NBC’s Internal Investigation Finds No Culture Of Sexual Harassment

HUH?

NBC has released the findings of its internal investigation which followed Matt Lauer’s termination, and it’s something else. It found “no evidence indicating that any NBC News or Today Show leadership, News HR or others in positions of authority in the News Division received any complaints about Lauer’s workplace behavior prior to November 27, 2017.”

“All four women who came forward confirmed that they did not tell their direct manager or anyone else in a position of authority about their sexual encounters with Lauer,” the report continued. “Current and former members of NBC News and Today Show leadership, as well as News HR, stated that they had never received a complaint about inappropriate workplace behavior by Lauer, and we did not find any contrary evidence.”

In other words, NBC is trying to say that there was NO culture of sexual harassment, despite the claims that Lauer was constantly sexually harassing people.

Alrighty then.

NEW: NBCUniversal releases results of company’s internal investigation into the workplace culture of NBC News; finds managers were unaware of Matt Lauer's sexual misconduct, but employees were reluctant to report misconduct issues. https://t.co/YDhO34aZfO

— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 9, 2018

You hear that? It’s the EMPLOYEES’ fault this happened, really.

The investigation, led by NBCUniversal general counsel Kim Harris, in consultation with two outside law firms, also found that NBC News did not have a broader problem with sexual harassment in its workplace.

“The investigation team does not believe that there is a widespread or systemic pattern of behavior that violates company policy or a culture of harassment in the News Division,” the report states.

But the report found that several people at NBC News were aware that Lauer “would openly engage in sexually oriented banter in the workplace,” and included interviews with several women who described what they considered to be sexual overtures from Lauer.

So they knew, but there was most definitely NOT a harass-y culture all up in there. Got it.

NBC decided NBC did nothing wrong. Nothing to see here!

The employees' reluctance to report misconduct issues is AN EXAMPLE of the culture of sexual harassment

— I only tweet nice things (@JonOsborneBooks) May 9, 2018

NBC clears NBC of wrongdoing https://t.co/rjrJi0oWVf

— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) May 9, 2018

"We investigated ourselves, & found us to be innocent of any wrongdoing"….#smh 😠

— Nick (@ncapbBlues) May 9, 2018

Investigating yourselves doesn’t cut it, @nbc. Get an independent investigator into your news division to make it more objective. https://t.co/s6TcFSmDLs

— Elliott Hamilton (@ElliottRHams) May 9, 2018

Matt Lauer was one of the few "open secrets" where I, some nobody a city away, had heard whispers of it. The notion that NBC management hadn't is ludicrous https://t.co/Hn6Zun7onE

— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) May 9, 2018

Top Management at NBC carefully investigated Top Management at NBC and the employees chosen by Top Management at NBC to investigate Top Management at NBC completely exonerated Top Management at NBC. And people are dubious? Where's the trust? https://t.co/SPwel7785F

— Michael Grant (@MichaelGrantBks) May 9, 2018

Exit question:

Did NBC hire Bill Cosby to do the investigation? https://t.co/vaxjROEh2x

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) May 9, 2018