NBC Sweeps Sexual Harassment Claims Under the Rug

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It appears that NBC really doesn’t want to full story when it comes to sexual harassment and the claims of what happened inside and outside 30 Rock.

The LA Times reports that Comcast shareholders, led by Chairman Brian Roberts, rejected three proposals from investors, including a demand for an outside investigation into sexual harassment at NBC News.

Comcast investors also tossed out shareholder requests to detail its lobbying efforts. Comcast spent more than $15 million in lobbying in 2018.

The company conducted its annual meeting of shareholders via webcast Wednesday, rather than the traditional in-person gathering, because of COVID-19 social distancing recommendations.

Wednesday’s forum shone a light on lingering frustration over NBCUniversal’s decision not to seek an independent review of NBC News’ culture following allegations of sexual misconduct by former “Today” show anchor Matt Lauer.

NBC’s internal investigation found that management was unaware of allegations of misconduct by Lauer before November 2017. The review was conducted by NBC legal counsel with assistance from two outside law firms.

They concluded that before a woman reported Lauer in November 2017, there hadn’t been complaints to management or human resources regarding the former anchor, who had worked at the network for 23 years.

Comcast urged shareholders to reject the independent review, saying “our company has been built on a foundation of respect, integrity and trust, and we are committed to creating a work environment that promotes those values.”

Both Fox News and CBS used outside firms to investigate the allegations against people inside the company.

NBC should have done the same.