D-C Radio: WAMU Struggled To Dismiss Suspected Sexual Harasser

In 2016, public radio WAMU 88.5 manager J.J. Yore made repeated attempts to get rid of an employee he suspected was a serial sexual harasser. But the administrators he answered to recommended warnings and reprimands instead.

It wasn’t until late 2017 that anything changed, reports The Washington Post.

Media reporter  Paul Farhi and Elahe Izadi write as the #MeToo movement galvanized workplaces across the country on the issue of harassment, Yore redoubled his efforts to address a situation he feared could turn into a scandal at Washington’s WAMU-FM — and uncovered a troubling track record of past behavior at the employee’s previous job, according to several people familiar with the sequence of events and emails detailing what occurred.

Those were the efforts that appear to have finally led to the resignation of WAMU reporter Martin Di Caro. Yet his protracted tenure left ill will in the newsroom, where many were aware of questions about his behavior but not about management’s confidential efforts to deal with it. Those tensions spilled into public view this summer amid broader complaints about Yore’s management of minority employees — prompting a near-revolt by station staff that ended in Yore’s resignation.

WAMU insiders spoke for The Washington Post story on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel decisions. A story first published late Wednesday by DCist also detailed American University’s role in overruling station managers in dealing with the harassment complaints.

A co-creator of the popular show “Marketplace,” Yore was a rising star within public radio in 2014 when he took over as general manager of WAMU, an NPR affiliate and home of the then-widely syndicated “Diane Rehm Show.” During his time there, revenue nearly doubled and the roster of regular donors shot up nearly 60 percent. The station also doubled its news and production staff at a time when other local news organizations were cutting back.

Di Caro, who had joined WAMU as a part-time reporter two years before Yore’s arrival, covered the local transportation beat. He also allegedly had problematic personal relationships: In late July, the news site DCist, owned by WAMU, documented complaints from more than 20 people who said he had subjected them to inappropriate and unwelcome comments during his five years at the station. When Di Caro resigned, he told colleagues he wanted to take a break from reporting; there was no public indication that his departure was related to harassment.

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