A number of former Fox and NBC Newsers have signed a letter meant for Comcast CEO Brian Roberts asking that the company open a new investigation into the allegations of sexual misconduct and the alleged cover-up by NBC News that have been reported in Ronan Farrow’s new book Catch and Kill.
The women want the new investigation to be conducted by an outside, independent firm.
This comes after NBC recently announced that they will not be conducting another internal investigation into these allegations.
Among the signees of this letter are a quartet of former Fox Newsers: Gretchen Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Greta Van Susteren and Linda Vester.
Three of the four–Vester, Kelly and Van Susteren–have worked at Fox News and NBC News. Kelly and Van Susteren would both later have their NBC News shows canceled by the network (for VERY different reasons).
Carlson has no direct connection to NBC News.
Former NBC News producer Adie Zinone, and former CNN producer Eleanor McManus have also signed the letter.
Why sign the letter?
“I have been calling for transparency in the news business for a long time and wrote an op/ed in the Washington Post about free press, the Constitution, transparency and NDA’s,” Van Susteren told TVNewser. “We in the news business demand transparency from others – politicians – so we must likewise demand it of ourselves. If we don’t, we are hypocrites.”
The letter calls on Comcast to take action on three fronts, most notably calling for the new investigation to be conducted by an outside, independent law firm. This happened at Fox News, and it’s something Kelly spoke about during her Wednesday appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight.
- Override NBC’s decision and launch a full investigation of sexual misconduct within the news division, to be conducted by an outside, independent law firm. The inquiry should determine which executives knew about the misconduct and covered it up. The final report should be sent directly to Mr. Roberts and the Board of Directors.
- Make NBC declare that all current and former employees may seek waivers from their non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in any sexual misconduct cases so that they can speak freely and publicly.
- Have an in-person meeting of Comcast executives, directors, sexual harassment victims and advocacy leaders.
Here’s the full letter, obtained by TVNewser:
Letter to Comcast About NBC News Cover-up Allegations