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 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.
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.
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.
