made in Ronan Farrow's book 'Catch and Kill.'
NBC News Digital employees have formed a union, accusing management of mishandling “serious incidents of sexual misconduct” that have created an onslaught of negative attention for the Peacock Network.
“We love working at NBC News Digital. But no organization is perfect, and there are serious issues that keep the company from being as great as it can be,” the NBC News Digital employees said in a statement Wednesday announcing their partnering with the NewsGuild of New York.
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But the digital employees aren’t solely fed up with management botching sexual misconduct scandals.
“A company with such incredible resources can and should do more to close gender and race wage gaps, address chronic understaffing, meaningfully prioritize diversity, promote transparency, and offer job protections,” the statement continued. “The company boasts of diversity in hiring, but falls short of the inclusive culture that retains and promotes a truly diverse newsroom.”
NBC News Chairman Andy Lack oversees a news division that has been plagued with scandals and negative publicity.
The union news came a day after Axios, a corporate partner of NBC, revealed that “roughly a dozen” NBC News Digital staffers would be laid off as part of a company “refocus.”
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NBC News Digital employees acknowledged that management has “indicated they are committed to addressing some” issues such as ending nine-hour work shifts and increasing standard vacation time. But most of NBC News’ public problems stem from a series of sexual misconduct scandals that have plagued the once-proud network.
NBC News famously refused to air Ronan Farrow’s reporting on Harvey Weinstein. NBC News chairman Andy Lack and his top deputy, NBC News president Noah Oppenheim, have been adamant that Farrow’s bombshell reporting on Harvey Weinstein wasn’t good enough for their network. The NBC News leaders told Farrow to take his reporting elsewhere, so he published it in The New Yorker, where it won a Pulitzer Prize and helped launch the #MeToo movement.
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Farrow has long claimed that NBC didn’t expose Weinstein as a sexual predator in part because the now-disgraced Hollywood mogul leveraged ex-NBC anchor Matt Lauer’s own sexual misconduct. Once Lauer was fired, Lack and Oppenheim refused to launch an outside investigation to determine who knew about his alleged misconduct.
“Recent weeks have highlighted serious questions as to how NBC News has handled incidents of sexual misconduct in the workplace as well as the opaque processes and procedures for reporting on and exposing powerful predators. NBC News repeatedly refused calls for an independent review on both counts despite numerous such requests from staff. This lack of transparency and NBC News' troubling trend of passing on stories which investigate the powerful ultimately harm our credibility as journalists,” the now-unionized staffers wrote. “We can address these issues, but only if management works with us.”
NBC News executive vice president of digital Chris Berend addressed the situation in an email to staffers that was obtained by Fox News.
“Earlier today, some of our colleagues requested that the company voluntarily recognize the NewsGuild for a portion of the staff within NBC News Digital," Berend wrote. "As we all know, similar discussions have taken place across many digital newsrooms over the past few years. I want you to know we are deeply committed to a fair and healthy workplace for all our employees.
"We welcome this dialogue from within our digital organization, and any constructive conversation aimed at building the future of NBC News Digital and ensuring that we’re the best we can be,” Berend said. “We will address this request quickly, and will keep you updated every step of the way.”
The lack of an independent investigation has been criticized by everyone from women’s rights groups to current and former on-air personalities. MSNBC host Rachel Maddow recently said it “would be impossible for me to overstate the amount of consternation inside the building around this issue.’
Maddow pointed out that the New Yorker magazine published Farrow’s story “less than two months” after NBC sent him packing, implying that she believed the celebrity scion’s version of events. Maddow also independently confirmed Farrow’s claim that NBC ordered him to stop reporting on Weinstein.
“I stand in solidarity with these employees fighting for a fair workplace on behalf of all workers at NBC,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., tweeted.
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