SUMMARY: A milestone report on sexual harassment in science has identified pervasive problems and policy shortcomings at the field's highest levels. In response, NIH apologized for not addressing more quickly “the climate and culture that has caused such harm.” William Brangham talks to NIH's Director, Dr. Francis Collins, about the risk of potentially driving women away from careers in scientific fields.
SUMMARY: The Trump administration has announced new rules governing how colleges respond to allegations of sexual assault and harassment. The changes broaden rights for those accused of misconduct and narrow the definition of sexual harassment. But will they discourage victims from coming forward? Amna Nawaz speaks to Scott Jaschik, editor at Inside Higher Ed, for more on this policy “pendulum swing."
SUMMARY: At the Golden Globe awards Sunday night, Hollywood’s biggest stars wore pins saying “Time’s Up,” a nod to a campaign to end sexual harassment in the industry. Several stars, including Oprah Winfrey, also made impassioned calls to speak up about misconduct during their acceptance speeches. Jeffrey Brown reports on the campaign, the night’s events and the momentum of the #MeToo movement.
SUMMARY: Syndicated Columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week's news, including accusations that Judge Roy Moore pursued relationships with teens and had sexual contact with a minor decades ago, a wave of Democratic victories in statewide elections, including the Virginia governor's race, and the larger trends facing both parties.
SUMMARY: Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week's news, including Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake's denunciation of the Trump presidency and his decision to not seek re-election, the impact President Trump has on Republican politics, and whether #MeToo is a turning point for men and sexual harassment.
Judy Woodruff (NewsHour): The rift in the Republican Party widened this week, as outgoing Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona called on his party to stand up to President Trump, and House Republicans aired their disagreements over a plan to overhaul the tax code.
That brings us to the analysis of Shields and Brooks. That's syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks.
And, gentlemen, welcome to both of you.
So, we have spent much of this week examining, talking about that stunning speech, David, that Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona gave on the Senate floor this week, where he essentially took on the President and challenged his colleagues.
Let's first just listen to a short excerpt of that.
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz): We must never regard as normal the regular and casual undermining of our democratic norms and ideals. We must never meekly accept the daily sundering of our country, the personal attacks, the threats against principles, freedoms and institution, the flagrant disregard for truth and decency, the reckless provocations most often for the pettiest and most personal reasons, reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with the fortunes of the people that we have been elected to serve.
Judy Woodruff: That was Jeff Flake on the Senate floor.
David, what change — what effect has that speech had?
David Brooks, New York Times: Well, it sounded like a call to arms at the moment, but it's pretty clear it was Appomattox in reality.
What Flake made clear is that you can't survive a Republican primary if you don't sound like Donald Trump. And whether with Flake leaving, Corker leaving, McCain sort of in the end — toward the end of his career, the Republicans who want have a political viability have to be Trumpian.
And so what you have is most of the Republicans saying, I may not like this guy privately, I may worry about this guy, but this is my guy, I am going to support him.
And so this was really the week, I thought, something atmospheric shifted and Donald Trump, and Steve Bannon really took control of the Republican Party.
Judy Woodruff: Mark?
Mark Shields, syndicated columnist: Yes, I think David is absolutely right, Judy, that the Republican Party is the wholly owned subsidiary of Donald Trump at this point.
And the polls show it that Republican voters rate Donald Trump off the boards in high marks and actually give negative marks to Republicans in Congress. So, the choice has been made, it would seem.
And I thought that when Jeff Flake said the fragrant disregard for truth and decency, and then Bob Corker, senator from Tennessee's indictment as well, they aren't philosophical difference. I mean, Bob Corker obviously talked about the danger of World War III and Donald Trump's not coherent leadership, but they're an indictment of character.
And that's — but for the other Republicans to remain silent on that, if that's the question, if character is the question, then they just say, oh, we just want to worry about our own reelection.
Judy Woodruff: Well, let me ask you about that, David, because Jeff Flake went on to say to his fellow Republicans, our children are watching, and he asked — he said, what are we going to do about that? What are we going to do when the next generation asks us, how did we respond at this time, in other words, saying they are complicit.
David Brooks: You know, I had some conversations with some Republican senators who support Donald Trump, by and large, and I guess their argument is, well, you know, I really believe in this tax cut, he's for that, we can get some economic policy passed.
When his administration calls my office to say who they want to be deputy secretary and this and that, and I give them a name, they hire the person, so I have been able to have some influence on the administration in that way.
And I grant, for some conservatives, Trump offers something, and maybe the administration is hiring a lot of their former staffers in a way they think is good and influential.
But I guess I would say, your priorities are messed up, that if you are supporting Donald Trump because he will get you a tax bill you like, you're putting money above morals. And the character and the morals of the country and the social fabric of the country are more important than whether the tax rate is 39.6 or 35.4.
And so — and I would ask them to think about that. I guess when I do make that point, a lot of the things I find outrageous about Donald Trump's behavior, they seem kind of distant and they treat those things as unimportant. They put sort of a vast distance between them and some of the daily fights and dishonesties that I think characterize a lot of this President's behavior.
Judy Woodruff: So, Mark, are we talking about values here? What does it come down to?
Mark Shields: Well, I certainly think that's the way that Jeff Flake framed it.
It is a question of character. It's destiny. And I think the fact is, Judy, David mentioned tax cuts, and that's it. That's the last stage out of Dodge for the Republicans. They have failed at every turn in this Congress and in the Trump administration. They have nothing to show.
They talk about Justice Gorsuch. Fine. But they really have nothing to show, no accomplishments with total Republican dominance of both the Congress and the Presidency. So, this is it. And this is the one thing that ties them together. You know, it's shameless. A party that talks so movingly about balancing the budget and not putting the burden on our children and grandchildren, and adding $1.5 trillion, they voted to this week — the President pushed to do it — and to the new debt over the next 10 years.
And, you know — but this is it. This is their last chance to say, we did something in this election.
And the key, the problem that Republicans are facing and a real confrontation is, the FOX News poll showed that Republicans, if you could vote for — had to vote for Congress today, would you vote for a Democrat or Republican? And by 50 to 35, people say they would vote for a Democrat.
SUMMARY: Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson was the first woman to accuse network co-founder Roger Ailes of sexual harassment. She was not the last: a subsequent flood of allegations forced Ailes to resign. As the company investigates, Judy Woodruff interviews former network news executive Shelley Ross and Vanity Fair's Sarah Ellison about the case and the larger issue of workplace sexual misconduct.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): An update on the fallout at FOX News over allegations that its co-founder, Roger Ailes, sexually harassed women employees for years.
Ailes resigned in late July with a reported $40 million severance package, that after a lawsuit by former FOX anchor Gretchen Carlson alleged that her show was canceled because she'd rebuffed sexual advances from Ailes.
In the following weeks, a growing number of women, including prime-time anchor Megyn Kelly, reportedly came forward with similar stories of impropriety. Ailes has called Ms. Carlson's accusations false. And an internal investigation by FOX's parent company is still under way.
For a closer look, not only at this case, but at the wider matter of sexual harassment in the workplace, we turn to Sarah Ellison, a contributing editor at “Vanity Fair.” She recently reported on the Ailes allegations. And Shelley Ross, she's a former network television news executive, best known for her 17-year tenure at ABC News. She recently wrote about her own professional experiences with Roger Ailes, and the news business at large, in The Daily Beast.
And we welcome both of you to the program.
And we should note at the outset, Roger Ailes back in the news today because of a New York Times report that he's now advising Donald Trump's campaign. And we should say the campaign denies that.
But, Sarah Ellison, I want to turn to you first.
What is the state of what is known about Roger Ailes' alleged harassment of women at FOX News?
SARAH ELLISON, Vanity Fair: Well, we know — largely, what we know is what we have learned from our reporting, which is that the internal investigation that is ongoing that you referred to earlier, has identified at least women in the double digits who have come forward and spoken to the internal investigation.
And we know that it was something that implicated Ailes certainly. There are people who have come out and told their stories, but there are people who have not yet come forward, and I think that we're going to see more women, even more women come forward in the coming days.
SUMMARY: For 20 years, the man at the helm of Fox News was it's CEO and founder Roger Ailes. On Thursday, Ailes stepped down after former anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment suit against him. Jane Hall, associate professor at American University's School of Communication, and Ken Doctor, media analyst for Newsonomics and Columnist for Politico, sit down with Judy Woodruff to discuss.
JEFFREY BROWN (NewsHour): It all unfolded quickly, in a matter of weeks, after former FOX anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment suit against Roger Ailes, longtime head of FOX News.
Ailes denied the charges. But 21st Century Fox, the cable network's parent company, hired a law firm to conduct an investigation. According to Carlson's lawyers, 20 or more other women then came forward with claims about Ailes' conduct, including Megyn Kelly, one of the network's star anchors.
Publicly, many other prominent on-air personalities at FOX, including Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Greta Van Susteren, backed Ailes and said they were unaware of any inappropriate behavior.
Rupert Murdoch issued a statement late yesterday without referring to the harassment charges, saying that: “Roger Ailes has made a remarkable contribution to our company and our country. Roger shared my vision of a great and independent television organization and executed it brilliantly over 20 great years.”
Roger Ailes, now 76, has been an influential figure for decades in Republican politics, as an adviser and strategist to Presidents Nixon, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush. He created FOX News 20 years ago and built it into the most-watched cable news channel.
BRIT HUME, FOX News: More news is on the way, fair, balanced and unafraid.
JEFFREY BROWN: Promoted as an alternative to traditional mainstream media. It has been a huge moneymaker for its parent company, and a target for critics of its conservative tone and team.
Ailes said this in a 2004 interview with C-SPAN'S Brian Lamb:
ROGER AILES, Former FOX News Executive: Well, we have changed the business a little bit. I think FOX News has come on the scene and identified itself as fair and balanced. We try to do that every day. I think others, instead of trying to get more fair and balanced, probably are offended by that or worried about it.
JEFFREY BROWN: Rupert Murdoch and his sons, James and Lachlan, will now decide on a successor to Roger Ailes and the future of the network he built.
And joining me now, Jane Hall, a journalism professor at American University who previously served as a media reporter for The Los Angeles Times and commentator at FOX News, and Ken Doctor, who writes on the media business for Politico and on his blog, Newsonomics.
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JANE HALL, American University: Well, he is a brilliant television producer. And he created the jazzy graphics on the screen. He hired Bill O’Reilly. He brought in a number of people. He brought Megyn Kelly on board.
He had a great eye for talent. What I think has happened is his fair and balanced slogan is really not accurate. They have pounded home lines like government takeover, Obama is soft on terrorism, Hillary is crooked. As I said in the piece, I don’t think we would have Donald Trump if we didn’t have Roger Ailes.
But the network is absolutely a reflection of his vision. The only other person I can think of is Roone Arledge, who created ABC News and ABC Sports, who has had the same kind of impact. He merged politics, though, and a kind of bifurcated take-no-prisoners style that I think has hurt our discourse.
