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MPR Reporter Marie Combs Resigns After Editors Kill Story

“Combs said she wrote a draft and presented it to legal counsel for review and that the story was determined to be well-sourced.”

Ryan Hedrick

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A veteran Minnesota news reporter abruptly resigned after she accused her station of spiking a story she had written about her co-worker’s alleged sexual misconduct.

Reporter Marianne Combs said she spent two and a half months investigating allegations made about a DJ at her Minnesota Public Radio sister station, 89.3 The Current. 

Combs said she communicated with eight women all claiming that DJ Eric Malmberg sexually manipulated and psychologically abused them. 

The story was first reported by the Minnesota Star Tribune. 

Combs wrote on Monday that the women encountered Malmberg while he worked at other stations including the Cumulus Media combo of Classic Rock 92.5 KQRS and Rock “93X” KXXR.

“I also interviewed the directors of a summer church camp who told this DJ he was no longer welcome to volunteer there because of his inappropriate behavior with teenage girls,” Combs wrote in a Facebook post.” I found out that in June he was fired from another job where he worked with children; that organization is now conducting an investigation into his time there.”

Combs said she wrote a draft and presented it to legal counsel for review and that the story was determined to be well-sourced. 

“My editors have failed to move forward on the story. They have countered that the DJ’s actions were, for the most part, legal, and therefore don’t rise to the level of warranting news coverage,” Combs said. 

Combs won an award in June for her reporting on sex abuse cases at Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis. 

Minnesota Public Radio publicly fired Malmberg Tuesday reversing earlier support. 

“MPR has made the decision that the audience of The Current is best served by a programmatic change,” the release stated. “As a result, Eric Malmberg will no longer be a DJ on The Current. Our hosts have to be able to attract an audience that wants to listen to them and trusts them and over the last 36 hours those conditions have changed for Malmberg.” 

Meantime Combs said she her resignation will serve as a “catalyst for positive change.” 

Minnesota Public Radio said they were “blindsided” by Combs’ resignation.

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Kate Delaney Named Host of ‘Amazing Americans’, Nightly ‘America Tonight’ Added to KSL Newsradio Lineup

“Kate Delaney is a pro’s pro. She’s made her own luck, through hard work and great communication. Talk Media Network is proud to be expanding her audience.”

Barrett News Media

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A photo of Kate Delaney
(Photo: Talk Media Network)

It’s been an exciting few weeks for Kate Delaney, culminating in her hosting a new show while her current program — America Tonight — has been added to the lineup at KSL Newsradio in Salt Lake City.

“I’m thrilled that America Tonight can now be heard on KSL in Salt Lake City. It’s a powerful station with a rich history of serving its listeners,” Delaney said.

“KSL is excited for overnight news programming with a combination of solid information and a big personality to be a trusted companion to our listeners,” KSL Newsradio Program Director Kevin LaRue added. “Welcome to Kate, her team, and Talk Media Network!”

Additionally, Delaney — who recently served as a keynote speaker at the NAB Leadership Foundation’s “Focus on Leadership” speaker series at the NAB Show — has been named the host of Talk Media Network’s weekly Amazing Americans program which was previously helmed by founder Jerry Schemmel.

“I look forward to continuing to share compelling and captivating and inspirational stories of human achievement on Amazing Americans. Something my predecessor, Jerry Schemmel, was exceptional at, in hosting the program,” Delaney shared. “Radio listeners are hungry for authentic, true-life stories, to leave them feeling inspired.”

“Jerry created a program that was bigger than himself, it’s a part of his radio legacy, and every week we’ll continue to share powerful stories that are a shining example of the positive content radio can and should be sharing in our communities,” said Talk Media Network CEO Josh Leng. “Kate Delaney is a pro’s pro. She’s made her own luck, through hard work and great communication. Talk Media Network is proud to be expanding her audience.”

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News Media Reacts to Uri Berliner Resigning From NPR

Reaction to the news from the news media was generally drawn down party lines, with conservatives championing the move, while liberals chastised the longtime editor.

Barrett News Media

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A photo of the NPR logo

NPR Business Editor Uri Berliner has announced his resignation from the outlet he called home for 25 years Wednesday.

Last week, Berliner penned an essay criticizing the network for what he called a liberal bias, stating NPR had “lost America’s trust” in the process. After his comments went viral, the organization “strongly disagreed” with his encapsulation.

On Friday, Berliner was suspended by NPR for breaking previously established internal protocols. While he stated he would not fight the discipline, he called into question whether or not newly minted CEO Katherine Maher was fit to lead the network due to her left-wing bias after former social media posts were uncovered.

In a statement published to X, Uri Berliner stated “I am resigning from NPR, a great American institution where I have worked for 25 years. I don’t support calls to defund NPR,” Berliner wrote. “I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism. But I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay.”

Reaction to the news from the news media was generally drawn down party lines, with conservatives championing the move, while liberals chastised the longtime editor. Meanwhile, colleagues took aim at Berliner for placing the outlet in the crosshairs.

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Bill Handel: Paywalls Separate Conspiracy Theories From Objective News

“Paywalls for news, you get fact-based information credible for people willing to pay for it. And then way less reliable, at times crazy, stuff for everyone else.”

Barrett News Media

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A photo of Bill Handel and the KFI logo
(Photo: KFI)

A recent study claimed 75% of America’s leading newspapers are behind paywalls. KFI-AM 640 morning host Bill Handel believes it’s a mixed bag.

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism revealed that paywalls stop millions of Americans from accessing news both nationally and locally.

While discussing the findings on his morning show, Handel noted that, on one hand, that’s a bad thing.

“What paywalls do is get in the way of informing the public. And that’s what journalism is about,” said Handel. “It is a tough one.”

However, he added that paywalls are an important differentiator between credible and not credible outlets.

“The internet…is free. We’ve always been able to Google for free. You look at Wikipedia for free. News isn’t free. Not from the major news outlets,” said Handel. “If you go to CNN.com, NewYorkTimes.com, LATimes.com, you’re going to see the pop-ups where you have to subscribe and of course, the subscription is always the same.

“I’ll tell you what you can get for free: crazy conspiracy theory crap. That, you can get for free. Can you get hard news, objective news? Not as much. So paywalls create a two-tiered system. Paywalls for news, you get fact-based information credible for people willing to pay for it. And then way less reliable, at times crazy, stuff for everyone else.”

Bill Handel concluded by admitting he subscribes to the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal.

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