Poll: Half of voters say media gives too much coverage to sexual misconduct allegations

Half of voters said in a new Hill-HarrisX survey that the media gives too much coverage to accusations of sexual misconduct.

The national survey, released Friday, found 50 percent of registered voters said that the media focuses too much on sexual misconduct allegations, compared to 18 percent of those polled who said the media doesn’t give them enough coverage.

Thirty-two percent said the media gives sexual misconduct accusations just the right amount of attention.

The survey comes after former “Today” host Matt Lauer was accused of raping a former NBC News employee at the 2014 Sochi Olympics in a new book by investigative reporter Ronan Farrow.

The NBC employee — who has now come forward and been identified as Brooke Nevils — had filed a complaint following the incident, which led to Lauer’s firing in 2017. Though the complaint had been reported on, the full details of her allegations had not been made public until now.

Lauer denied the allegations, calling them “categorically false.” He has also denied previously reported accusations of sexual harassment.

NBC, meanwhile, has rejected calls to open an outside investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations against Lauer, prompting criticism from some women’s advocacy groups.

Women’s advocacy group UltraViolent called on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to cancel its upcoming presidential primary debate on MSNBC in response to the decision, arguing that previous investigation into Lauer’s misconduct was a “sham.”

“As NBC dithers, the DNC must stand with survivors and pull the upcoming democratic presidential primary debate from MSNBC until clear steps are taken to clean house at NBC News,” Shaunna Thomas, the co-founder and executive director of UltraViolet Action, added in the statement last Friday.

—Tess Bonn