S WELCOME TO THE SHOW. I’M MEGYN KELLY.
I HOPE YOU HAD A NICE HOLIDAY
WEEKEND.
WEEKEND. WE HAVE A LOT TODAY AND HERE TO
HELP ME BREAK IT DOWN HOST OF IN
PRINCIPLE AMY HOLMES AND ROLLING
STONES CONTRIBUTOR JOE LEVY.
GOOD MORNING TO YOU BOTH.
WE BEGIN WITH A STORY CLOSE TO
HOME TODAY.
HOME TODAY. NBC CHAIRMAN ANDY LACK HAS
RELEASED A MEMO ON HOW OUR NEWS
DIVISION HANDLED EARLY WORK
AROUND THE HARVEY WEINSTEIN
STORY BEING REPORTED BY RONAN
FARROW LAST YEAR.
PUBLISHED BY "THE NEW YORKER,"
WITH SEVERAL WOMEN ON RECORD,
WHO WERE NOT A PART OF THE DRAFT
FARROW PRESENTED TO NBC NEWS,
THAT’S WHAT NBC IS SAYING,
EFFECTIVELY STARTED THE #METOO
MOVEMENT.
MOVEMENT. ONE CRITIC SAID ANDY LACK’S
LETTER DEFENDING NBC’S DECISION
TO NOT PURSUE THE STORY OPENED
THE DOOR FOR MORE QUESTIONS THAN
IT ANSWERED.
IT ANSWERED. SOME PEOPLE INVOLVED WITH THE
EARLY REPORTING HERE AT NBC ARE
NOW PUSHING BACK ON THIS
STATEMENT SAYING THERE’S MUCH
MORE TO THIS THAN NBC IS SAYING.
NBC’S KATE SNOW TAKES A LOOK AT
THE REPORT INTRODUCED BY ANDY
LACK AS NBC NEWS MANAGEMENT SEES
THEM.
THEM. WATCH.
WATCH. >> THIS MORNING NBC NEWS
ADDRESSING THE CONTROVERSY.
THE NETWORK CHAIRMAN ANDY LACK
LAYING OUT WHAT HE SAYS ARE THE
FACTS AROUND FORMER REPORTER
RONAN FARROW’S NBC INVESTIGATION
OF DISGRACED MOVIE MOGUL HARVEY
WEINSTEIN.
WEINSTEIN. IN AN E-MAIL TO NEWS EMPLOYEES
OVERNIGHT LACK WRITING IN PART,
"CONTRARY TO RECENT ALLEGATIONS,
AT NO POINT DID NBC OBSTRUCT
FARROW’S REPORTING OR KILL AN
INTERVIEW."
INTERVIEW." CALLING IT "BASELESS SPECULATION
THAT SOME INTERFERENCE BY HARVEY
WEINSTEIN PLAYED A ROLE IN OUR
DECISION MAKING."
DECISION MAKING." AN INTERNAL REPORT DESCRIBES
NUMEROUS CALLS TO HARVEY
WEINSTEIN OR HIS ATTORNEY.
THEY ARE AGGRESSIVE AND
PERSISTENT AND HAD NO IMPACT ON
THE EDITORIAL PROCESS.
NOOB NEWS LAYS OUT A TIME LINE
FOR THE WORK SAYING A TEAM OF
NBC VETERAN JOURNALISTS EXAMINED
THE STORY AT THE TIME AND
DETERMINE IT WAS NOT READY FOR
BROADCAST.
BROADCAST. THEY FOUND AN EXAMPLE THAT
FARROW MISREPRESENTED MATERIAL
HE HAD.
HE HAD. THERE WAS NOT A I THINK EL
VICTIM OF OR WITNESS TO
MISCONDUCT BY WEINSTEIN WHO WAS
WILLING TO BE IDENTIFIED SO IT
DID NOT MEET JOURNALISTIC
STANDARDS PRACTICED BY NEWS
ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDING NEW
YORKER.
YORKER. FARROW LEFT IN AUGUST LAST YEAR
ULTIMATELY PUBLISHING PULITZER
PRIZE WINNING STORY IN "THE NEW
YORKER."
YORKER." NBC NEWS SAID IT WAS FARROW’S
DECISION TO LEAVE BECAUSE HE DID
NOT AGREE WITH THE JOURNALISTIC
STANDARDS PRACTICED BY NBC NEWS.
HE SAID A PRINT OUTLET WAS READY
TO MOVE FORWARD IMMEDIATELY.
IN A STATEMENT OVERPASS RONAN
FARROW DISPUTES THAT SAYING IT
WAS NBC’S SUGGESTION TO, QUOTE,
TAKE THE STORY TO ANOTHER
OUTLET, AND I TOOK THEM UP ON IT
ONLY AFTER IT BECAME CLEAR THAT
I WAS BEING BLOCKED FROM FURTHER
REPORTING.
REPORTING. FARROW ADDING, THE STORY WAS
TWICE CLEARED AND DEEMED
REPORTABLE BY LEGAL AND STANDARD
ONLY TO BE BLOCKED BY EXECUTIVES
WHO REFUSED TO ALLOW US TO
SEEK COMMENT FROM HARVEY
WEINSTEIN.
WEINSTEIN. ONE OF HARVEY WEINSTEIN’S
ACCUSER EMILY NESTOR BACKED HIS
ACCOUNT.
ACCOUNT. IN A STATEMENT TO THE HOLLYWOOD
REPORTER, SHE SAID SHE HAD
FILMED AN INTERVIEW IN
SILHOUETTE BUT LATER OFFERED TO
ATTACH MY NAME TO THE INTERVIEW
IN SILHOUETTE OR RESHOOT THE
INTERVIEW WITH MY FACE VISIBLE.
HOWEVER, THEY WERE NOT
INTERESTED IN THIS INTERVIEW.
NBC NEWS REPEATEDLY STATES IN
THE LABLG E-MAIL AND REPORT THAT
FARROW DID NOT HAVE A SINGLE
VICTOR WITNESS WILLING TO GO ON
THE RECORD.
THE RECORD. IN RESPONSE TO LACK’S E-MAIL AND
THE REPORT ISSUED LAST NIGHT,
RONAN FARROW’S FORMER PRODUCER,
McHUGH, WHO RECENTLY LEFT THE
NETWORK ISSUED A STATEMENT ON
TWITTER SAYING IN PART, I’M NOT
CLEAR HOW NBC’S REPORT CAN BE
OBJECTIVE AND AUTHORIZETHOROUGH
WAS NEVER INTERVIEWED FOR THE
REPORT AND ONLY LEARNED ABOUT IT
WHEN ASKED FOR COMMENT BY
REPORTERS LATE LAST WEEK.
>>> AS YOU HEARD THERE WAS NOT A
SINGLE VICTOR WITNESS-- VICTIM,
WITNESS.
WITNESS. THERE WAS A CEASE AND DESIST
LETTER.
LETTER. LATE LAST NIGHT ROSE McGOWAN AND
RICHARD McHUGH BOTH CHALLENGED
THAT ASSERTION TELLING "MEGYN
KELLY TODAY" SAYING McGOWAN DID
GOOD ON RECORD AFTER THAT ON
CAMERA INTERVIEW WITH FARROW.
SHE DID NAME HARVEY WEINSTEIN AS
HER RAPIST.
HER RAPIST. BOTH McGOWAN AND NBC SAYS THEY
HAVE THIS OFF CAME ASSERTION FOR
McGOWAN FOR EIGHT MONTHS, LONG
BEFORE HER LETTER SENT THE CEASE
AND DESIST LETTER WHICH McHUGH
SAYS WAS COMMUNICATED TO NBC
EXECUTIVES.
EXECUTIVES. IN A STATEMENT TO "MEGYN KELLY
TODAY" THIS MORNING, NBC
RESPONDED AS FOLLOWS.
QUOTE, AS THE INTERVIEW
TRANSCRIPT CLEARLY INDICATES,
McGOWAN DID NOT NAME WEINSTEIN
AS HER ATTACKER ON CAMERA IN
FEBRUARY 2017 INTERVIEW.
THE FIRST TIME RONAN FARROW
SUBMITTED A DRAFT SCRIPT WAS
FIVE MONTHS LATER ON JULY 23rd,
2017.
2017. IF FARROW HAD McGOWAN ON THE
RECORD BUT OFF CAMERA BEFORE
THAT DATE AND WANTED TO PROCEED
WITH AIRING THE STORY, HE DID
NOT INDICATE THAT TO HIS
EDITORS.
EDITORS. WITHIN DAYS OF THAT JULY 23rd
DRAFT SCRIPT SUBMITTED, McGOWAN
CANCELED FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEW AND
HER ATTORNEY SENT NBC A CEASE
AND DESIST LETTER REVOKING
PERMISSION TO USE THE FIRST
INTERVIEW.
INTERVIEW. THERE AS LOT TO UNPACK.
WHAT WE’RE SEEING HERE IS RICH
McHUGH, WHO JUST RESIGNED FROM
NBC, WHO WAS RONAN’S PRODUCER ON
THIS STORY HAS GONE PUBLIC WITH
ACCUSATIONS THAT NBC PER SHARE,
HE CLAIMS, BLOCKED IT IS STORY.
NBC DENYING THAT SAYING THEY
DIDN’T HAVE ANYBODY, THEY DIDN’T
HAVE ANYBODY ON THE RECORD
WILLING TO NAME THEM.
ROSE McGOWAN TELLING US SHE WAS
ON THE RECORD.
SHE WAS ON THE RECORD FOR MONTHS
AND THEY DIDN’T USE A STATEMENT.
YOU HEARD NBC SAYING, IF THAT’S
TRUE, IT WASN’T INDICATED UP THE
LINE.
LINE. NOW YOU HAVE -- THAT’S A DISPUTE
NOW BETWEEN NBC AND THE
REPORTERS ON THE STORY.
THIS IS GETTING -- IT’S GETTING
READY IN THE WEEDS AND IT’S
GETTING REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE.
>> YES.
>> YES. I HAVE TO CREDIT YOU AND NBC FOR
DISCUSSING IT RIGHT HERE IN THIS
BUILDING TODAY LIVE ON NATIONAL
TELEVISION.
TELEVISION. YOUR PRODUCER SENT ME AND JOE
MR. LACK’S MEMO LAST NIGHT.
I READ IT, ALTHOUGH I THINK I
GOT A LITTLE DISTRACTED IN THE
MIDDLE PART BECAUSE IT WAS
REALLY LONG.
REALLY LONG. AT THE END OF IT, I THOUGHT THIS
WAS VERY NOTABLE.
IT SAID, THIS IS THE DAY BEFORE
RONAN FARROW’S PIECE COMES OUT
IN THE NEW YORKER.
OCTOBER 9th, LAUREN SAVON
BECOMES THE FIRST WEINSTEIN
ACCUSER TO GO ON CAMERA.
SHE APPEARS LIVE ON NBC NEWS ON
"MEGYN KELLY TODAY."
SO I HAVE TO CREDIT YOU, MEGYN.
I’VE BEEN AT THIS TABLE WITH YOU
BEFORE WHEN THIS TOPIC OF #METOO
HAS COME UP.
SOMETIMES I THOUGHT, GIRL, DO
YOU KNOW YOUR BOSSES ARE
WATCHING.
WATCHING. YOU’VE BEEN WILLING TO REPORT
WITHOUT FEAR OF FAVOR ABOUT NBC
NEWS AND YOUR PREVIOUS EMPLOYER.
I KNOW IT’S UNCOMFORTABLE BUT I
HAVE TO CREDIT YOU FOR MOVING
THE STORY FORWARD.
>> THANK YOU, AMY.
I HAVE TO SAY, NBC NEWS KNEW WE
WERE GOING TO DO THIS.
I HAD TO REACH OUT TO THEM FOR
ARE A STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO
OUR REPORTING AND DIDN’T SAY YOU
CAN’T.
CAN’T. SO TO THEIR CREDIT, THEY ARE
TRYING TO TALK ABOUT WHAT
HAPPENED.
HAPPENED. THERE IS OBVIOUSLY A FACTUAL
DISPUTE, HOWEVER, BETWEEN THE
PARTIES.
PARTIES. >> EXACTLY.
>> EXACTLY. THEY ARE TRYING TO PUT OUT THEIR
SIDE OF THE STORY.
ONE HEADLINE HERE COULD READ NBC
NEWS CLEARS ITSELF.
HAVE OTHER PEOPLE LOOKED INTO
THIS, AND IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED
THERE SHOULD BE AN INDEPENDENT
INVESTIGATION, THEY HAVE NOT.
NBC EXECUTIVES CLEARED
THEMSELVES AS WELL IN THE
HANDLING OF THE MATT LAUER
SITUATION.
SITUATION. AGAIN, THERE WAS A QUESTION,
SHOULD THERE BE ANYONE FROM THE
OUTSIDE LOOKING INTO THIS.
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT CONTEXT.
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT A BROADER
CULTURE.
CULTURE. IF WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT
ROSE McGOWAN GIVING AN INTERVIEW
CONFIRMING SOMETHING AND THEN
RETRACTING THAT CONFIRMATION, WE
NEED TO TALK ABOUT RONAN
FARROW’S REPORTING A SERIES OF
STORIES WHICH INCLUDED ONE
HEADLINE, HARVEY WEINSTEIN’S
ARMY OF SPIES IN WHICH HE
DETAILS THE KIND OF PRESSURE
WEINSTEIN COULD BRING TO BEAR.
>> HE ACTUALLY HIRED THE SPIES.
>> HE TORTURED HER.
>> HE TORTURED HER.
HE TORTURED --
>> YOU HAD ROSE McGOWAN ON YOUR
SHOW.
SHOW. >> I HAD ROSE McGOWAN ON AND SHE
TALKED IN GREAT DETAIL ABOUT
WHAT THIS HAS DONE TO HER LIFE.
YOU GO BACK TO WHEN THIS --
LOOK, WE AT FOX NEWS HAD OUR OWN
UPRISING.
UPRISING. REALLY THE #METOO MOVEMENT
DIDN’T BEGIN IN EARNEST UNTIL
THIS RONAN REPORT AND "NEW YORK
TIMES" REPORT THAT PRECEDED IT
BY A FEW DAYS.
THESE WOMEN WERE SCARED.
>> OF COURSE.
>> THEY WERE SCARED.
YOU LOOK BACK AT THE COURAGE IT
TOOK TO GO ON CAMERA, EVEN IN
SILHOUETTE.
SILHOUETTE. FOR ME IT’S INCREDIBLY MOVING.
I FEEL THE FEAR THEY FELT.
I CAN FEEL IT FOR THEM.
>> ANYONE WOULD BE SCARED.
ANYONE WITH THIS STORY TO TELL
WOULD BE SCARED TO TELL IT IN
PUBLIC.
PUBLIC. THESE WOMEN WERE SILENCED AND
INTIMIDATED FOR YEARS.
THERE WERE SPECIFIC ACTIONS
TAKEN TO TRY TO ENSURE THEIR
SILENCE.
SILENCE. SOMETIMES THAT WAS MONETARY,
SOMETIMES IT WAS PRESSURE.
IT ALMOST AMOUNTS TO THE BLACK
MAIL.
MAIL. >> AND THREATS.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. >> YOU RAISE A GOOD POINT.
NOW RICH McHUGH, THE PRODUCER OF
THE RONAN FARROW REPORTING, HAS
SAID HOW CAN THIS BE A THOROUGH
INVESTIGATION WHEN NO ONE CALLED
ME.
ME. IT WAS ME AND RONAN.
IT WAS THE TWO OF US.
NBC HAS SAID, LOOK, WE FELT OUR
INVESTIGATION WAS THOROUGH
BECAUSE WE TALKED TO THE OTHER
PRINCIPLES INVOLVED.
PRINCIPLES INVOLVED. WE KNEW THE FACTS, IN OTHER
WORDS.
WORDS. RICH HAD BEEN, WOING FOR NBC FOR
A YEAR.
A YEAR. THERE IS A QUESTION WHETHER
THERE SHOULD BE AN OUTSIDE
INVESTIGATOR TO LOOK AT THIS.
WHETHER NBC DID INTERNALLY WITH
MATT LAUER, NOW THIS.
THERE’S THE QUESTION OF FAITH
AND CONFIDENCE OF PUBLIC IN
REPORTING OF NBC ON MATTERS
INVOLVING ITSELF.
INVOLVING ITSELF. TO ME AS A LAWYER, IT’S ALWAYS
BETTER IF YOU JUST SEND IT
OUTSIDE AND THEN PEOPLE CAN HAVE
MORE FAITH IN IT.
IF THERE’S NOTHING TO HIDE, YOU
HAVE NO WORRIES ABOUT IT.
YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT.
I DO WANT TO TELL THE AUDIENCE,
JUST TO DISCLOSE TO YOU AT HOME,
MY OWN.
MY OWN. EP OF THE SHOW, SHE WAS PRODUCER
ON THE "TODAY" SHOW AND SHE
WORKED WITH RONAN A LITTLE BIT
WITH HIS REPORTING, THEN MOVED
TO INVESTIGATIVE UNIT WHERE SHE
HAD NOTHING TO DO WIT.
WE NEED TO BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT
WHO WE ARE, WHAT OUR ROLES ARE
AND VIEWERS WILL UNDERSTAND.
THEY WILL UNDERSTAND.
SO WE’RE GOING TO LEARN MORE,
I’M SURE, IN THE DAYS AND WEEKS
TO COME ON THE STORY.
>> REMEMBER, WITH THIS
PARTICULAR SUBJECT, IT’S REALLY
HARD TO GET ALL THESE VOICES
TOGETHER TO PUT THAT REPORT OUT.
WE’VE DISCUSSED THIS BEFORE,
JOE, I’M SURE YOU KNOW THIS,
TOO.
TOO. EVEN FAMOUS WOMEN WERE BEING
THREATENED BY HARVEY WEINSTEIN.
THEIR CAREER COULD BE OVER IN A
SMAP IF THEY SAID THE WRONG
THING.
THING. >> WHATEVER YOU WANT TO SAY
ABOUT RONAN, HE WON A PULITZER
PRIZE FOR THIS REPORTING.
THIS KIND OF REPORTING, EVEN
THOUGH WHEN IT FIRST CAME UP, IT
MAY HAVE LOOKED WEIRD AND
SMELLED WEIRD AND MAY HAVE
SEEMED UNFAMILIAR, THAT’S THE
SADNESS AROUND THIS REPORTING.
IT IS UNFAMILIAR.
IT WAS FOR TOO LONG BECAUSE
WOMEN DIDN’T DO THIS.
THEY JUST SUCKED IT UP AND
DIDN’T TALK ABOUT IT.
SO MAYBE IN THE BEGINNING DAYS
WHEN IT WAS BEING TALKED ABOUT,
IT WAS JARRING AND TOUGH TO
BELIEVE.
BELIEVE. IT DIDN’T -- YOU KNOW, IT WAS
JUST IMPOSSIBLE TO DIGEST.
I THINK WE’RE NOW GETTING TO THE
POINT WHERE IT’S NOT FAMILIAR,
IT’S MUCH MORE EASILY BELIEVED,
AND I THINK NEWS ORGANIZATIONS
NEED TO KEEP THAT IN MIND COMING
AFTER THESE STORIES.
DON’T BELIEVE EVERYBODY OF
THAT’S NOT OUR JOB.
SOME PEOPLE MISLEAD AND LIE.
BUT WE HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THIS
DOES HAPPEN AND IT CAN BE
PERVASIVE WHEN WE AS A NEWS
ORGANIZATION EVALUATE THESE