When I was growing up, listening to NPR in the morning was more of a staple than orange juice. After graduating from the University of Michigan, my first job included a rotation at the local public radio station, WUOM. My family loves public radio. I love public radio.

More than 15 years later, in 2007, I was recruited to join what I was told would be a new morning show driven by diverse voices and themes at WNYC, along with partners the BBC, the New York Times and WGBH-Boston, distributed by PRI. I thought I’d died and gone to professional heaven. The show would become The Takeaway. I could not know it was going to be an excruciating, painful ride that would haunt me nearly 10 years later.

How in the world could this abuse go on for nearly 10 years, across three different co-hosts, and nothing be done?

A recent investigative report by New York magazine found a pattern of bullying of the show’s co-hosts: first myself, then Farai Chideya and finally Celeste Headlee. Additionally, the report outlined numerous allegations of sexual harassment against Hockenberry and an overall pattern of inaction by the CEO and president, Laura Walker, and her senior staff. Hockenberry acknowledged he had been “rude, aggressive, impolite”.

I can tell you from experience that’s putting it mildly. I wish I could remember the exact moment I realized I felt like I was being exploited. After all, good stories are about the details. I will say this: within months of the show’s launch in April 2008, my co-host John Hockenberry was yelling and screaming at me in the studio, at times when senior staff was present.

The first time was over the Fourth of July week, when I had misunderstood a cue from the control room. Hockenberry was an accomplished public radio veteran in a world I was transitioning to from television news. The abuse became normal. I was routinely cut off, ignored, and assigned what I considered offensive race stories.

I brought this to the attention of Walker and her senior team on countless occasions, in person and through email. I was also increasingly concerned about the power differential between Hockenberry and our staff, and between him and me. John had referred to the show in interviews as the Howard Stern show of morning radio. Presumably he was Stern, a white man, and I was Robin Quivers, the woman of color sidekick.



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I asked senior staff at WNYC if we were on equal footing, with both of our names on the show? I was told we were, but there is a long list of ways I could prove that was not the case. The more I complained, the more the focus became my lack of experience in radio. But they were fully aware of that when they hired me. I was even told one of the reasons for John’s explosions were his frustration with my “incompetence”. I was the problem.

Laura Walker was well aware of Hockenberry’s bullying behavior, as was the staff. The lack of response by management created a negative impression on the staff. One longtime producer, Kristen Meinzer, told New York magazine, she learned at WNYC: “If you complain, you disappear.”

Walker also acknowledged the sexual harassment complaint by the author of the magazine’s piece, Suki Kim, in February 2017. Hockenberry stayed on the air many months after that, signing off in August. How in the world could this abuse go on for nearly 10 years across three different co-hosts and among other staff and nothing be done? How is that he was rewarded for that behavior with a show by himself in light of a reported trail of complaints?

It’s not enough that Hockenberry is gone. If we are to prevent this in the future, senior leadership must be held accountable. That can only be done through a full investigation. WNYC is a station intended to serve the public and is in part funded by public dollars. They must be accountable to the public.

What did WNYC leadership tell their board, partners and funders about these complaints? What did stakeholders know and what did they do about it?

As a person who still loves public radio, contributed to it, and believes deeply in its mission today, I want to see it succeed. For that to happen we must have trust in the leadership.

Burnt out back in 2009, I agreed to a buyout to which WNYC insisted I sign an NDA, a non-disclosure agreement. I have come to learn that NDAs are great weapons of silence. I speak up now at my own peril. I simply could not be silenced in the wake of such startling and disturbing reports that fit the horrifying pattern I experienced.

I left the broadcast news chair altogether and reliving this has been painful. Yet I am hopeful things can change. I speak up now for the women and women of color and people of color who are doing incredible work in public radio. They deserve to be treated fairly. They deserve for meritocracy to be more than a buzzword.

This is not a time to be silenced. This is a time of transparency, accountability and a great opportunity for change.