TV News Execs Wondering: Who's Next?

The swift downfall of political journalist Mark Halperin has the TV news business bracing for more revelations of sexual harassment, reports The LA Times.

Halperin’s contract with NBC News was terminated Monday, several days after allegations that he sexually harassed a dozen women during his tenure at ABC News from 1997 to 2007.

The incidents first reported by CNN last Wednesday have also cost Halperin deals with Showtime and Penguin Press, which was set to publish his next “Game Change” book on the 2016 presidential campaign, and HBO, which had planned a miniseries based on the tome.

The reports about Halperin follow the blockbuster allegations against former Weinstein Co. Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein, who has faced allegations of sexual harassment or assault from more than 50 women.

“A lot of women have been talking about it and remembering incidents that we have tried to forget in the past,” said Betsy West, a former ABC News executive who serves as the Fred W. Friendly professor of professional practice in media and society at the Columbia University School of Journalism. “It’s possible that other people might come forward.”

The accusations against Halperin, which go back at least 10 years, could encourage more women from other networks to speak out about their experiences.

Eleanor McManus, a former CNN producer, went public about her alleged encounter with Halperin after that network broke the story. In a television interview with Megyn Kelly on Monday, she detailed how Halperin allegedly made sexual advances toward her during a meeting they had in the late 1990s when she was a Brandeis University student looking for advice on getting into the TV news business.



“I was angry because I was silent and because I was silent, this happened to other people,” McManus said. “And I knew right away that, that was when I was ready to come out and tell my story. Because these women — there are women that this happened to, who didn’t pursue their career in journalism because of this incident.... That made me so angry and so sad.”

ABC News has distanced itself from Halperin. David Westin, who served as its president from 1997 to 2010, issued a statement, saying no complaints were filed against Halperin during the time he worked at the network.