NPRâs top editor placed on leave after accusations of sexual harassment
Michael Oreskes
Update  Nov. 1: Michael Oreskes resigned from NPR on Wednesday.
The women  both journalists at the time of the alleged incidents  made the accusations in recent weeks against  Michael Oreskes   senior vice president of news and editorial director at the Washington-based public broadcasting organization.
In separate complaints  the women said Oreskes â at the time  the Washington bureau chief of the New York Times â abruptly kissed them while they were speaking with him about working at the newspaper. Both of them told similar stories: After meeting  Oreskes  and discussing their job prospects  they said he unexpectedly kissed them on the lips and stuck his tongue in their mouths.
The alleged incidents occurred in the late 1990s  the women said.  Oreskes  joined NPR in March 2015 after working at the Times and the Associated Press in senior editing roles.
 Oreskes  didnât respond to multiple requests for comment.
Both complainants say  Oreskesâs  alleged behavior had a lasting impact.
 Michael Oreskes   senior vice president of news and editorial director at NPR. (Chuck Zoeller/Associated Press)
The women said they met with  Oreskes  after  he  expressed an interest in reviewing their work and giving them career advice  possibly with an eye toward hiring them as reporters. Neither was ever hired.
The first woman said she met  Oreskes  at the Timesâ offices in the Army and Navy Club Building in downtown Washington.
Thereafter  she said   Oreskes  invited her to have lunch in a room at the Watergate Hotel  catered by room service. She declined the offer.
âThe worst part of my whole encounter with  Oreskes  wasnât the weird offers of room service lunch or the tongue kiss but the fact that he utterly destroyed my ambition â she said.
The second woman recounted a similar sequence of events. After booking him on a TV program that she was producing  and mentioning that she wanted to return to print reporting  he offered to review her published work. They agreed to meet at a local restaurant  but at the last minute   Oreskes  called and said he had a trip planned that day and was running late. He asked to meet at her apartment. She agreed.
The apartment meeting went off without issue  although the woman recalled feeling uncomfortable when  Oreskes  placed his hand in the small of her back as she showed him around her apartment. She then offered to drive him to Reagan National Airport for his flight. As she pulled to the curb   Oreskes  said goodbye  then kissed her unexpectedly  she said.
Later  she said  she got a voice-mail message from  Oreskes  saying how much he enjoyed meeting her and that he looked forward to seeing her again.
Two people who worked at the Times with  Oreskes  around the late 1990s recalled that he focused extraordinary attention on another young woman who worked as a news aide in the Washington bureau.
This account was confirmed by Jill Abramson  who was  Oreskes âs deputy at the time. Abramson  who went on to become the Timesâ top editor and is now a columnist and a senior lecturer at Harvard  said in an interview that she regretted not confronting  Oreskes  about  his  behavior.
Update  Nov. 1:  [TGT]  resigned from NPR on Wednesday.
The women  both journalists at the time of the alleged incidents  made the accusations in recent weeks against   [TGT]    senior vice president of news and editorial director at the Washington-based public broadcasting organization.
In separate complaints  the women said Oreskes â at the time  the Washington bureau chief of the New York Times â abruptly kissed them while they were speaking with him about working at the newspaper. Both of them told similar stories: After meeting  Oreskes  and discussing their job prospects  they said he unexpectedly kissed them on the lips and stuck his tongue in their mouths.
The alleged incidents occurred in the late 1990s  the women said.   [TGT] joined NPR in March 2015 after working at the Times and the Associated Press in senior editing roles.
  [TGT] didnât respond to multiple requests for comment.
Both complainants say  Oreskesâs  alleged behavior had a lasting impact.
  [TGT]    senior vice president of news and editorial director at NPR. (Chuck Zoeller/Associated Press)
The women said they met with  Oreskes  after  he  expressed an interest in reviewing their work and giving them career advice  possibly with an eye toward hiring them as reporters. Neither was ever hired.
The first woman said she met   [TGT] at the Timesâ offices in the Army and Navy Club Building in downtown Washington.
Thereafter  she said    [TGT] invited her to have lunch in a room at the Watergate Hotel  catered by room service. She declined the offer.
âThe worst part of my whole encounter with  Oreskes  wasnât the weird offers of room service lunch or the tongue kiss but the fact that he utterly destroyed my ambition â she said.
The second woman recounted a similar sequence of events. After booking him on a TV program that she was producing  and mentioning that she wanted to return to print reporting  he offered to review her published work. They agreed to meet at a local restaurant  but at the last minute    [TGT] called and said he had a trip planned that day and was running late. He asked to meet at her apartment. She agreed.
The apartment meeting went off without issue  although the woman recalled feeling uncomfortable when   [TGT] placed his hand in the small of her back as she showed him around her apartment. She then offered to drive him to Reagan National Airport for his flight. As she pulled to the curb    [TGT] said goodbye  then kissed her unexpectedly  she said.
Later  she said  she got a voice-mail message from  Oreskes  saying how much he enjoyed meeting her and that he looked forward to seeing her again.
Two people who worked at the Times with  Oreskes  around the late 1990s recalled that he focused extraordinary attention on another young woman who worked as a news aide in the Washington bureau.
This account was confirmed by Jill Abramson  who was  Oreskes âs deputy at the time. Abramson  who went on to become the Timesâ top editor and is now a columnist and a senior lecturer at Harvard  said in an interview that she regretted not confronting  Oreskes  about  his  behavior.