AP employees ask about any complaints against former exec

NEW YORK » More than 100 employees of The Associated Press petitioned the company’s management on Friday, asking if any sexual harassment complaints had been made against former news executive Michael Oreskes while he was employed there.

Oreskes, who worked at the AP from 2008 to 2015, was ousted this week as newsroom chief of National Public Radio following reports of improprieties when he worked at The New York Times in the 1990s and later at NPR. The AP has not said whether anyone has complained about Oreskes at the news agency. Jessica Bruce, senior vice president, said there have been “no written agreements, payments or settlements of any kind” made with anyone in connection with his behavior. The request by 116 members of the News Media Guild came as the AP’s executive editor, Sally Buzbee, emailed a letter to staff members worldwide reminding them of steps they could take if they felt harassed or intimidated.

Meanwhile, NPR’s president and CEO, Jarl Mohn, held a meeting with the radio network’s employees on Friday to discuss the case. Mohn apologized, telling them he should have taken quicker action.

Oreskes was caught up in the flood of reports about bad behavior following revelations of alleged sexual assault by Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. The veteran news executive resigned from NPR at Mohn’s request Wednesday following a Washington Post story about two women who said he suddenly kissed them while they were discussing job prospects in the 1990s. Oreskes was then Washington bureau chief at The New York Times. Since the initial Washington Post story about the accusations, two female NPR employees’ complaints have come to light about times when he had made them feel uncomfortable.

The NPR meeting was preceded by a note from Mohn to his staff stating that the company had hired an outside law firm to review its handling of complaints about Oreskes.