NBC says there’s no culture of harassment in its news division
NBC’s internal investigation after Matt Lauer’s firing says it doesn’t believe there is a culture of sexual harassment at the news division and that current news executives weren’t aware of Lauer’s behavior until the complaint that doomed him.
Investigators also said more needs to be done to ensure that the more than 2,000 employees at NBC News can talk about bad behavior without fearing retaliation, leading NBC News Chairman Andy Lack to establish a way this can be done outside the company.
But NBC was criticized for not allowing outsiders to look at its practices. While making the report public is a positive step, NBC needed an independent third party to look at its practices to make the findings credible, said the organization Press Forward, made up of women who worked in the news industry who experienced sexual misconduct.
“No one is going to be fully candid when speaking to management for fear of losing their jobs,” said Eleanor McManus, a co-founder of Press Forward. “News organizations, journalists and media all hold corporations, governments and individuals to higher standards in similar instances, so it’s concerning that NBC would not choose to follow those same standards itself.”
NBC Universal’s general counsel, Kim Harris, conducted the investigation. Harris’ report was primarily concerned with Lauer, and no specific complaints about others were discussed. There was no mention of a former NBC News employee’s accusation last month that former “Nightly News” anchor Tom Brokaw made unwanted advances on her, which he has denied.
NBC said the work of its all-female investigative team was reviewed and approved by two outside firms.
Lauer, the former “Today” show host, was fired in November after it was found he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with another NBC employee. Three additional women subsequently complained about Lauer.
Investigators found no evidence that anyone “in position of authority” at NBC News knew that Lauer had sexual relationships with others in the company until the Nov. 27 complaint by a woman about an affair that began at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Still, two of the four women who complained about Lauer said they believed someone in management knew about his behavior.
Former “Today” anchor Ann Curry had said in a news interview that she had gone to management to say they should watch Lauer after another woman had told her Lauer had harassed her. But NBC’s report said Curry declined to reveal to investigators whom she spoke to and that no current or past managers interviewed by investigators said they’d spoken to her about the issue.
Curry was not immediately available to clarify that on Wednesday.
The report said Lauer, who is married, was flirtatious and engaged in sexual banter in the office. Several women said he had complimented them on their appearance in a sexually suggestive way.
Investigators threw cold water on a published report that a button allowed Lauer to lock his office door without getting up from his desk. The button closed the door, but didn’t lock it, the report said.
Some of the 68 people interviewed said they were aware of other rumored extramarital affairs in the news division. Most were already known and dealt with; some are being looked into, the report said.
“The investigation team does not believe that there is a widespread or systemic pattern of behavior that violates company policy or a culture of harassment in the News Division,” Harris’ report said. It was a flight from Detroit. But as one passenger said after the plane finally landed in Denver, smoke billowing through vents in the cabin while the aircraft was taxiing, it was more like a “flight from hell.”
Delta Air Lines Flight 1854, which was delayed by three hours, arrived safely Tuesday night, the company said. It said there were “no flames” during the incident, which led to 146 passengers scrambling onto the wing and evacuating from the plane on inflatable slides.
The smoke was created from hydraulic oil dripping onto an auxiliary power unit activated after the aircraft landed. The unit then pushed the smoke into the cabin, Delta spokesman Anthony Black told The Washington Post on Wednesday.
There were a “handful” of minor injuries, including smoke inhalation and sprains, Black said. Those passengers have been treated and released. Emergency personnel were dispatched to meet the passengers, he said.
“Once the crew determined that emergency evacuation was necessary, they quickly and professionally directed passengers off the aircraft through the various exits onboard,” Black said.
Passenger photos and accounts portray a more chaotic scene, including criticism of how the Delta crew handled the incident, which one woman said left “everybody dizzy.”
“Disappointed in the leadership during the emergency. No direction from delta. Thank goodness for the passengers who take care of things,” passenger Rachel Naftel wrote on Twitter. “When there are fumes coming out of vent & everybody dizzy, there is a problem & it’s necessary to evacuate.”
Naftel later wrote that she and other passengers discussed the lingering effect of the smoke as they waited for information and bags.
“We all keep saying how bad our mouths taste still after breathing it,” she wrote.
One photo that Naftel posted to Twitter shows more than 10 passengers sitting and standing on the wing as fellow travelers on the ground reach out to help. The photo does not appear to include any Delta crew members or emergency personnel. Other photos show a passenger going down an inflatable slide and dozens standing in the grass looking at the plane, some holding their carry-on bags.
Naftel also described a possible early warning sign in the cabin.
“Dog was the first to bark,” she wrote on Twitter.
Another passenger, Steve Katich, posted photos from inside the plane during the incident. The cabin is darkened and overhead lights can be seen swirling through the smoke. One photo shows a woman putting her arm to her mouth.
Passenger Jim McManus, who described the journey as a “flight from hell,” told ABC affiliate KMGH that most people on the plane remained calm during the incident. The flight attendants instructed passengers to keep their heads down, he said.
But, McManus said, the ordeal could have been worse.
“We were kind of sitting there complaining among ourselves, and one guy pointed out that it didn’t happen while we were in the air,” he said.