#TeamPXY Minus Whitney Young
• After just over a year as co-host of the #TeamPXYmorning show on Entercom Top 40WPXY/Rochester, NY, Whitney Young has resigned her position. In a lengthy social media post that quickly went viral, Young (left) stated the reason behind her departure was financial, claiming that her male co-host, Corey James (right) was making nearly twice her salary. “I was unable to negotiate a raise that would reduce the pay disparity,” Young wrote. “This inequality is in conflict with my most deeply held beliefs.”
Young continued, “I’m not the first — and certainly won’t be the last — woman in this situation. This is happening everywhere, every day and at every level. I want to say loud and clear that I have no bad blood with my co-host. He’s a good friend, a talented showman, a dependable colleague and fully deserving of his salary. I do not believe he was overpaid, but rather, that I was underpaid. We had fun doing the show, and I will miss that. I sincerely wish him nothing but happiness and success.”
In closing, Young said, “As for me, I have no idea what I’m going to do next. I have no job lined up and no other source of income. Walking away from a stable paycheck is risky at best and stupid at worst. But for me, it was necessary.”
RAMP reached out to Entercom for a comment, and received this statement from a WPXY spokesperson that read, “We are disappointed that Whitney has decided to leave. While we will not comment further on the specifics of this situation, we do believe that our compensation practices are fair.”
• Some history: Young graduated from NYU with an honors degree in Communications and Performing Arts. Prior to joining Entercom, she was a social media producer and on-camera personality for Hearst brands, including Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire and Seventeen. In 2017, Young was named WPXY’s midday personality, and in May 2018 she was invited to join James on the #TeamPXY morning show. Her status was upgraded to permanent last November. Young’s story was also covered at length in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. [Photo from Instagram]
