Podcast Movement apologizes to Ben Shapiro after claiming that his presence at a conference caused 'harm'
Podcast Movement issued an apology on Thursday after claiming last month that conservative commentator Ben Shapiro's mere prescence at a conference had caused "harm."
"As we stated, we're continuing to evaluate our policies guiding social media & events with inclusivity, diversity & respect for all. We have to start by sincerely apologizing to Mr. Shapiro for our reaction when he visited a booth we sold his company. That wasn't right," Podcast Movement tweeted on Thursday.
Daily Wire co-founder and co-CEO Jeremy Boreing applauded Podcast Movement for issuing the mea culpa: "People rarely admit when they do wrong, particularly on the left where every cultural indicator reinforces your error. @PodcastMovement did the right thing with this apology," Boreing tweeted.
\u201cPeople rarely admit when they do wrong, particularly on the left where every cultural indicator reinforces your error. \n\n@PodcastMovement did the right thing with this apology. Dan Franks also called me to make clear their treatment of Ben was unacceptable. \n\nGood on them.\u201d— Jeremy Boreing (@Jeremy Boreing) 1662679782
Last month after Shapiro showed up at the Daily Wire's booth at a Podcast Movement conference, Podcast Movement issued an eyebrow-raising apology suggesting that Shapiro's appearance at the event had inflicted "harm." The tweets have since been deleted.
"Hi folks, we owe you an apology before sessions kick off for the day. Yesterday afternoon, Ben Shapiro briefly visited the PM22 expo area near The Daily Wire booth. Though he was not registered or expected, we take full responsibility for the harm done by his presence," Podcast Movement had tweeted.
"There's no way around it: We agreed to sell The Daily Wire a first-time booth based on the company’s large presence in podcasting. The weight of that decision is now painfully clear. Shapiro is a co-founder. A drop-in, however unlikely, should have been considered a possibility," Podcast Movement continued. "Those of you who called this 'unacceptable' are right. In 9 wonderful years growing and celebrating this medium, PM has made mistakes. The pain caused by this one will always stick with us. We promise that sponsors will be more carefully considered moving forward."
Contrary to the grim picture painted by Podcast Movement's apology, video footage posted by the Daily Wire shows a smiling Ben Shapiro engaging in amicable interactions with people at the event.
\u201cWARNING: Some viewers may find the following video of @benshapiro at @PodcastMovement disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.\u201d— Daily Wire (@Daily Wire) 1661468715
Podcast Movement's apology to Shapiro on Thursday came after Cumulus Media earlier this week announced that it would cut ties with Podcast Movement.
"At Cumulus Media, our tenet is that Every Voice Matters and we support conferences and trade events where differing political viewpoints can be expressed and received with respect. As such, we were dismayed and disappointed by Podcast Movement's handling of the reaction to our partner, top podcaster, and conservative talk leader Ben Shapiro's mere presence at Podcast Movement. After giving the leaders of Podcast Movement sufficient time to appropriately address their misstep, we are disassociating from Podcast Movement, including canceling our 2023 sponsorship plans," Cumulus had said in a statement, according to Radio Online.
Cumulus Media severs ties with Podcast Movement after Ben Shapiro controversy
Broadcasting giant Cumulus Media on Tuesday severed ties with Podcast Movement, the trade association that issued a groveling apology for "harm" purportedly caused by Daily Wire podcast host Ben Shapiro's presence at their conference in Dallas, Texas, last month.
Cumulus, the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, said in a statement it was "dismayed and disappointed" by trade association's response after Shapiro visited the Daily Wire booth at the Podcast Movement conference and greeted fans and supporters. The Daily Wire was one of the event's sponsors.
The Cumulus Podcast Network has been the Daily Wire's advertising sales representative since 2016. The Atlanta-based company has also syndicated Shapiro's radio show through its Westwood One subsidiary since 2019.
"At Cumulus Media, our tenet is that Every Voice Matters and we support conferences and trade events where differing political viewpoints can be expressed and received with respect," Cumulus said. "As such, we were dismayed and disappointed by Podcast Movement's handling of the reaction to our partner, top podcaster, and conservative talk leader Ben Shapiro's mere presence at Podcast Movement.
"After giving the leaders of Podcast Movement sufficient time to appropriately address their misstep, we are disassociating from Podcast Movement, including canceling our 2023 sponsorship plans," the company announced.
Controversy exploded late last month after an attendee at Podcast Movement's conference complained that Shapiro's presence at the event did not make her feel "safe."
In response to the complaint, Podcast Movement posted an apology on Twitter taking "full responsibility for the harm done by his presence."
The trade association said Shapiro's presence at the event was "unacceptable," a statement that drew fierce backlash from conservatives. Daily Wire co-CEO Jeremy Boreing accused the group of "unadulterated bigotry" against conservative podcasters in a tirade denouncing how Shapiro, his friend and business partner, was treated. On Tuesday, Boreing praised Cumulus' action and called on other media companies to defend free speech.
“I’m glad to see our longtime partner Cumulus/Westwood One taking such a strong and public stand against Podcast Movement’s outright and abject bigotry,” Boreing said, according to the Daily Wire. “Though Podcast Movement quietly removed their bigoted tweet thread over the weekend, they still have yet to retract and publicly apologize for their hateful comments about Ben Shapiro and The Daily Wire.
“In an illiberal moment such as the one we’re currently living in, if we don’t stand up to this kind of bigoted behavior it’s only going to get worse,” he continued. “I certainly hope Cumulus’s strong response to Podcast Movement is the first of many others like it.”
In the wake of the controversy, Podcast Movement deleted the tweets apologizing for "harm caused by Shapiro's presence.
"We’re listening to our Podcast Movement community - many who’ve been with us since the start. We’re putting in place policies to guide our social media & events with inclusivity, diversity & respect for all," the group tweeted on Sept. 2. " It’s a journey. We’ll keep listening, keep growing together."
Conservative journalist says she was fired by DC talk radio station over 'racist' joke about Kamala Harris' SOTU outfit
A D.C.-based conservative journalist says she was a victim of censorship after she was fired by the talk radio station WMAL-FM for a joke she made about Vice President Kamala Harris.
Amber Athey, the Washington editor for The Spectator magazine, wrote on Monday that the conservative-leaning radio station, which is owned by Cumulus Media, fired her from the "O’Connor & Company" morning radio program for violating the company's social media policy with a "racist" tweet.
"About a month ago today, I posted a tweet during the State of the Union address poking fun at Vice President Kamala Harris’s outfit," Athey recounts in her article. "Harris wore a chocolate brown business suit that was panned on social media — some users compared her to a Hershey’s chocolate bar, while others wondered why she wore the same color as her chair. I went for a UPS joke, featuring the company’s now retired slogan."
The joke was, "Kamala looks like a UPS employee — what can brown do for you? Nothing good, apparently.”
Kamala looks like a UPS employee \u2014 what can brown do for you? Nothing good, apparently.— Amber Athey (@Amber Athey) 1646188823
The line "what can brown do for you" is a reference to an old UPS slogan. In 2010, the company replaced that slogan in favor of, "We (heart) Logistics."
But left wing agitators on Twitter mischaracterized her joke as a racist attack on Harris, who is of black and Indian descent.
"No one had a problem with the tweet until a few days later, when I spoke critically of protests in favor of 'trans kids' at the University of North Texas," Athey writes. "A group of maniacal left-wing activists who want to chemically castrate children in the name of 'gender affirmation' came after me. 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.'"
Oh my well now we're just telling on ourselves now aren't we Amberpic.twitter.com/BrxV6KIqRT— steven monacelli (@steven monacelli) 1646456052
She says that members of the online outrage mob tried to cancel her by contacting her employers at The Spectator. While the magazine "laughed at and promptly deleted the angry emails about my Kamala Tweet," the top brass at Cumulus Media took issue with her tweet.
This guy asking my publication to fire me claims he is a subscriber but neither his name nor email show up in our subscriber database. Try harder, KHIVE. \n\nBtw, if you want your emails to my employer to carry more weight, you can subscribe first with the promo code AMBER pic.twitter.com/inkbXCkg3W— Amber Athey (@Amber Athey) 1646510890
Athey had been hired as one of three female co-hosts of "O'Connor & Company" in the fall. On the afternoon of Wednesday, March 9, she says she was contacted by Jeff Boden, the vice president of Cumulus Washington, D.C, and Kriston Fancellas, the vice president of Human Resources about her social media post.
"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. I had violated the company’s social media policy, they said, and I was terminated effective immediately," Athey writes.
"They did not have the courtesy to offer me an opportunity to defend myself, nor did they speak to anyone at the program before handing down their decision," she added.
Athey says that during multiple attempts to appeal her employer's decision, "company officials admitted that the perception of racism was more important than whether or not my tweet was actually racist." Her appeals were unsuccessful.
She also accused WMAL of continuing to use her image and bio on its website and social media channels to promote their paid programming, even though she was fired.
"I am racist enough not to be paid, but not so racist that my likeness cannot be affiliated with the station, apparently," she writes.
She says that she wanted her job back, but now feels "obligated" to speak out about how she was censored.
"This incident has destroyed the integrity and reputation of WMAL and Cumulus as hosts of conservative content. We spoke frequently 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. Political commentary is worthless if it can’t be used to speak truth to those in power without fear of professional consequences."
Since publishing her article, Athey tweeted that WMAL and Cumulus are "doing damage control" and have removed her image from their social media pages and websites.
.@wmaldc @CumulusMedia are doing damage control & have removed my image from their social media and show website. Doesn\u2019t change that what they did to me was wrong and unjust. \n\nAnyway, excited to be on @Timcast tonight. \n\nThanks to everyone for your support. It\u2019s been amazing.— Amber Athey (@Amber Athey) 1649096887
Larry O'Connor, Athey's former co-host, said Monday that he has "been fighting all month" to get her back on the air and that he "will continue to do whatever I can."
"I still hope that [Cumulus Media] will do the right thing," he said.
I have been fighting all month to get @amber_athey back on O'Connor and Company and I will continue to do whatever I can. We assembled a great broadcast team.\n\nI still have hope that @CumulusMedia will do the right thing.pic.twitter.com/X8POy2hswD— Larry O'Connor (@Larry O'Connor) 1649094390
Cumulus Media did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While Corporate America Tries To Cancel Him, Morgan Wallen Is Going Back On Tour
'I'm NOT going to let this go': Watch Dan Bongino's MUST-SEE speech as he stands up to vaccine mandates
On "The Rubin Report" this week, BlazeTV host Dave Rubin talked about Conservative radio host Dan Bongino's threat to quit his daily radio show over his company's vaccine mandate, backlash from the military vaccine mandate, Grace the robot nurse, Democrats questioning election integrity, and the removal of a Thomas Jefferson statue.
First, Dave shared Dan Bongino's inspirational speech announcing his opposition to Cumulus Media's no-exceptions vaccine policy. Bongino, who has been vaccinated and is receiving treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma, threatened to quit hosting his popular radio show on behalf of others at the company who for personal or medical reasons choose not to get vaccinated.
"I'm not really happy with the company I work with right here. I believe these vaccine mandates are unethical. I believe they're immoral. I believe they don't take into account the science of natural immunity due to a prior infection. I believe they're broad-based and don't take into account an individual circumstances of why they may or may not want to take a vaccine. And they're antithetical to everything I believe in," Bongino said.
"I'm not going to let this go," he continued. "I have no intention of letting these guys (Cumulus employees) get let go, get harassed because they made a private and personal medical decision on only one of the biggest issues of our time."
Dave lauded Bongino's tough stance, saying, "Dan Bongino is a good man. I'm proud, I'm happy to call him a friend. Somebody is standing up. He's not saying don't get the vaccine. He's saying you've got to do what's right for you, just as he did for himself. And he is saying he will put his butt on the line."
He added, "We need more people who will not participate in the lie, the lie that our freedoms have to be eroded, that they have to keep taking more from us and keep making us bow so that we will be safe. That is not how this thing was supposed to work, and if you if you think it's working now, I think you're sorely mistaken. It's not working. We are we are watching our freedoms being taken away from us in a systematic process."
Watch the video below or find full episodes of "The Rubin Report" here:
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