Media giant Cumulus cut ties Tuesday with Podcast Movement, the trade association that vilified The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro last month for simply appearing at a recent trade show where he cordially greeted fans near a booth sponsored by the company he co-founded.
Cumulus, the Atlanta-based owner of over 400 radio stations, has syndicated Shapiro’s eponymous show through its Westwood One subsidiary since 2019. The company took exception to tweets sent out by Podcast Movement apologizing for Shapiro’s presence at the August 24 event in Dallas. The tweets claimed “harm” had been done to event-goers simply because the conservative commentator had briefly attended.
“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,” the company said in a statement. “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.”
Cumulus Withdraws Support for Podcast Movement Over Shapiro https://t.co/6eWxtHObTg
— RADIO ONLINE (@Radio_Online) September 6, 2022
“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 statement concluded.
Shapiro, the Harvard Law-educated radio host, podcaster, and best-selling author who has engaged in civil debates with conservatives and liberals alike, was seen chatting amiably with attendees at the event. But one person in attendance was apparently triggered by his mere presence and complained to Podcast Movement on Twitter.
The group wrote in its apology that Shapiro’s presence caused “harm” to some in attendance and promised to be “more careful” when considering sponsors in the future.
“Hi folks, we owe you an apology before sessions kick off for the day,” Podcast Movement tweeted Thursday morning. “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.”
The Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing fumed about the treatment of his longtime partner at the company’s “Backstage” event last week.
“There’s no one else in the world who would be subjected to this type of bigotry, and you get away with” said Boreing. “You could not treat a black man this way, you could not treat a lesbian woman this way, you could not treat anyone on the Left in this way … but you can treat a conservative this way with unadulterated bigotry on the page.”
Source: Dailywire
