Montana Legislators Warned About Harassing Reporters

By: Lauren Wiener After complaints from female reporters, legislative leaders in Helena, Mont., issued a memorandum Aug. 14 warning legislators about making "flirtatious overtures" toward the press.

The complaints came from two capital reporters, one affiliated with the State Bureau, during a special six-day session of the legislature held in early August to discuss the state's budget deficit.

Their complaints, as stated in the memorandum, suggested two of the members of the legislature were "too flirty with young female reporters" and were "too clingy." One legislator had asked the reporters to go to dinner and go dancing with him, according to State Bureau Chief Charles Johnson. Another "kept hassling one of the reporters, coming down to her office all the time," he told E&P Online.

Johnson, who heads the State Bureau, which covers the state legislature for four daily Montana newspapers, was away on vacation during the time of alleged misconduct. When the reporters told him of the incident, they indicated they wanted to deal with it themselves.

"The reporters didn't call for action against the two," Johnson said. "The last paragraph of the [legislative leaders'] memo says what they wanted to hear. They did not want it publicized." The last paragraph maintains "no matter who they are, what party or chamber they belong to, or what the circumstances may have been, flirtatious overtures toward members of the press corps are clearly unwanted, inappropriate, and unacceptable."

Speaker Daniel W. McGee, who was involved in issuing the memorandum, said he did not know the names of the lawmakers. "It's the first time this has ever happened that I'm aware of," he said.

Johnson said similar incidents have happened before, "but not to the same degree and they were not reported then." He hopes that the memorandum will raise awareness in the legislature: "I hope that as they give orientation in the fall, they'll run through this stuff and talk about sexual harassment issues."