A top National Public Radio news editor was placed on leave Tuesday amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment.
NPR said it is investigating accusations by two women against Michael Oreskes, NPR’s senior vice president of news and editorial director, The Washington Post first reported.
His accusers, both journalists, allege that Oreskes — then the Washington bureau chief of the New York Times — abruptly kissed them in meetings about jobs at the paper.
Both women said that they met Oreskes, ostensibly to discuss their careers, when he unexpectedly kissed them on the lips, sticking his tongue in their mouths, The Washington Post reported.
Oreskes’ accusers did not want to reveal their names, for fear that it would interfere with their job prospects, according to the Washington Post.
The alleged incidents took place in the late 1990s, the women told The Washington Post, well before Oreskes joined NPR in March 2015.
He had previously held senior editing roles at the Times and the Associated Press.
The women reported the alleged misconduct to an NPR attorney in mid-October, according to the Post’s report.
NPR issued a statement saying that it takes “these kinds of allegations very seriously. If a concern is raised, we review the matter promptly and take appropriate steps as warranted to assure a safe, comfortable and productive work environment. As a matter of policy,…
The post NPR’s Michael Oreskes placed on leave amid sexual harassment accusations appeared first on FeedBox.