Leonard Lopate, Jonathan Schwartz Fired By WNYC After Probes

NEW YORK, NY — WNYC fired Leonard Lopate and Jonathan Schwartz, two of its longest-serving and most prominent hosts, on Thursday after substantiating allegations that they behaved inappropriately with staffers.

The public radio station suspended Lopate and Schwartz two weeks ago as it started the probes, in which a third-party investigator interviewed multiple witnesses and both the hosts, according to an announcement posted to the station's website Thursday.

The station did not describe the behavior that led to the firings, but said both hosts "had violated our standards for providing an inclusive, appropriate, and respectful work environment." The board of trustees of New York Public Radio, WNYC's parent company, supported the decision to fire them, the station said.

"We recognize that Leonard Lopate and Jonathan Schwartz have made many contributions to New York Public Radio and we are deeply saddened to have to take these steps," Jennifer Houlihan Roussel, New York Public Radio's vice president for communications, said in the statement. "But our higher commitment continues to be to ensure an inclusive and respectful environment for our staff, guests and listeners."

WNYC said it had disciplined Lopate and Schwartz for inappropriate behavior in the past. Lopate was given a warning and one-on-one harassment training after a separate investigation in February found he had made "inappropriate remarks" to staff, Houlihan Roussel's statement said.

The station started investigating Schwartz after getting several complaints about him earlier this month, the statement says. That probe followed separate, previous complaints made as recently as November that led to disciplinary action, the station said. WNYC did not say what that discipline entailed.

Four women had filed complaints about Lopate and two others had complained about Schwartz over a period of more than 12 years, WNYC News reported Thursday. The reported complaints included behavior ranging from suggestive, inappropriate comments to unwanted touching.

Lopate and Schwartz told WNYC News they didn't remember some of the incidents and insisted that others weren't inappropriate.

Lopate and Schwartz were two of WNYC's figureheads. Lopate has worked at the station for 32 years. "The Leonard Lopate Show," his two-hour daily broadcast featuring prominent politicans, authors and artists, won a Peabody Award in 2012. The show has been rebranded "WNYC at Midday."

Schwartz has worked in New York City radio for four decades and with WNYC since the 1990s. He hosts shows featuring classic American songs several times a week. Paul Cavalconte of sister station WQXR will continue in Schwartz's former time slots, which now contain programs called "The Saturday Show" and "The Sunday Show."

Contact information for Lopate and Schwartz was not immediately available. Lopate told WNYC he was "really sad and totally shocked" about his firing, calling it "unjust."

"This episode in my life truly is the most hurtful, outrageous and saddest I’ve ever experienced — and more," Schwartz told WNYC News earlier this week.

The firings follow a New York Magazine report this month in which women accused John Hockenberry, the former host of WNYC's "The Takeaway," of sexual harassment and bullying. Hockenberry left WNYC this summer, before the allegations became public. He has apologized for his behavior.

WNYC's handling of misconduct and harassment has put New York Public Radio CEO Laura Walker under fire. She has pledged to take allegations seriously and hold staffers accountable for wrongdoing.

"I deeply regret that our culture and protocols did not work as they should, such that the full extent of the allegations are just coming to light," Walker said of the allegations against Hockenberry in a Dec. 4 interview with host Brian Lehrer. "This alleged behavior happened on my watch and I take responsibility."

(Lead image: Leonard Lopate speaks at an event in 2015. Photo by Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images)