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Thank God for those notorious womanizers at "60 Minutes" who make it safe for women like Kathleen Willey to speak out about sexual harassment.

By Carol Lloyd

Mar 17, 1998 | Women of the world, rest easy. We have venerable men like "60 Minutes" executive producer Don Hewitt looking out for our interests, making sure that women like Kathleen Willey can speak freely about their experiences with sexual harassment. Hewitt was quoted in Saturday's New York Times, promoting the TV news magazine's exclusive interview with Willey, the former White House employee who has come forward as Clinton's latest accuser. "It's her story and it's incredible," Hewitt said. "And it's very believable and very persuasive and leaves little doubt about what happened."

Since the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, there has been a parade of notorious womanizers who have eagerly pointed the finger at the president. Reminiscent of the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings, in which a panel of congressmen -- many of them known for their sexual escapades -- sat in judgment of the Supreme Court nominee, this scandal has offered another occasion for old foxes to go after the younger ones.

Of all the ludicrous developments in the Oval Office bedroom farce, however, Hewitt's presumptuous and altogether premature commentary may get the award for most hypocritical. (And with Linda Tripp claiming she had Lewinsky's best interests at heart, he has serious competition.) The irony is that Hewitt -- the creator of the TV show famous for unveiling corruption and hypocrisy among the powerful -- has been accused of worse deeds than any of the sexual charges leveled at Clinton.

In 1991, reporter Mark Hertsgaard, author of "On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency," wrote an article for Rolling Stone magazine in which he documented Hewitt's own serious problems with impulse control. Women who worked in the "60 Minutes" offices described to Hertsgaard a sexually charged environment that had more in common with a drunken frat party than a professional newsroom. Correspondent Mike Wallace was singled out for bottom slapping, lewd comments and unsnapping co-workers' bras.

While today no one would hesitate to call such behavior sexual harassment, Wallace's cheerful willingness to do it in public -- even in front of a stranger -- made him seem like a good (albeit unpleasant) old boy. But the charges against Hewitt make Clinton's alleged behavior look like clumsy courtship. One woman described to Hertsgaard how Hewitt slammed her against a wall, pinned her there and forced his tongue down her throat. Hewitt vehemently denied the story and all other allegations to Hertsgaard, while Wallace admitted his own antics and promised they would never happen again.

Rolling Stone eventually published Hertsgaard's article in a drastically reduced form, although Hertsgaard says Hewitt pulled all the strings he could to get the story killed. In an interview from his home in Takoma Park, Md., Hertsgaard spoke to Salon about the allegations of sexual harassment at "60 Minutes" that never made it into print -- and about how the "men's club" within the media exposes other sexually reckless men, but still protects its own.

Your story has some pretty explosive accusations against Don Hewitt. How did you come to write the piece?

Sexual harassment was not the point of the investigation. I literally witnessed sexual harassment on my first day of interviews at "60 Minutes" and women began to tell me about it, so it gradually found its way into the story. But that wasn't the point, it just was so pervasive at the time that you couldn't miss it.

What did you witness when you were there?

The first day I was in the corridor talking with a female staffer and I saw out of the corner of my eye Mr. Wallace coming down the hall. He didn't know me yet because I hadn't interviewed him, so he had no idea that it was a reporter standing there. I'm sure it would have changed his mind. Anyway, just before he reached her she pushed both her hands behind her bottom, like a little kid trying to ward off a mama's spanking, and got up on her toes and leaned away. But that didn't stop him. As he went by, he swatted her on the butt with a rolled up magazine or newspaper or something like that. That's no big deal, one could say, but I must say it did raise my eyebrows. I said to her, "God, does that happen all the time?" and she said, "Are you kidding? That is nothing." And that led to people telling me how he'd also unsnap your bra strap or snap it for you. So he had a reputation for that.

Then I also heard about this far-more-worrisome incident with Hewitt and that one did get into the piece, although in a much censored form, where he lunges at a woman in a deserted place, pins her against the wall and sticks his tongue in her mouth. There were other incidents women told me about Hewitt, and, of course, (former) Washington Post journalist Sally Quinn was already on the record in her book "We're Going to Make You a Star" accusing Hewitt of making an aggressive pass at her and sabotaging her work when she refused him.

Was the sexual harassment at "60 Minutes" pervasive?

It sure seemed that way. There's a woman quoted in my story saying that Mike would constantly have his hands on your thigh, or whatnot. One producer said that basically Mike Wallace and Don Hewitt felt this was their right. And that's how a lot of men in television felt for many years. Women were basically hired for their looks. You had to be competent too, but you damn well better look good.

Next Page: How Hewitt tried to kill the Rolling Stone piece

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