News Audio

Amber Athey Fired by WMAL Over Joke About Kamala Harris

“Kamala looks like a UPS employee — what can brown do for you?” Athey’s March 1 tweet read. “Nothing good, apparently.”

Published

1 year ago

April 5, 2022

Eduardo Razo

WMAL

Writer and commentator Amber Athey says in a column for “The Spectator” she was fired from her radio gig at WMAL in Washington D.C. Furthermore, she’s accused of being racist after joking that a brown suit worn by Vice President Kamala Harris resembled a UPS uniform.

“Kamala looks like a UPS employee — what can brown do for you?” Athey’s March 1 tweet read. “Nothing good, apparently.”

Athey states that the tweet originally made no waves. However, days later, the remarks began to be noticed by many on the social media platform.

“All of a sudden, the Kamala tweet was being re-framed as racist, and dozens of Twitter accounts were bragging about contacting my employers about my’ bigotry,’” Athey said.

Furthermore, she claims that her employers at The Spectator “laughed at and promptly deleted the angry emails.” At WMAL’s morning “O’Connor & Company” show, her coworkers operated as if anything was “amiss” following the tweet.

Nonetheless, a little over a week after sending the tweet, Athey was contacted “out of the blue” by Jeff Boden, the vice president of station owner Cumulus Washington, and human resources VP Kriston Fancellas.

“They told me that the tweet I sent about Kamala was ‘racist’ and that subsequent follow-ups defending myself and making fun of the efforts to cancel me were unacceptable,” she said. “I had violated the company’s social media policy, they said, and I was terminated effective immediately.”

“We spoke frequently [on the show] about the dangers of censorship and cancel culture on our program, and yet here they are bowing to the mob. If I can be fired for making fun of the vice president’s outfit, every single host on a Cumulus station is in danger of losing their job at a moment’s notice.”

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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Bill Flaherty Elevated to Director of Programming at WBZ

“I am excited to work with the best news staff in the business as we keep finding ways to make innovative changes to live local news.”

Published

6 mins ago

June 5, 2023

BNM Staff

Bill Flaherty is being promoted to Director of Programming and Operations at WBZ later this summer.

The Boston all-news station will see Rob Sanchez, who currently serves as the Program Director and Vice President of News, Talk, and Sports at iHeartMedia Boston, transition into an “innovation-focused consultant” role later this month.

“I am excited to work with the best news staff in the business as we keep finding ways to make innovative changes to live local news,” said Flaherty. “WBZ NewsRadio is combining its strong signal with an impactful social media presence to bring news and storytelling to people of all ages.”

“Rob’s vision has helped guide WBZ NewsRadio towards becoming a digitally focused news organization,” added iHeartMedia Boston Senior Vice President of Programming Dylan Sprague. “I’m glad that he will continue to be a part of our organization as he moves into the next part of his career.”

Additionally, Jay Borselle has been promoted to news director for the station.

“Bill’s experience paired with his shared vision of the future makes him the obvious choice to succeed Rob as program director. Jay is a consummate professional with a strong connection to the community, and we are thrilled to have him to lead our newsroom. I couldn’t be more excited about where WBZ NewsRadio is headed with Bill and Jay at the helm.”

The changes at WBZ will take effect on July 1st.

BNM Staff

News Audio

Murderer of WWJ Anchor Jim Matthews Sentenced to Life in Prison

The sentence came after Williamson pleaded no contest to the murder of Matthews in April after telling the court he had no recollection of the attack.

Published

3 hours ago

June 5, 2023

BNM Staff

A Michigan judge has sentenced Arthur Williamson to life in prison after the September murder of 950 WWJ anchor Jim Matthews.

The sentence came after Williamson pleaded no contest to the murder of Matthews in April after telling the court he had no recollection of the attack.

Nicole Guertin, Matthews’ girlfriend at the time of his death, claimed Williamson was her best friend and had entered their home in September to smoke crack cocaine and do heroin. Williamson ultimately attacked her and her children before saying “When Jim gets home, I’m gonna kill him”.

Williamson beat Matthews with a hammer before stabbing him to death. Police found Williamson in the basement of the Chesterfield Township condominium overdosing on heroin and suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Guertin escaped with Matthews’ daughter, while his son was struck with a hammer and tied up in a closet when authorities arrived.

The convicted murderer offered an apology during the sentencing, which family members believe showed he lacked remorse for his actions.

“You’re a pedophile. You’re a murderer and, really, you’re the embodiment of evil. And it’s good that you’ll never see the light of day outside of a prison,” Judge James Biernat Jr. said of Williamson, according to the Detroit Free Press.

BNM Staff

News Audio

TuneIn Ends Submission Fees For AM Stations

“The future of AM Radio is on the top of all of our minds. TuneIn is committed to helping AM Radio thrive in the digital world.”

Published

3 hours ago

June 5, 2023

BNM Staff

After requiring a submission fee to place AM Radio stations on its streaming platform last year, TuneIn has reversed course and has ended the practice.

Licensed AM Radio stations will now be granted access to the TuneIn On Air service free of charge. Additionally, the service will give broadcasters access to its Amplifier analytics data and has increased the sound quality of stations’ digital signal.

“The future of AM Radio is on the top of all of our minds,” said TuneIn CEO Rich Stern. “TuneIn is committed to helping AM Radio thrive in the digital world. It offers such a vast and rich library of audio programming that is integral to millions of Americans’ daily lives. Offering AM broadcasters the opportunity to digitize through TuneIn On Air for free is one way we can build a brighter future together.”

FCC-licensed stations that are not currently on the platform but would like their stations placed on the streaming service can click here for more information.

BNM Staff