newsmakers

newsmakers

Art commission wants songwriter’s statue removed

PITTSBURGH

The Pittsburgh Art Commission has voted to recommend removing a 117-year-old statue of the “Oh! Susanna” songwriter that has been criticized as demeaning because it includes a slave sitting at his feet, plucking a banjo.

The commission wants the city to remove the statue of Pittsburgh native son Stephen Foster at Schenley Park within six months and find a new spot where it can be displayed on private property and “properly contextualized.”

Foster died in 1864. His songs also include “Camptown Races.”

Critics say the statue is offensive, but others say it merely shows that Foster was inspired by black spirituals and other music.

The recommendation is nonbinding but is expected to guide Democratic Mayor Bill Peduto, who asked for input on what to do with the statue.

NBC News takes Mark Halperin off air after harassment claims

NEW YORK

MSNBC says journalist Mark Halperin has been suspended from his role as network contributor following charges from five women who claimed he sexually harassed them while he was an ABC News executive.

The network said Thursday it found Halperin’s conduct as described in a CNN story “very troubling” and that the veteran political reporter will be off the air until questions about his past are fully understood.

Later Thursday, Penguin Press canceled a planned book by Halperin and John Heilemann about the 2016 election, and HBO called off a miniseries that would have been based on the book.

Halperin and Heilemann had collaborated on two previous books, including “Game Change,” a best-seller about the 2008 race that almost single-handedly revived the campaign book genre and was the basis for an award-winning HBO adaptation.

“HBO has no tolerance for sexual harassment within the company or its productions,” the company said in an emailed statement.

Halperin has apologized for what he termed inappropriate behavior, and ABC said Thursday that no complaints were filed against him during his tenure, which ended more than a decade ago.

The women, who asked to remain anonymous, said they didn’t report Halperin’s conduct because they feared retribution or were embarrassed.

Associated Press