NYC Radio: Entercom Responds To Work-Place Allegations

Dan Taylor

A radio industry publication called on Entercom Chief Executive David Field to suspend WCBS-101.1 FM’s Dan Taylor and WFAN 660 AM / 101.9 FM’s Joe Benigno following reports in The NY Post, that they had harassed former employees for years.

“Everyone still employed at 345 Hudson Street that had anything with looking the other way during the CBS Radio ownership of the actions of Dan Taylor, Joe Benigno, or anyone else needs to be suspended until an outside party discovers what role they played in sweeping aside the complaints,” Lance Venta, founder of RadioInsight, wrote in an open letter to Field.

Joe Benigno

“You have positioned yourself and Entercom as wanting to be at the forefront of leading the radio industry into the future. Now is the time to take action,” Venta continued.

Taylor hosted his usual midday show on Wednesday. Benigno took a leave of absence last month after an initial story detailed claims in a lawsuit about him trying to pressure a former female colleague into having group sex with his wife and a prostitute.

Entercom Regional President & Market Manager Susan Larkin sent a memo to staffers on Wednesday saying she was “offended” by The Post’s reporting on HR complaints filed by former employees of CBS Radio and Entercom office policies.

NY Team, 

As you may have seen, a story was published by the New York Post last 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. 

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. 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. 

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. 

On that note, I want to reiterate that my door is always open. Our organization’s ability to maintain our customer focus and productively serve our listeners, partners and the community depends on maintaining a safe and respectful work environment. If you have any questions or would like to raise concerns about behavior that does not live up to our standards, please reach out to me, your manager or a representative from HR at any time. We also have reporting hotlines outlined in our Employee Handbook if you feel more comfortable raising concerns anonymously. 

We expect that the Post’s story may generate additional media interest in Entercom New York. As a reminder, please do not respond if you receive any inquiries from media or third parties. Please forward the inquiry to Jennifer Morales at 212-649-9685 or Jennifer.Morales@entercom.com. 

I’d like to extend my thanks to each and every one of you for your hard work and dedication. We recognize and value your important contributions to Entercom New York — the exceptional radio experience we deliver to our listeners, partners, and community ensures the vibrant future of our company and our industry. 

Best, Susan

The Post reported allegations that Taylor had used homophobic slurs and other hateful language.

Those claims “were linked to prior ownership and prior management and are in no way representative of what Entercom is today,” Larkin wrote.

Craig Lenti

Another bombshell allegation levied against CBS Radio’s former New York cluster, now under Entercom ownership, adds fuel to the fire of earlier allegations that it was run like a “frat house.” Craig Lenti, who worked as a producer for WCBS-FM talent Dan Taylor, claims Taylor used derogatory and homophobic terms and refused to speak about African-American entertainers on-air.

Lenti, whose father Joe McCoy programmed WCBS-FM for 25-years, kept a diary of his time working for Taylor, who was at the time heard in morning drive, and presented it to HR in 2007 as part of a hostile workplace complaint

Taylor was reportedly not disciplined as a result of the meeting or the allegations but Lenti was transferred to another position shortly after. He was let go from the company in 2013. Shortly after Entercom completed its purchase of CBS Radio in 2017, Lenti posted a lengthy message on Facebook asking new ownership to “look at your new employees individually and decide which of them truly deserve a place in your business.”

“Entercom cannot speak to alleged actions many years ago before we operated these stations, but if we become aware of inappropriate behavior or conduct that does not reflect our values, we will take the appropriate action,” Liz Zale, a spokeswoman at PR firm Sard Verbinnen, told the Post on behalf of the radio company.