WAMU Leadership Tried To Oust Reporter Accused Of Sexual Harassment. AU Stopped Them

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SEP 16, 11:01 PM

WAMU Leadership Tried To Oust Reporter Accused Of Sexual Harassment. American University Stopped Them
Rachel Kurzius https://twitter.com/Curious_Kurz

Newly obtained documents show that WAMU leadership tried to fire a reporter accused of sexual harassment as early as 2016, but were overruled by the university’s legal and human resources department

Rachel Kurzius / DCist

JJ Yore, then the general manager of local public radio station WAMU, faced more than 100 of his employees at a tense company-wide Zoom meeting in late July. The subject was a recent DCist investigation that uncovered numerous sexual harassment allegations against former transportation reporter Martin Di Caro during his more than five years at WAMU. Memos showed that the station’s leadership, including Yore, knew about some of the accusations and repeatedly warned Di Caro, one of the station’s most prolific reporters, that any further misconduct would result in his termination. But even as WAMU received additional complaints about Di Caro, he continued to garner professional opportunities at the station until his departure at the end of 2017.

(DCist was acquired by WAMU in 2018. No senior executives reviewed this story before publication.)

At the July staff meeting, employees had pointed questions about WAMU’s handling of the situation, according to recordings obtained by DCist. (This reporter did not attend the meeting.) A summer of simmering discontent over management issues, including the departures of employees of color, came to a full boil that afternoon. Staff members wanted to know how Di Caro received more than one “final” written warning for his behavior, and why he appeared to get so many chances at the station. Yore repeated again and again that there was more to the story that he couldn’t share.

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News that the station appeared to protect a reporter who was the subject of multiple sexual harassment complaints hit especially hard in light of multiple women of color leaving the station because they felt they lacked opportunities for advancement and dealt with a toxic work environment. Yore faced calls for his resignation. The only complication? WAMU leadership did, in fact, seek to oust Di Caro. ... Newly obtained documents show that Yore and other station leadership tried to fire Di Caro as early as 2016, but were overruled by the university’s legal and human resources departments, which preferred to issue a second “final” written warning, rather than terminate his employment.

The university contests this. “Department leadership and managers, including at WAMU, have responsibility for disciplinary actions,” said Matt Bennett, American University’s chief communications officer, in an emailed statement. The university, which declined requests for interviews, has presented the turmoil at WAMU as separate from any decisions or policies at AU. ... But emails shared with DCist depict Yore and other WAMU leadership crafting their rationale for firing Di Caro, speculating about whether the university would give them the green light, and ultimately being told no.

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