Kearney was ‘too scared’ to report groping
MARTHA KEARNEY has spoken of the “horrible and humiliating” sexual harassment she suffered as young reporter.
The Today presenter, now 60, said that in her early career as a journalist in Westminster she experienced groping, which she was afraid to report.
“I didn’t complain. It was the world of work, the rough and tumble of the newsroom. The young women I work with at Today have zero tolerance. I hope #Metoo will make a difference,” she told the Radio Times.
She said she regretted never speaking out because she was too intimidated by her senior colleagues. “I wish I’d felt stronger, less intimidated, but in my 20s, bosses were powerful people,” she said, rejecting the idea that the experience was “character-forming”.
She also said that Radio 4’s Today programme, which she joined in April from the World at One, had a “spirit of camaraderie”.
“When I’ve looked slightly rabbit-in-the-headlights, or I’ve not had my script to hand, they have stepped in for me,” she added.