>>> PULITZER PRIZE WINNING JOURNALIST RONAN FARROW OF CATCH AND KILL WITH THE COVER-UPS AT THE HIGH EVIDENT LEVEL AND THE NBC NETWORK WHERE HE ONCE WORKED. >> BY NOW YOU HAVE TO HAVE HEARD OF THIS BOOK. IT HAS BEEN THE TOPIC OF ALMOST EVERY CONVERSATION ON EVERY WEBB AND CABLE NEWS SHOW FOR THE PAST COUPLE WEEKS EVEN BEFORE IT CAME OUT. GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE. >> A PLEASURE TO BE HERE. >> I WANT TO QUICKLY IN 30 SECONDS OR LESS TRY TO EXPLAIN ONE OF THE BIG STORY LINES HAVE TO BOOK. CORRECT ME IF ANY OF THIS IS WRONG. YOU ARE WORKING THIS STORY ABOUT HARVEY WEINSTEIN. YOU'RE AT NBC NEWS. HARVEY APPROACHES NBC AND SAYS I WANT THIS STORY KILLED. HE COMES ONE SOME KIND OF STORY AT NBC ACCORDING TO THE REPORTING AND THE STORY GOES AWAY. SO YOU END UP TAKING IT TO THE NEW YORKER. IT'S PUBLISHED. THERE'S LOTS OF RAMIFICATIONS. HARVEY ACCORDING TO REPORTING SAYS, WELL, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THIS STORY KILLED. AND IN MY BACK POCKET, I'VE GOT SOME STORIES HERE ABOUT MATT LAUER. YOUR BIGGEST STAR AT THE TIME. YOU END UP GETTING THIS PUBLISHED IN THE NEW YORKER. YOU GET THE PULITZER AND HERE WE ARE. >> THAT'S ROUGHLY RIGHT. THE REPORTING IN THE BOOK IS METICULOUSLY FACT CHECKED. IT IS VERY CAREFUL AND MEASURED IN HOW EVERYTHING IS LAID OUT. SO YOU DON'T SEE MUSTACHE TWIRLING BACK ROOM DEALS SIGNED IN BLOOD. WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IS A SWATH OF SECRET EMAILS AND CALLS, AT LEAST 15 CALLS BETWEEN HARVEY WEINSTEIN AND EXECUTIVES WHICH THEY HAD PREVIOUSLY CONCEALED TO AND ARE NOW ADMITTING TO IN WHICH SOME PRETTY SHOCKING OCCURRENCES. AND THIS WINDS UP IN HARVEY WEINSTEIN AND HIS LETTERS TO ME WHERE EMAID DEAL WITH NBC. THEY GAVE ME WRITTEN ASSURANCE THIS STORY WOULD BE KILLED. IF YOU TAKE THIS STORY ELSEWHERE, THEY'RE GOING ON ASSERT A COPY RIGHT CLAIM ON THE MATERIAL. SO WE LAY IT OUT FULLY AND FAIRLY. NBC'S DENIAL THAT THEY EVER CUT A DEAL LIKE THAT BUT THE RECORDS AND TRANSCRIPTS SUGGEST THERE WERE PROMISES MADE ON THOSE CALLS. >> YOU HAD TONS OF HE HAVE. YOU WON THE PULITZER. NONETHELESS, NBC IS DISPUTING A LOT OF YOUR ACCOUNTS. IF THEY ARE ALL TRUE FACTUALLY, DO YOU THINK THAT NBC PRESIDENT ANDY LACK AND NOAH OPPENHEIM NEED TO BE FIRED? WHAT DOES THIS SAY TO PEOPLE IN AMERICA WATCHING NBC NEWS IF THEY'RE NOT FIRED? >> THERE ARE A LOT OF CALLS INSIDE NBC WHERE THERE ARE WONDERFUL JOURNAL. IS WHO DESERVE THE SPACE TO HAVE TOUGH STORIES LIKE THE AND PEOPLE WHO DESERVE THE PROTECTION YOU GET WHEN SERIAL PREDATORS ARE REMOVED FROM THEIR JOBS AND THERE IS ACCOUNTABILITY. WHAT YOU SEE IN THE COMPANY AND SO MANY COMPANIES HAVE REPORTED ON. INSTEAD A PATTERN OF CORPORATE AND LEGAL COVER-UPS WHERE THEY ARE PAYING WOMEN OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO MAKE THIS PROBLEM GO AWAY AND KEEP PEOPLE WHO ARE ALLEGEDLY COMMITTING CRIMES IN THEIR JOBS. THAT RISKS GETTING PEOPLE HURT. I HEY OUT THOSE FACTS. MY JOB AS A REPORTER IS TO DO SO CAREFULLY AND FAIRLY. AND I'VE DONE THAT AND I'M GRATIFIED TO SEE A CONVERSATION ABOUT IT. WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN, IT IS NOT MY JOB TO SAY. >> DO YOU THINK WOMEN, THE EXECUTIVES AT NBC, THE TOP RANGING WE WILL HAVE SOME SORT OF RESPONSIBLE AS WELL? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE HEADS OF HR AND ALSO, GENERAL COUNSEL. THEY MUST HAVE HAD A HAND IN THE SHAPING OF ANY BACK ROOM DEALS. HUSH MONEY OR PAYMENTS. WHAT IS THEIR ROLE HERE? >> AND THERE ARE BOTH WOMEN AND MEN WHO CONSPIRE IN THIS BOOK TO SHUT DOWN BRAVE SOURCES, STRUGGLING TO SPEAK AND TO SHUT DOWN REPORTERS WORKING THIS. THERE IS A WHOLE PLOT THREAD THAT UNRAVELS ABOUT LISA BLOOM, A FAKT LAWYER AND ACTIVIST, A FRIEND OF MINE WHO WAS WORKING AS A DOUBLE AGENT FOR HARVEY WEINSTEIN. AND I THINK IT IS RELEVANT THAT AT NBC NEWS IN PARTICULAR RIGHT NOW, YOU HAVE AN ALL MALE CHAIN OF COMMAND IN TERMS OF PRIMARY EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP. AND THERE'S AN EXPLORATION THAT I THINK IS VERY FAIR IN THE BOOK ABOUT THEIR ATTITUDES. AND SOME OF THE THINGS LIKE THE PRESIDENT OF NBC NEWS ONCE WROTE OP EDS SAYING WOMEN DESIRE TO BE PREYED UPON. THEY LIKE BEING PUMPED FULL OF ALCOHOL. BITS THESE VAST SYSTEMS, WOMEN AND MEN. >> ONE THING I THOUGHT WAS REALLY INTERESTING. WE OFTEN WANT TO SEE ANGELS AND DEVILS IN THE NARRATIVE. BUT TOWARD THE END OF THE BOOK, YOU ACTUALLY GIVE THE PRESIDENT OF NBC NEWS OPPENHEIM A MOMENT OF GRACE. YOU HAVE A PHONE CONVERSATION WITH HIM AND YOU SAY THAT HE ASKS SOMETIME DOWN THE LINE, RONAN, YOU WOULD MAKE IT SO I WAS NOT THE ENEMY HERE. AND YOU GIVE HIM THAT. YOU SAY THAT HE WAS NOT THE ENEMY. WHY DID YOU DO THAT? >> WELL, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PASSAGE ON MULTIPLE LEVELS. HE SAYS I'M NOT THE VILLAIN. I HAD BOSSES WHO MADE THESE DECISIONS. HE PASSES TO IT HIS BOSS. AND HIS BOSS'S BOSS, STEVE BURKE, THE HEAD OF NBC UNIVERSAL. THROUGHOUT THE BOOK WHAT YOU SEE IS IN SITUATIONS WHERE IF ONE PERSON HAD TAKEN BOMB. CORPORATE LEADERSHIP AND THAT, THIS IS IMPORTANT AND WE'VE HEARD AUDIO OF A GUY CONFESSING TO SERIAL SEXUAL ASSAULT. WE'VE LITERALLY HAD HARVEY WEINSTEIN ON TAPE CONFESSING AND PEOPLE MIGHT GET HURT IF WE DON'T REPORT THIS. LET'S SERIOUSLY, IF WE DON'T FEEL LIKE THERE IS ENOUGH, MAKE SURE THIS REPORTER IS EMPOWERED TO DO MORE. INSTEAD, THERE IS AN ORDER TO STOP ALL CALLS. PEOPLE IN LEADERSHIP ROLES PASSING THE BUCK. HE SAYS OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THESE PEOPLE DON'T WORK FOR ME. MY BOSSES ARE MAKING DECISIONS. WHEN HE SAYS I'M NOT THE VILLAIN, THAT'S TRUE IN A PARTICULARLY SINISTER ESSENTIAL. NOBODY THINKS THEY'RE THE VILLAIN. I WOULD POINT OUT, ON THE OTHER HAND THIS BOOK IS FULL OF CHARACTER WHO'S DO STAND UP AND DO THE RIGHT THING. MY WORKING LEVEL PRODUCER REFUSES TO SHUT IT DOWN. REFUSES ORDERS TO CANCEL INTERVIEWS. LOSES HIS JOCK AFTER ALL OF THIS. THERE ARE BRAVE PEOPLE IN THESE PAGES, TOO. I HOME YOU SEE THE CAUTIONARY TALE AND THE INSPIRING ONE. >> THERE ARE SO MANY HEADLINES OUT OF THIS BOOK. ONE OF THEM IS ABOUT PRESIDENT TRUMP. JUST BEFORE THE ELECTION, THERE IS THIS ACCORDING TO YOUR REPORTING, THERE IS ESSENTIALLY A NOTICE AT THE "NATIONAL ENQUIRER" THAT APPARENTLY THERE IS AN ACTUAL SAFE WHERE ALL THE DIRT ON TRUMP IS KEPT. AND THERE IS AN ORDER TO GO INTO THAT SAFE AND ESSENTIALLY SHRED THOSE STORIES. >> THE FIRST TIME A REPORTER HAS SEEN THE COMPLETE CONTENTS LIST. THEY MADE A LITERAL LIST OF HERE'S ALL THE STORIES WE'VE KILLED ABOUT DONALD TRUMP. AND AS WITH SO MANY STORIES ABOUT THE "NATIONAL ENQUIRER" AND ITS COLLABORATION WITH DONALD TRUMP TO KILL STORIES THAT WERE UNFLAT BERG HIM DURING THE ELECTION, THE UNDERLYING TRUTH OR FALSENESS OF THE CLAIMS ON THAT LIST IS NOT REALLY THE HEADLINE. IT WAS MANY ACCOUNTS OF AFFAIRS WHICH WERE CONSENSUAL AND WHO CARES, ONE DISCUSSION OF ALLEGED MISCONDUCT, THE JILL HEARTH CASE WHICH SOME OF YOUR VIEWERS MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH. BUT IT'S NOT THAT THERE WERE HUGE HEADLINES THAT HAVEN'T COME OUT YET. THE POINT IS THIS NOT A SUB OF CRIMINAL VIOLATION AND THERE WAS A DESTRUCTION OF EVIDENCE RIGHT BEFORE THE ELECTION. AND IT IS PART OF A PATTERN THAT I DOCUMENT IN THIS BOOK OF HOW THE ENQUIRER AND OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS BECAME ATTACK DOGS FOR POWERFUL PEOPLE INCLUDING TRUMP. >> WE ONLY HAVE ABOUT ONE MINUTE BUT I WANT TO GET TO AN IMPORTANT POINT. YOU'RE REPORTING ON WEINSTEIN AND THE LAUNCH OF THE ME TOO MOVEMENT. IN SOCHI WITH MATT LAUER WHO CLAIMED THE ALLEGED ASSAULT. SHE CAME BACK FROM SOCHI AND CONTINUED TO HAVE SEXUAL ENCOUNTERS WITH HIM. ONE THING YOU DESCRIBE WAS SHE DID SOMETHING FOR HIM SO HE COULD RECORD A VIDEO FOR HER BOYFRIEND. SOME VIEWERS WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND THE DYNAMICS OF POWER IN A CORPORATE STRUCTURE MIGHT SAY, WHY DID SHE DO THAT? CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW IT COMES WITH INTO PLAY? >> THIS IS A YOUNG JOURNALIST WORKING THIS MAN, THE MOST POWERFUL MAN AT HER COMPANY. SHE READILY ADMITS FOLLOW-ON CONTACT WITH HIM. EVEN WHERE SHE SAYS SHE WAS TRYING AS HARD AS SHE COULD NOT TO PISS HIM OFF. SHE WAS AFRAID FOR HER JOB. SHE WAS SOUNDING AS ENTHUSIASTIC AS POSSIBLE. BUT SHE DESCRIBES THE REALITY AS ANYTHING BUT ENTHUSIASTIC. THAT SHE WAS TORTURED BY THE FACT THAT HE WAS ASKING FOR THESE FOLLOW-ON SEXUAL ACTIVITIES. THAT SOMETIMES THIS HAPPENED IN THE CONTEXT OF HER AS HE ALLUDED TO, NEEDING TO WORK WITH HIM. TO GET SOMETHING FOR HER WORK, FOR HER BOSS, MEREDITH VIERA AND HE WOULD BE PROPOSITIONING HER THEN. AND SOME OF THESE SHE SAYS WERE NOT EVEN CONSENSUAL. FUNDAMENTALLY WHILE THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF CONTEXT, IT IS LAID OUT IN THE BOOK, MATT LAUER AND THE FACT THAT HE CONSIDERED IT CONSENSUAL WHICH IS HATED OUT. WHAT SHE SAYS THAT IS SO PERSUASIVE, REGARDLESS OF WHAT CAME BEFORE AND AFTER. REGARDLESS OF HOW HE INTERPRETED IT. WHETHER SHE THOUGHT HE WAS FLIRTING, THE NIGHT OF THE ALLEGED INCIDENT SHE SAID SHE WAS TOO DRUNK TO CONSENT AND HE PROCEEDED WITH A SEX ACT THAT SHE HAD SAID NO TO EXPLICITLY. IN HER BOOK THE ACTUAL ASSAULT IS VERY CUT AND DRY. EVEN THOUGH WE GIVE ALL OF. SURROUNDING CONTEXT. >> THAT'S A LOT TO THINK ABOUT. WHEN YOU THINK SOMEONE CAN END YOUR CAREER, SOMETIMES YOU FEEL LIKE I HAVE NO CHOICE. >> YES. THAT'S SOMETHING SO MANY PEOPLE IN OUR BUSINESS ARE FAMILIAR WITH AND I AM SO GRATEFUL TO EVERY SOURCE WHO CONTINUES TO SPEAK. >> IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS COULDN'T
