Larkin Responds To NY Post Story
• The New York Post has published another shocking series of allegations of misconduct at CBS Radio, this time as leveled by Craig Lenti, the son of legendary longtime WCBS-FM/New York PD Joe McCoy. Lenti kept a daily diary to chronicle what he alleges was his rocky tenure as a producer for WCBS-FM midday talent Dan Taylor from 2006 until he was laid off shorty before Christmas in 2013.
It’s important to note that the allegations leveled by Lenti took place under the ownership of CBS Radio, before the company merged with Entercom last November.
That being said, the Post story did trigger an internal memo from Entercom Regional President & Market Manager Susan Larkin (pictured). The memo, dated Wednesday, August 22 and obtained by RAMP, is addressed to “Our NY Team,” and reads, in part, “As you may have seen, a story was published by the New York Postlast night that referenced years-old allegations of inappropriate behavior at some of our stations. It is important to me that I reach out to you directly on this matter as the entire Entercom leadership team and I are deeply offended by this highly misleading piece. I also want to take this opportunity to reaffirm that Entercom is committed to maintaining a culture of respect, and I will never tolerate any less for all employees.”
Larkin continued, “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. Importantly, the story omits key facts about the significant positive changes Entercom made since our 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. 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.”
In conclusion, Larkin remarked, “While all of the alleged incidents mentioned in the story occurred well before Entercom assumed operations, we take allegations of this nature very seriously. The Entercom New York leadership team and I appreciate your support and recognition of the collaborative environment we’ve built together since the merger and encourage your continued feedback to help us maintain a culture that values all employees.”
