Management Responds To John Hockenberry Allegations

John Hockenberry

The boss of The Takeaway broke her silence today, answering allegations that she and members of WNYC, which owns the public radio program, did not respond to sexual and racial harassment allegations against former host John Hockenberry.

Laura Walker, the president and CEO of New York Public Radio, spoke to a talk show host on her station today, a day after Suki Kim gave a blistering interview on The Takeaway on Monday that left little doubt that she thinks the management looked the other way on matters of Hockenberry’s behavior.

Other women came forward to say their careers were “sabotaged” by Hockenberry, but refused The Takeaway’s request for an interview because they wanted to hear management speak first.

Tuesday, Walker spoke, but didn’t say much, reports MPR News.

Hockenberry left the show over the summer when his contract wasn’t renewed. Walker rejected the claim that he was fired because of his sexual harassment and bullying, while appearing to confirm that she knew about some of the allegations.

“There’s a lot I can’t discuss with regard to specifications and actions I took. It’s a confidential personnel matter. It’s not for a lack of desire for you to know the facts. We do not disclose employment information, and to protect people who share their stories,” she said.

“We did not renew John’s contract; that was a decision made by both PRI and New York Public Radio. I can tell you that John was not fired for sexual misconduct. His conduct was not renewed for a variety of reasons and I’m not going to get into them specifically.”