http://mediamatters.org/blog/201111130007November 13, 2011 5:48 pm ET by Solange Uwimana
A few weeks ago, allegations of sexual harassment against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain became public. As two women stepped forward to publicly recount what they allege happened in the 1990s, Fox News rallied to Cain's side. The network launched a vicious smear campaign against his accusers in an attempt to discredit their testimonies and tarnish their characters. In one example typical of the venom at Fox, Dick Morris stated of one Cain accuser: "I look forward to her spread in Playboy."
In a candid interview today on CNN's Reliable Sources, journalist Lauren Ashburn pointed to Fox's vitriol as an example of why few harassed women break their silence. "That's what women fear the most -- is the character assassination," she told host Howard Kurtz, after CNN aired Morris' statement. Ashburn continued:
ASHBURN: Is that all of a sudden you say something and the camera and the lens turns onto you: you as a person, you -- how you've lived your life, and what kind of money you want, and why are you doing this, and is it political gain, and is it notoriety? And is it worth it? In many women's instances, in cases, it's just not worth it. You don't want to be defined. You don't want to live your life based on the fact that you confronted a harasser.
Ashburn, a 20-year veteran of the newsroom who is now president of a media company and contributes to The Daily Beast and The Huffington Post, recently recounted her own experience with harassment. It was the first time she had done so publicly. She wrote on November 3:
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