At least one reporter in San Diego said members of the media have been fully aware of the sexual harassment allegations circling Mayor Bob Filner for some time — but chose to ignore it in their reports.
Mr. Filner faces charges of sexual harassment from at least seven women. He’s steadfastly refused to resign and even asked that San Diego tax dollars be used to pay for his legal defense.
In an editorial published on Monday, Doug Curlee wrote that “San Diego news media reporters, editors, producers and writers pretty much knew who and what Bob Filner is and has been.” But aside from discussing the allegations in casual settings, “we did nothing about it,” he wrote, Breitbart reported.
On top of that, media members knew the allegations were “incessant,” but turned a blind eye to investigate, he said.
Mr. Curlee takes several guesses as to “why we had the chance — many chances over the years — to dig into the Filner story and find much of this out,” but decided against it, Breitbart reported.
Some theories: Mr. Filner was a powerful Democrat. Mr. Filner had an impressive base of minority supporters. Mr. Filner had an equally impressive base of supporters among labor groups and unions.
SEE ALSO: San Diego Mayor Bob Filner wants city dollars for sexual harassment defense
Not listed as a theory, Breitbart reported: Mr. Filner is a Democrat, and the majority of media members vote the Democratic ticket.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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