Entercom Responds to Newspaper Smear Article

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A hit piece that ran in The New York Post Tuesday night, alleging that former CBS Radio stations in New York City were run like a frat house, has caught the attention of Entercom Regional VP Susan Larkin. Entercom now owns the stations following the merger with CBS Radio. Radio Ink has obtained a copy of a memo in which Larkin says Entercom leadership is “deeply offended by this highly misleading piece.”

Craig Lenti told Post writer Kevin Dugan that longtime personality Dan Taylor called a fellow on-air personality a “f–king Jew bastard,” referred to a marketing manager as a “dyke,” and described a potential co-worker as “faggy.” Lenti says that in 2007, he went to CBS Radio’s human resources department to file a hostile workplace complaint; Lenti was producing Taylor’s show at the time. The article says Taylor wasn’t disciplined beyond a meeting with HR.

Larkin is now in charge of Entercom’s New York City cluster, including the former CBS stations. She writes in the memo that it was important to reach out to employees and reaffirm that Entercom is committed to maintaining a culture of respect, and she will never tolerate anything less for all employees. “The handful of dated allegations include numerous factual inaccuracies. In addition, all of the allegations were linked to prior ownership and prior management and are in no way representative of what Entercom is today. Most of the allegations are more than six years old, and some stretch back more than a decade. But most appalling is the egregious mischaracterization of our culture that is fundamentally inconsistent with our organization today and the values we share.”

Larkin goes on to say that the Post story omits key facts about the significant positive changes Entercom has made since the merger with CBS Radio closed less than a year ago. “Since then, we conducted an employee survey to better understand your views on our culture and areas for improvement,” she writes. “Additionally, since I assumed the role of Market Manager nearly five months ago, we have moved quickly to increase the number of women in leadership and literally knocked down walls to foster a positive culture of collaboration focused on delivering great results. It is also worth noting that, since the merger with CBS Radio, Entercom has significantly increased the number of women in market leadership positions across the country. I am honored to be one of many women in leadership roles in the company and very proud to report to our Chief Operating Officer, Weezie Kramer.”

9 COMMENTS

  1. And this is why Radio Ink is widely considered to be a joke. “Smear article”? “Hit piece”? At least try to have some semblance of objectivity.

    Derek Madden above is entirely correct: do better.

  2. Would you expect anything better from one of America’s worst newspapers? Since Dorothy Schiff sold the Post to Rupert Murdoch some 30 years ago, that rag has subscribed to the National Enquirer school of yellow journalism. The New York Post does work well for wrapping fish, however.

  3. I worked for Entercom for 12 years in sales and sales leadership. The company is well-run by smart people. Top leadership has always acted in a respectful and professional manner and I would guess they would have taken steps to fix the problems created while these stations were under CBS’s reign if and when they knew about them.
    Those of us that have been in radio for a long time could write a book on the crazy things we’ve seen in the industry. The world has changed, and the industry is changing too. It’s a process that doesn’t happen overnight, esp if it was tolerated by CBS.

  4. Whether the allegations in the Post article are true or not, referring to the article as a “smear” or a “hit piece” is pretty gross. Reflexively backing “the company” – any company – ‘s side of the story in terms of these matters is part of the problem that allows this kind of toxic culture to exist in the workplace.

    If you want to point out that the article contains “allegations” that haven’t been fully adjudicated and reprint Entercom’s press release, that’s well and good, but if the events of #TimesUp and #MeToo have taught us anything, it should be that these sorts of claims deserve a fair hearing. It’s pretty easy enough to report Entercom’s side without implying who’s telling the truth. There are two substantial claims against CBS/Entercom NYC in the public record, and this kind of curt dismissal (likely without any original reporting on the matter) stops just short of calling victims liars.

    Do better, Radio Ink

  5. I worked for Entercom for 12 years and find it impossible to believe that any such things would be said on or off air about anyone. The company is respectful of their employees and their listeners. In all of that time I never experienced anything like that. But maybe that is because I worked for their Gainesville, Florida stations. Folks are very clean and family friendly down here! Don’t know about New York!

    • Here is one differnece between NY and FL Ms. Scott. We didn’t secumb to the charms of a p*ssy grabber and fraud like your state did. And on that we can be very proud. I won’t set foot in a state that did.

  6. They are just allegations from a mean person- dan Taylor is an incredible person – a true professional – never heard a nasty word from him about anyone –

  7. I commend the folks at Entercom for making positive changes, but it’s all for nought if you still have vile bigots like Dan Taylor on what is supposed to be a friendly and welcoming music station. They talk about women in leadership roles, which is all well and good, but how about a female midday personality on WCBS-FM? That would back up these statements a lot better than letting Dan Taylor off without even so much as a slap on the wrist. These allegations are substantial and disturbing, and several others who worked with Taylor and Lentl have backed them up. Action needs to be taken.

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