Chris Cuomo’s firing from CNN over disclosures that he surreptitiously tried to help his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, survive a series of sexual abuse allegations is just the latest in a series of sexual harassment scandals that have rocked the political and media world.

In New Jersey, the Katie Brennan case and the Star-Ledger’s #MeToo investigation spurred high-profile hearings, two investigations, independent anti-harassment working groups, and a flurry of reform legislation.

“Sexual Harassment in New Jersey Politics: What Has Changed, and What Still Needs to Be Accomplished” is the subject of the latest in the nonprofit Corporation for New Jersey Local Media’s Community Engagement Series of webinars, which are co-sponsored by the New Jersey Hills Media Group.

The free webinar is being held tomorrow — Tuesday, December 7 — from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Attendees can sign up for a Zoom link at www.newsweneed.org or directly at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Bpk02WyIQDO_uUU-KQSQXQ, or can watch the panel on the New Jersey Hills Media Group’s 14 Facebook sites.

Webinar panelists include the following:
• Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, who sponsored a series of anti-harassment legislation;
• Katie Brennan, whose sexual assault allegation against a campaign aide for Governor Murphy was the subject of legislative hearings;
• Sue Livio, co-author of the Star-Ledger’s #MeToo investigation;
• Sabeen Masih, vice president of public affairs for the Capital Impact Group;
• Julie Roginsky, co-founder of Lift Our Voices, whose lawsuit against Roger Ailes for sexual harassment helped launch the #MeToo movement.

Roginsky and Masih both served on the Weinberg Workgroup, which was created in the wake of a December 2019 Star-Ledger/NJ Advance Media report co-authored by Sue Livio and Kelly Heyboer in which 20 women told of being groped, propositioned, harassed, and sexually assaulted while serving as campaign staffers, political operatives, legislators and lobbyists in New Jersey.

“It has been three years since Katie Brennan testified before the Legislature, two years since the Star-Ledger’s ground-breaking #MeToo report and almost a year since the Weinberg Workgroup on Harassment, Sexual Assault and Misogyny in New Jersey Politics issued its recommendations,” CNJLM Executive Director Amanda Richardson noted. “With Senator Loretta Weinberg leaving office next month, this is an appropriate time to review what changes have occurred and what remains to be accomplished.”

“We are pleased to partner with the Corporation for New Jersey Local Media on this Community Engagement Series to bring expert discussions of important issues to our readers through various media platforms,” said Steve Parker, co-publisher of the New Jersey Hills Media Group.

Suggested questions for the panel can be submitted in advance to Amanda Richardson at amanda@newsweneed.org or through the Zoom Q&A feature during the webinar.

The Corporation for New Jersey Local Media (www.newsweneed.org) is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to building strong communities by bolstering local journalism, civic engagement and public discussion of critical issues.