美国国家公共电台 NPR Chairman Steps Down As NPR Grapples With Harassment Crisis

 

ELISE HU, HOST:

More fallout here at NPR today over sexual harassment¹ concerns. The chairman of NPR's board of directors has decided² to step down from that role, and a senior editor is now on leave. NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik and NPR reporter Merrit Kennedy report complaints have been filed against both men. David joins us now from our bureau in New York. Hi, David.

DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE³: Hey, Elise.

HU: So what can you tell us about the complaints and who they're against?

FOLKENFLIK: Well, obviously this is all against the backdrop both of national sexual harassment scandals and, you know, a real crisis and also those things besetting⁴ this very network - the departure of course of our editor-in-chief Mike Oreskes not so many days ago. What we're reporting today is that Roger LaMay - he was the chairman of the board. He finished his second one-year term. He chose not to run again. There was a complaint filed against him. He characterized it in a note to me - or just not so very long ago where he said, I did not make this decision based on a third-party story about my personal life over a decade ago. I welcome any board committee review. We don't have a lot of details about the nature of that.

The claims against David Sweeney involve three women, one of whom was willing to be named a - an editor here at the network. The other's a - producers here - still here at the network and a former producer at the network. They have a variety - three different complaints, one stemming back as far as 2002 - an unwanted kiss - 2007, another attempted kiss in what was supposed to be a - drinks to talk about career advancement⁵.

And the third - a series of interactions that were interpreted by a much younger female colleague who was subordinate - directly subordinate to David Sweeney, currently on leave, our chief news editor. She said that basically she interpreted these things as romantic overtures⁶ in an unwanted, unsolicited way and unrequited and that it went on some time and that she wondered whether certain career advancements⁷ she didn't experience was - as a result of not responding to those appeals to her.

HU: You mentioned a response from LaMay. What about David Sweeney? What does he have to say?

FOLKENFLIK: David Sweeney's on leave. He's one of a handful of the most senior people at the network, although not well-known outside it. And he declined to comment, saying that he's trying to, you know, be responsive to the network and allow the process of review to work. We should stress these things have not yet been proven, and NPR hasn't drawn⁸ any conclusions about the nature of these allegations while taking them seriously.

HU: David, you've been reporting. And it's no secret of course that there's a lot of tension in our newsroom, especially among younger women. So what has the network done to address that?

FOLKENFLIK: You know, we have an acting⁹ CEO. Our current CEO, Jarl Mohn, went on leave for medical reasons. He had a near-fatal aortal rupture¹⁰ early this year. So the acting CEO is our COO, Loren Mayor. She has been very responsive. She's been meeting with women in small groups. I've been hearing from women in the headquarters in D.C. where you are that people have found this to be a comforting - sort of first steps, a hopeful sign.

She has also said that, you know, she received a letter from an employment lawyer who claimed to be acting on behalf of 200 women at NPR and who articulated a series of desired goals. And Loren Mayor not only spelled them out but said she embraced them, that she wanted to find ways to enact¹¹ them, that she wanted to include the newsroom in finding out solutions. So these are seen as hopeful first steps.

HU: So no chairman of the board and a CEO who's on medical leave - what's next?

FOLKENFLIK: Well, I think you're seeing some settling. We do have a chairman of the board, Paul Haaga, who used to have that role - is back in the saddle there. An experienced board member is the vice¹² chair. You know, I think NPR is going to have to figure out whether Jarl Mohn can return to the board full-time¹³. But what you're really seeing is a network and an organization trying to be responsive to what is a sexual harassment crisis, a concern about how women are treated and also a recognition of the fact that they need to really unify¹⁴ this newsroom after a lot of strife¹⁵, a lot of certainty - uncertainty¹⁶ and a lot of tumult¹⁷.

HU: A fuller version of David's story - David and Merrit Kennedy's story is at npr.org. David, thanks.

FOLKENFLIK: You bet.

(SOUNDBITE OF GRIMES SONG, "GENESIS")

1 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 besetting   

adj.不断攻击的v.困扰( beset的现在分词 )；不断围攻；镶；嵌

参考例句：

• Laziness is my besetting sin. 懒惰是我积重难返的恶习。 来自辞典例句
• His besetting sin is laziness. 他所易犯的毛病就是懒惰。 来自辞典例句

5 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

6 overtures   

n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲

参考例句：

• Their government is making overtures for peace. 他们的政府正在提出和平建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had lately begun to make clumsy yet endearing overtures of friendship. 最近他开始主动表示友好，样子笨拙却又招人喜爱。 来自辞典例句

7 advancements   

n.（级别的）晋升( advancement的名词复数 )；前进；进展；促进

参考例句：

• Today, the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements. 当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Great advancements in drought prediction have been made in recent years. 近年来，人们对干旱灾害的预报研究取得了长足的进步。 来自互联网

8 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。

11 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

12 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

13 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

14 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

15 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

16 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

17 tumult   

n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹

参考例句：

• The tumult in the streets awakened everyone in the house.街上的喧哗吵醒了屋子里的每一个人。
• His voice disappeared under growing tumult.他的声音消失在越来越响的喧哗声中。