News Radio

Cumulus Radio Threatens Termination of Hosts Over Election Fraud Claims

The memo comes after both chambers of Congress met Jan. 6 to certify the Electoral College votes cast and on the heels of a mob of people breaching security at the U.S. Capitol and illegally entering both the House and Senate, as well as ransacking congressional offices.

Published

1 year ago

January 12, 2021

Jordan Bondurant

Cumulus apparently has drawn a line in the sand with its pool of conservative commentators.

With Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris set to be sworn in as the next president and vice president of the United States on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump and his allies have seemingly exhausted all possible avenues to get the results of the 2020 presidential election reversed. But even up to now, that hasn’t stopped many from across conservative media from echoing the thoughts of President Trump and claiming the election was rigged and stolen.

In an article published by the Washington Post on Monday, one Cumulus executive is trying to nip that line of thinking in the bud.

According to the Post, Brian Philips, executive vice president of content for Cumulus, issued an internal memo saying Cumulus and Westwood One would not tolerate further claims that President Trump has some sort of path to a second term in the White House. And that, “If you transgress this policy, you can expect to separate from the company immediately.”

The Post article mentions the names of a few popular conservative personalities claiming to be employees of Cumulus or Westwood One. In particular, Ben Shapiro and Mark Levin.

Jeremy Boreing, who co-founded The Daily Wire with Shapiro and is an executive producer of The Ben Shapiro Show, made it clear the memo won’t apply to Shapiro.

Cumulus is not Ben's employer and hasn't told Ben jack shit about what he can or cannot say on air.

Also, Ben never said the election was stolen.

That's at least three falsehoods in 280 characters or less, but pretty good journalisming otherwise. https://t.co/5h0VASqfHZ
— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) January 11, 2021

Levin told media watchdog NewsBusters, “I never received that memo, and my crew never received that memo. This story is done by a reporter who has never spoken to me – ever.” He added if he did in fact receive that memo “I would make sure the entire nation would hear about it.” He added “I would like a correction and an apology from the Post, but I won’t hold my breath.”

There’s been no word at least by hosts employed by Cumulus at the local level who have spoken out about the memo.

Jordan Bondurant

Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett News Media. He also works for ABC8 News and Newsradio WRVA and 910 The Fan in Richmond, Virginia. His prior experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly and iHeartradio Richmond. He can be reached by email at Jordan.E.Bondurant@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.

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News Radio

Ben Shapiro: Donald Trump Endorsing People Doesn’t Carry a Lot of Power

During his show on Wednesday, Shapiro said Trump may hold power over the Republican party but when it comes to local political races, there are other factors at play.

Published

14 hours ago

June 24, 2022

Ryan Hedrick

AFP/Getty Images/Jason Kempin

Syndicated radio host and author Ben Shapiro suggested that an endorsement from former President Donald Trump is not the golden ticket it’s portrayed to be.

During his show on Wednesday, Shapiro said Trump may hold power over the Republican party but when it comes to local political races, there are other factors at play.

“So, there’s a difference between Donald Trump endorsing a person, which I don’t think has a lot of power. And Donald Trump is destroying people,” Shapiro said via Mediate.

“He (Trump) actually talked about how Brian Kemp was terrible and horrible and no good and very bad. And Brian Kemp won because he had earned the loyalty of the Republican voting base in Georgia, despite Trump’s anger at Brian Kemp.”

Shapiro concluded that “Trump does not have the sort of stranglehold the media thinks he has on the Republican Party.”

Recently, Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz is one Trump-endorsed candidate that has backed away from the former president.

An Axios analysis of Oz’s social media and campaign website uncovered that the Republican candidate is no longer lauding his Trump endorsement ahead of the midterm elections this fall.

Ryan Hedrick

Ryan Hedrick serves as the Co-Host of the Morning News Express at WFMD. He started in radio at 17 years old, doing sports and news for his high school radio station. He then spent several years at WFMD in Frederick, MD before joining WBEN in Buffalo, NY. In 2016, while working at WIBW-AM in Topeka KS, Hedrick earned the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB) award for Major Market enterprise reporting. Hedrick grew up in Southern California where he attended Cal State University of Northridge. He can be found on Twitter @SureToCover.

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News Radio

Longtime WIBC News Anchor Retires After Nearly 30 Years

Stan Lehr is calling it quits with his final day coming July 1.

Published

14 hours ago

June 24, 2022

Ryan Hedrick

Longtime WIBC-FM news anchor Stan Lehr is calling it quits after nearly 30 years behind the microphone. The Indianapolis Star reports that Lehr’s last day will be July 1.

WIBC is owned by Emmis Communications who last week announced a move to sell its Indianapolis radio properties to Maryland-based Radio One. Lehr’s retirement reportedly had nothing to do with the news of the impending sale.

“This will bring to an end a long chapter in the station’s history,” WIBC News Director Chris Davis wrote in his email. “His reputation as a stickler has been widely-known in the industry for decades.”

Davis described Lehr as a “stickler” who never wanted recognition for his work.

“Instead, he made it clear to all who work or have worked with him that strong writing, accuracy, and excellence in delivery are the best ways to serve the listeners,” added Davis.

Ryan Hedrick

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News Radio

WWL, FEMA Unveiling New Emergency Broadcast Studio

The news conference will occur at 9 a.m. CT, leading to official remarks, Q&A, a tour of the facility, and a live demonstration at the WWL PEP station emergency studio.

Published

1 day ago

June 23, 2022

Eduardo Razo

FEMA and Audacy’s WWL-AM/FM will present the unveiling of an all-hazards upgrade to the “Primary Entry Point” facility on June 28th.

The news conference will occur at 9 a.m. CT, leading to official remarks, Q&A, a tour of the facility, and a live demonstration at the WWL PEP station emergency studio.

Some of the speakers at the event will include Erik Hooks, Deputy Administrator, FEMA, and Kevin Cassidy, Senior Vice-President, Market Manager, Audacy-WWL.

“The modernization to the emergency studio increases WWL’s resiliency to continue broadcasting under all conditions, including natural disasters and acts of terrorism,” the statement said which Barrett News Media obtained. “This facility is one of 77 across the country that serve as a National Public Warning System Primary Entry Point (PEP) station, participating with FEMA to provide emergency alert and warning information to the public before, during and after incidents and disasters.”

“WWL is the 15th radio station in the country to work with FEMA to complete the all-hazards upgrade, which includes increased sheltering capabilities, expanded broadcast capacity, and sustainable power generation for all types of hazardous events.”

Anyone attending the event will arrive at check-in 15 minutes before the press conference starts.

Eduardo Razo

Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.

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