Journalist and political commentator Mark Halperin has launched a new political website less than two years after he was accused of sexual misconduct when he worked at ABC News over a decade ago.
The site, which is called Mark Halperin’s Wide World of News, promises “notable pages from the World Wide Web…annotated.” It’s a no-frills page that features headlines along with bite-sized commentary.
Halperin’s new site is a bit of a call back to his political newsletter, The Note, which he produced during his time as political director of ABC News during the early 2000s.
The subjects covered on the site range from NBA playoff highlights to former Vice President Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential chances to “the meaning of the attacks on [Attorney General William] Barr.” The first post was dated April 15.
Once one of the biggest stars in political and cable news media, Halperin’s career imploded in October 2017 after CNN published a piece detailing sexual misconduct accusations against Halperin by five women. One accuser described how Halperin had forcibly kissed her while shoving himself up against her body.
In a statement shortly after the CNN piece was published, Halperin apologized for his “inappropriate” behavior, saying he was “profoundly sorry.”
“The world is now publicly acknowledging what so many women have long known: Men harm women in the workplace. That new awareness is, of course, a positive development. For a long time at ABC News, I was part of the problem,” Halperin said. “I acknowledge that and I deeply regret it. As I said earlier in the week, my behavior was wrong. It caused fear and anxiety for women who were only seeking to do their jobs.”
Halperin was subsequently dropped as a contributor to NBC News — where he had been a regular on “Morning Joe.” He was also removed by Showtime as a co-host of “The Circus.” A book deal was abandoned and an HBO miniseries of his earlier book, “Game Change,” was also scrapped. His agency, CAA, also dropped him as well.
News of a calculated Halperin comeback was reported Thursday evening by the Daily Beast, though signs had been evident before. Last month, Halperin was interviewed by SiriusXM radio host Michael Smerconish and around the same time as the launch of his blog. Halperin also began posting again on his long-dormant Twitter account.
Halperin did not immediately respond to request for comment from TheWrap.