Longtime WNYC Hosts Leonard Lopate, Jonathan Schwartz Placed On Leave

Perseverance

Dec 8, 2017 at 9:48am

I'm a fan of Brian Lehrer as well. His show is by far my favorite on WNYC.

DottyParker said:

DaveSchmidt said:

Scully said:

BUT unlike some of you guys I really really like Brian Lehrer...

Lehrer’s show over Lopate’s, hands down.

But nobody tops Terry Gross.

IMO, Brian Lehrer's global knowledge of practically any issue discussed on his show is exemplary. Lehrer is matchless. Terry Gross' one-on-one interviews are brilliant.

DottyParker

Dec 8, 2017 at 9:50am

kibbegirl said:

Neither have I. Has that been discussed on his shows?

drummerboy said:

Is he really? I never picked up on that. Will have to check that out.

As for Lehrer, between the two I'd rather have Lopate. Politically his wishy-washy "bothsider-ism" is both infuriating and destructive.

dave said:

Lopate is an anti-vaxxer, so there are some positives to shutting him up.

I recall that Lopate blamed his son's autism on vaccination.

Scully

Dec 8, 2017 at 9:58am

DottyParker said:

kibbegirl said:

Neither have I. Has that been discussed on his shows?

drummerboy said:

Is he really? I never picked up on that. Will have to check that out.

As for Lehrer, between the two I'd rather have Lopate. Politically his wishy-washy "bothsider-ism" is both infuriating and destructive.

dave said:

Lopate is an anti-vaxxer, so there are some positives to shutting him up.

I recall that Lopate blamed his son's autism on vaccination.

Originally yes but he seemed to have changed sometime in the past year or so...

DottyParker

Dec 8, 2017 at 10:16am

nan said:

OMG, I used to listen to Leonard Lopate all the time when I lived in Brooklyn. I met him in person. He used to talk about his wife and son all the time. Ugh. Nooooooooo. I have not yet read about it.

I was shocked and saddened about Leonard Lopate when I read the NYT's account last night.

nytimes.com: WNYC Suspends Leonard Lopate and Jonathan Schwartz

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/business/media/wnyc-leonard-lopate-jonathan-schwartz.html

The_Soulful_Mr_T

Dec 8, 2017 at 11:54am

nohero said:

drummerboy said:

The one problem I have with Lopate is that he tries to show off too much regarding the interview topic. But his cooking shows kick butt.

Agree with both points. With some of his questions, he tries to sound like he's asking about details, as if from something he knows, when he's obviously reading what a producer prepared. And the cooking segments are great, I only hope he wasn't harassing Melissa Clark.

I love love Melissa Clark and hope she continues to be on WNYC.

Leherer knows zip about education. I used to like him until he started having sympathetic interviews with school privatizesers. He probably hates Betsy Duvos, but he sucked up to her predecessors. Perhaps he improved, but I stopped listening to his show years ago.

Lopate, on the other hand, actually reads at least some of the books of the people he interviews.

ctrzaska

Dec 8, 2017 at 4:44pm

Does anyone (including Lopate) have ANY idea yet as to why he was suspended?

cubby

Dec 8, 2017 at 8:44pm

Hmm...anybody think it's a bit strange that Lopate gets suspended without wven knowing what he's been accused of?

Tom_Reingold

Dec 8, 2017 at 9:05pm

I agree with many of the common criticisms of Schwartz, but his program is an important service. He plays good music, and he exposes some very good young musicians, giving them exposure. I will miss his program greatly.

I'll do fine without Lopate.

mrincredible

Dec 9, 2017 at 12:03pm

I can't find anything online to indicate exactly what the charges are against Leonard Lopate. That being said, I don't know what the right thing to do is for the station.

Should they release the allegations, only to have to retract them if they find out they are incorrect? Or do they keep them quiet, which just fuels speculation. If he is exonerated, people always want to know what happened.

mrincredible

Dec 9, 2017 at 12:26pm

Okay according to this article the complaints against Lopate are from women:

http://www.wnyc.org/story/longtime-wnyc-hosts-put-leave/

No clarification about the nature of the alleged inappropriate behavior. Whether it was sexual misconduct or non-sexual abusive treatment of women. Or perhaps he was abusive and the current accusers are all women. It's hard to guess.

At any rate, it's another case of a man with a large degree of power in a particular industry being accused of bad behavior. Leonard Lopate is the kind of person whose influence can make or break a career in radio journalism.

It's been nice hearing some more women on the station the last few days. One voice I've been listening to is Shumita Basu. Does anyone else think she's adopted a more serious tone recently? With good reason for sure.

The_Soulful_Mr_T

Dec 9, 2017 at 3:51pm

Tom_Reingold said:

I agree with many of the common criticisms of Schwartz, but his program is an important service. He plays good music, and he exposes some very good young musicians, giving them exposure. I will miss his program greatly.

Tom, I don't think any of that is true. The music he plays is boring and redundant. He favors only a few established artists. Good riddance.

Klinker

Dec 9, 2017 at 4:50pm

The_Soulful_Mr_T said:

Tom_Reingold said:

I agree with many of the common criticisms of Schwartz, but his program is an important service. He plays good music, and he exposes some very good young musicians, giving them exposure. I will miss his program greatly.

Tom, I don't think any of that is true. The music he plays is boring and redundant. He favors only a few established artists. Good riddance.

Formerlyjerseyjack

Dec 9, 2017 at 11:47pm

Saturday and Sunday afternoons used to be good programing from WNYC. Then came 9/11 and Schwartz.

mrincredible

Dec 10, 2017 at 12:23pm

So the guy subbing for Schwartz is playing some interesting selections.

Scully

Dec 10, 2017 at 1:18pm Edited

mrincredible said:

So the guy subbing for Schwartz is playing some interesting selections.

I agree...

Paul Cavalconte from WQXR

mrincredible

Dec 10, 2017 at 1:30pm

Scully said:

mrincredible said:

So the guy subbing for Schwartz is playing some interesting selections.

I agree...

Paul Cavalconte from WQXR

See, I did not catch it because he has not interrupted the music every 5 minutes to talk for 12.

nohero

Dec 11, 2017 at 9:03am

mrincredible said:

Scully said:

mrincredible said:

So the guy subbing for Schwartz is playing some interesting selections.
I agree...

Paul Cavalconte from WQXR
See, I did not catch it because he has not interrupted the music every 5 minutes to talk for 12.

oh oh

ridski

Dec 12, 2017 at 2:08pm

Klinker I can’t believe it took me this long to figure out your avatar. Genius.

The_Soulful_Mr_T

Dec 12, 2017 at 2:26pm

ridski said:

Klinker I can’t believe it took me this long to figure out your avatar. Genius.

?? vas ees das?

Morganna

Dec 12, 2017 at 2:44pm

nan said:

Lopate is way better than Lehrer. I hope they clear him. MSNBC just rehired someone they fired, saying they had realized it was not a fireable incident.

Who? Mark Halperin?

LOST

Dec 12, 2017 at 2:50pm

Morganna said:

nan said:

Lopate is way better than Lehrer. I hope they clear him. MSNBC just rehired someone they fired, saying they had realized it was not a fireable incident.

Who? Mark Halperin?

Not him, but I can't remember the name of the person.

nohero

Dec 12, 2017 at 3:01pm

LOST said:

Morganna said:

nan said:

Lopate is way better than Lehrer. I hope they clear him. MSNBC just rehired someone they fired, saying they had realized it was not a fireable incident.
Who? Mark Halperin?
Not him, but I can't remember the name of the person.

I think she means Sam Seder. That was not a harassment claim. Some guy who does right-wing attacks on the media misrepresented an old tweet of Seder's, claiming he was "pro-rape" or something like that. What Seder wrote was the exact opposite, and after first letting him go, MSNBC reversed that decision.

The moral of the story: Don't fall for right-wing misrepresentations of the media. There's some of that going on around this message board, but that's a discussion for a different category. grin

Scully

Dec 12, 2017 at 6:09pm

The_Soulful_Mr_T said:

ridski said:

Klinker I can’t believe it took me this long to figure out your avatar. Genius.

?? vas ees das?

was ist das...(sorry - can’t help myself)

mrincredible

Dec 12, 2017 at 7:33pm

ridski said:

Klinker I can’t believe it took me this long to figure out your avatar. Genius.

Resistance is fur-tile.

ridski

Dec 12, 2017 at 8:34pm

mrincredible said:

ridski said:

Klinker I can’t believe it took me this long to figure out your avatar. Genius.

Resistance is fur-tile.

Lol!

I am Locutus of Porg!

nan

Dec 13, 2017 at 7:44am

Yes, I meant Sam Seder, and I don't agree about MOL posters falling for far right-wing misrepresentations of the media since so many supposed Democrats espouse right-wing policies such as voting for military funding and wars and other Trump policies and the supposed "resistance" is fine with that. But, you are right, we will continue that on another thread. grin

nohero said:

LOST said:

Morganna said:

nan said:

Lopate is way better than Lehrer. I hope they clear him. MSNBC just rehired someone they fired, saying they had realized it was not a fireable incident.
Who? Mark Halperin?
Not him, but I can't remember the name of the person.

I think she means Sam Seder. That was not a harassment claim. Some guy who does right-wing attacks on the media misrepresented an old tweet of Seder's, claiming he was "pro-rape" or something like that. What Seder wrote was the exact opposite, and after first letting him go, MSNBC reversed that decision.

The moral of the story: Don't fall for right-wing misrepresentations of the media. There's some of that going on around this message board, but that's a discussion for a different category.

Formerlyjerseyjack

Dec 13, 2017 at 11:57am

So the Gropenfuhrer calls (by innuendo) Gillibrand a whore. Sarah Sanders says it is only political speak.

Trump contributed to Gillibrand's campaign. He also contributed to Crooked Hillary's senate campaign.

If his explanation was that he might need their support in business affairs, would that make him a rent boy?

drummerboy

Dec 21, 2017 at 4:49pm

They've been canned. Just got this email from NYC.

To our listeners: This fall, we watched as the national conversation turned to harassment in the workplace. We knew this movement was powerful and important. What we didn’t expect was for it to land on our doorstep at New York Public Radio, as several members of our community came forward with allegations of inappropriate conduct by members of our own staff. We strive to bring you the best programming, from the best teams in the region, and we value your trust above all else. When people in our community feel unwelcome or disrespected, it means we have not lived up to our values, and we cannot do the sacred job you’ve trusted us to do. Today, we terminated the employment of Leonard Lopate and Jonathan Schwartz, following two separate investigations into patterns of inappropriate behavior. These investigations, overseen by outside counsel, determined that Mr. Lopate and Mr. Schwartz had violated our standards for providing an inclusive and respectful work environment. You can find our full statement to the press here. We are saddened by this turn of events, as we know how much all of our WNYC shows mean to our listeners. Here is what you can expect to find on the air and online in the coming weeks:

We’ll continue to produce two hours of midday programming, called WNYC at Midday, which will feature a diverse array of hosts—from WNYC and beyond—in conversation with thinkers, artists, writers, and performers.
A team of WNYC producers will be at work developing extraordinary new programming that invites necessary conversations and addresses the most important, intriguing issues in American culture and the way we live now in New York.
We remain committed to celebrating the music and artists of the Great American Songbook. For the foreseeable future, listeners can continue tuning in to The Saturday Show and The Sunday Show, which will be guest-hosted by WQXR’s Paul Cavalconte. Our 24/7 digital stream will continue to showcase music from the Great American Songbook—past and present—and will relaunch in the coming year.

Our mission remains to open hearts and minds, bring people together, and create a more just and joyful society through excellent programming. This work depends on an ironclad commitment to our community, which we reaffirm today: A respectful, inclusive work environment is not a privilege. It’s a fundamental right. As we turn the page on this difficult year, we will hold ourselves to the highest standards of transparency, integrity, and accountability. And we will ensure that every member of our community—from host to intern, guest to listener—feels welcome and valued.

With gratitude, Laura R. Walker President and CEO, New York Public Radio

DottyParker

Dec 21, 2017 at 5:32pm

This article gets into more background and detail:

wnyc.org: New York Public Radio Fires Hosts Lopate, Schwartz

https://www.wnyc.org/story/new-york-public-radio-fires-hosts-lopate-schwartz/

"Two weeks after their abrupt suspensions, longtime WNYC hosts Leonard Lopate and Jonathan Schwartz have been fired. In a statement, spokesperson Jennifer Houlihan Roussel wrote “New York Public Radio has terminated the employment of Leonard Lopate and Jonathan Schwartz following two separate investigations overseen by outside counsel. These investigations found that each individual had violated our standards for providing an inclusive, appropriate, and respectful work environment.”