All round
Journalist admits s**ually harassing women
Veteran political journalist Mark Halperin has apologized for his “aggressive and crude” behavior towards female colleagues while he was political director at ABC News.
In a statement posted on Twitter, he acknowledged that he had been “part of the problem” and wrote: “Men harm women in the workplace.” Halperin is one of many powerful men to have been accused of s**ual harassment or assault since allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein were published by the New York Times and the New Yorker.
Halperin denied some of the accusations made against him, but admitted that he had “behaved in a manner that had to stop”.
On Wednesday, CNN reported that five women had accused the journalist of harassment.
By Thursday, he had been suspended by MSNBC, dropped by Penguin Press over a book deal with fellow journalist John Heilemann, and by HBO, which had intended to produce a film version of the book.
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Further allegations against Halperin came to light on Friday, when CNN reported that four more women had accused the journalist of harassment while he was working at ABC News.
One of these women claimed that he masturbated in front of her during a meeting in his office, while another said that he threw her against the window of a restaurant and then attempted to kiss her.
The woman alleged that Halperin then called her and threatened her career prospects.
The Washington Post published accounts from nine women who claimed that they had been harassed by Halperin during his time at ABC News.
Some felt coerced into putting up with his behaviour in order to advance their careers.
Eleanor McManus, formerly a senior producer for Larry King Live, and Lara Setrakian, a junior reporter at ABC News, both accused Halperin of inappropriate kissing and touching.
In his statement, Halperin said that he had recognized he had a problem towards the end of his time at ABC News, and had attended counseling sessions for several years.
He denied having harassed colleagues or subordinates in subsequent jobs at Time magazine, Bloomberg, NBC News and Showtime.
Halperin left ABC News in 2007.
