Michael Oreskes has now resigned from his position as senior vice president for news.
NPR senior vp news Michael Oreskes has resigned from the organization, one day after The Washington Post reported that two women have accused him of touching them and acting inappropriately during the late 1990s, while he worked for The New York Times.
Oreskes was officially put on leave late Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after the report came out, and NPR said it was investigating the claims.
NPR CEO Jarl Mohn announced Oreskes’ departure in a note to staff Wednesday. “This morning I asked Mike Oreskes for his resignation because of inappropriate behavior,” Mohn wrote in the memo, which was provided to The Hollywood Reporter. “I have received his resignation, effective immediately.”
Addressing Oreskes’ reported conduct, Mohn said, “When anyone, but particularly someone in power, violates a policy, acts in ways that are inappropriate, or takes steps that do not contribute to building a positive workplace, it breaks a trust. That trust is about looking out for each other, doing the right thing, and acting as one team. It is sacred to me. I am committed to rebuilding trust, and my leadership team is as well.”
Mohn made clear in the memo that the alleged misconduct occurred before Oreskes joined NPR in 2015, but said that the company has taken steps on the matter, and was not acting purely in response to the Post‘s report.
Chris Turpin, vp news programming and operations, will run NPR’s news operation for the time being.
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