WBEN-AM talk show host Tom Bauerle was fired Friday, a week before his contract was set to expire.
Audacy, the station’s owner, confirmed the departure Sunday. A spokesperson said: “We thank him for his years of contributions and wish him the best in retirement. Nothing else to share at this time.”
Bauerle, 62, had been at the conservative talk station since 2002 and spent 45 years in radio, including brief stops in Tampa, Fla., and St. Louis. He initially declined comment, then posted a lengthy Facebook statement that included: “Thank you for a great 42 years combined at (WBEN and WGR). Your support and support of sponsors has been a great dream. This was the life I chose, and no matter how loyal ANYONE is to ANY employer, EVERY ONE gets popped eventually.”
He added: “I love you all. I have had and continue to have a great life and am filled with gratitude to you.”
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In a lengthy email, Bauerle’s wife, Richelle, described the events of recent months. She said Audacy had assured him for months that it wanted to keep him and praised his work. He was told in May that a new contract would be offered in July, but none arrived. He sought a five-year deal with no raise.
He left on a station-sponsored trip to Italy with listeners this month and was told not to worry, only to be fired after his return.
“Originally Tom wanted to spin (it) as retirement but he actually couldn’t have lived with himself so he stopped that charade after a couple hours because he said his fans and sponsors deserved truth,” Richelle wrote. “For the only time in a 45-year legendary career he was FIRED. FYI, Tom has told me he is no different than anyone else who has been screwed in corporate or industry America.”
A year ago the station shortened Bauerle’s show by an hour, to 3-6 p.m. weekdays, to give younger fill-in host Joe Beamer a permanent 1-3 p.m. slot. Beamer appears a likely candidate to replace him or expand his shift.
Beyond the brief Audacy statement, the company would not address why its longstanding support ended with the abrupt firing or how he will be replaced.
Salary costs may have been a factor at a time when radio groups are cutting higher-paid employees amid industry pressures.
Bauerle has also faced a 2024 lawsuit filed by siblings Richard Bauerle and Barbara Mattucci accusing him of taking advantage of their dying mother’s advanced illness to gain power of attorney and cut them out of nearly $1 million in estate assets. In 2014, Amherst police responded to his home after he claimed operatives of then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo were surveilling him; he later consented to a voluntary psychiatric evaluation. He later attributed the episode to alleged invisible surveillance by university students and others.