Boston Globe Editor Responds 'I Never Harassed;' Possible Lawsuit

BOSTON, MA —The Boston Globe is investigating the allegations of “an inappropriate text exchange” between Globe editor-in-chief Brian McGrory and former Boston.com staffer Hilary Sargent, according to two internal memos sent to staff Wednesday. And a reported article on the Globe website indicated the company might be going to court over the emails.

“When we first learned about the social media discussion . . . we began investigating to gather as much relevant information as we could,” said a memo from Linda Henry, Globe managing director, and Vinay Mehra, Globe president, who said they're looking into the context and timing of the texts.

In a note to staff late Wednesday, McGrory said he didn't remember the exchange but told the Globe’s owners that they should try to get the complete texts. He also said he'd asked Sargent, who he said he'd dated years ago when they did not work together, for the date the text was sent and the rest of the thread.

Sargent told a Globe reporter that the newspaper’s lawyers have sent her a draft of a Superior Court lawsuit to compel Sargent under the terms of her 2016 separation agreement to provide the newspaper more information about the text in question. (The Globe lawyers told the Globe they hadn't filed any lawsuit yet).

"I have no desire to argue with Hilary Sargent, publicly or privately. In fact, I very much respect her abilities as a journalist. But I do think that it’s important to have the broader context known," he said.

The longtime columnist and former metro editor defended his record at the Globe as someone who sought balance in the newsroom and equal pay for women.

“I have never harassed Hilary Sargent or any other women at the Globe or anywhere else — ever,” he wrote.

Sargent, who worked at the Globe-owned but separately run Boston.com from 2014 to 2016, tweeted a screen-grab of a text exchange that had one person asking for help about writing and another responding with, “What do you generally wear when you write?” She later attributed the question to McGrory, although the screenshot did not include the date or the names.

Read more about the accusations here>> Editor Of Boston Globe Accused Of Sending Inappropriate Texts

McGrory did not respond to request for comment from Patch at the time, McGrory's note to staff said after Sargent left the organization, the two would sometimes exchange text messages that included the kind of personal banter of two people very familiar with each other.

"I regret that very much for reasons that go far beyond the Globe,” he wrote.

In response to McGrory’s statement, Sargent told the Globe by e-mail: “If Brian McGrory truly does not believe he has ever acted inappropriately with anyone at The Boston Globe, then he and I have a remarkably different understanding of what is — and is not — appropriate.”

This comes as the Globe has been covering the #MeToo movement, most recently with the publishing of stories about harassment on Beacon Hill and then facing its own newsroom incidents. The Globe's State House reporter was recently made to step down after allegations surfaced about inappropriate harassment on his part.

Sargent lambasted the Globe in a series of tweets suggesting the Globe had deeper harassment issues. The former staffer worked at the company first as an intern in 1998 for a year and then came back to work at Boston.com in 2014. She was suspended after an incident there and left two years later. In recent months she has been one of the Globe's strongest critics when it comes to sexual harassment.

Read the Globe story on this: Globe investigating allegation top editor sent inappropriate text

Previously on Patch:

Editor Of Boston Globe Accused Of Sending Inappropriate Texts

Boston Globe Discloses Sex Assault Allegations Vs. Ex-Reporter
Boston Globe Writer Put On Leave Amid Questions Of Accuracy

The full memo from McGrory:

To the newsroom,

Hilary Sargent is someone I have known for a long time, been fond of personally, and respected professionally. To say the least, I was not anticipating the situation this week.

Hilary released on Monday what she said was an exchange between us. I have no recollection of it, which, admittedly, is embarrassing to me. I have asked Hilary to provide the date and a more complete version of the exchange. She has not addressed my request. I have told the Globe’s owners that the company should feel free to retrieve our text messages by whatever means possible, and I am trying myself.

Absent that information, I do think some context is needed.

First, Hilary and I dated many years ago. We did not work together at the time, and we’ve remained friendly over the years.

Second, when Hilary came to boston.com in 2014, I had no role, no say whatsoever, in her hire. She did not report to me, even indirectly. The site had a separate editor answering directly to the front office. We were on mutually friendly terms, and I do not believe I ever wrote, spoke, or acted in a disrespectful way to her.

Third, months after Hilary left boston.com, we would sometimes exchange text messages that included the kind of personal banter of two people very familiar with each other. I regret that very much for reasons that go far beyond the Globe.

I can’t believe I have to write these words, but I have never harassed Hilary Sargent or any other women at the Globe or anywhere else – ever. I don’t believe I have ever acted inappropriately with anyone at this company. I have been a manager two different times over my 29 years with this organization – from 2007 to 2009 as the Metro editor, and from 2013 to now as the editor. I cannot think of a time, not one, when I treated any female colleague with anything but respect. I have never faced any sort of complaint, formal or informal, whether as a manager or not. I have consistently put women in leadership positions, such that newsroom management is split equally by gender, with talented women holding many of the most pivotal jobs – managing editor, news editor, innovations editor, Spotlight editor, just to name a few. I devoted myself to the issue of gender pay equity from the first months that I took this position, and I’m proud to say that in key categories in the newsroom, we have achieved it. Tough decisions that have affected women and men have been made during my tenure, inevitable in an industry that is losing revenue each year. But I have always tried to address these challenges with a basic sense of decency.

I have no desire to argue with Hilary Sargent, publicly or privately. In fact, I very much respect her abilities as a journalist. But I do think that it’s important to have the broader context known.

Finally, I fully realize the toll this has taken on the newsroom, the distraction it has caused and the questions it has understandably raised. My one request is that everyone remains focused on the vital work of the Globe each and every day.

Brian

Photo at top by Bob Holmes/Patch