Chicago Radio: Incoming WBEZ CEO Withdraws From Job

Incoming WBEZ CEO Andi McDaniel has withdrawn from the position following an investigation into personnel issues at her former public radio station in Washington.

The Chicago Tribune reports the decision was announced Friday by the board of Chicago Public Media, which operates non-com WBEZ 91.5 FM, Chicago’s NPR station.

“Among other considerations, the decision follows deeper research into the recent turmoil at Andi’s prior employer, WAMU, and a review led by the search committee of the Chicago Public Media board,” WBEZ said in a statement.

Andi McDaniel

When McDaniel was named in May to helm WBEZ, she told the Tribune it was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

McDaniel, 39, who spent the last five years as chief content officer at WAMU-FM, Washington’s NPR station, was set to take the helm at WBEZ Sept. 28. Her start date was delayed by a planned maternity leave with her first child.

During the interim, her former station was rocked by allegations of sexual harassment by a former reporter, and complaints about the station’s workplace culture, according to multiple news reports. Last month, WAMU announced general manager J.J. Yore’s resignation and pledged to address issues of diversity, inclusion and how matters of misconduct are handled.

In a Facebook post Friday, McDaniel accepted responsibility for her role in the turmoil and workplace culture at WAMU.

“I have always done literally everything I can to make the workplaces I have led ‘jerk-free.’ WAMU was no exception — but in some cases, that was impossibly hard,” she wrote.

Chicago Public Media said it is taking a “fresh look” at the search process and embarking on a renewed effort to hire a new CEO.