A chief news editor at NPR, David Sweeney, has left the company following allegations of sexual harassment.
Chris Turpin, acting senior vice president for news, announced the departure in an email to staff on Tuesday, according to an NPR report.
“This is a difficult time for our newsroom and I’m committed to supporting all of you as we move forward,” he wrote. “I know you appreciate that there are some questions I cannot answer in keeping with our practice to not comment on personnel issues, but I will do my best to address those I can.”
At least three NPR employees have accused Sweeney of inappropriate sexual conduct, including kissing a former producer and giving a current editor, Lauren Hodges, unsolicited gifts and attention, NPR reports.
“I hope [the departure] provides a loud, clear message to anyone struggling with harassment … and more importantly, to those who think they can get away with it,” Hodges wrote in an emailed statement.
Sweeney is one of the latest high-profile men in media to resign or be forced out after allegations of sexual harassment surface. NPR’s senior vice president of news and editorial director, Michael Oreskes, resigned last month following similar allegations, and NBC fired longtime Today anchor Matt Lauer on Wednesday after an employee filed a complaint detailing sexual misconduct.
