Originally posted Wednesday, October 3, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Talk show hosts Shannon Burke and Kim "The Kimmer" Peterson told listeners that they were forced to take down a "Trump 2020" banner from Talk 106.7 studios.
The bosses told them a visitor to another radio station saw the sign and felt triggered regarding her own sexual assault.
Burke in an interview found this hypocritical given that his supervisor Sean Shannon supports former NFL player Colin Kaepernick's right to take a knee during the National Anthem against owner's wishes. Yet Burke said he feels he has no choice but to take down anything political in the studio.
On air today, the Kimmer went on rant about it, saying Shannon asked him to help “keep the peace” by taking the sign down.
“What a disgrace,” he said. “We took down the banner for the sake of peace. What a bunch of freaking cowards!”
The Kimmer questioned the woman's trigger, wondering if she is also triggered by Bill Clinton, Bill Cosby or Harvey Weinstein. Though many women have accused Trump of sexual assault, he has denied it all.
“Freakin’ fire me!” the Kimmer added. “This is appalling! This is disgraceful!”
Sean Shannon on Wednesday sent out a memo to staff which doesn’t address the Trump sign directly but asks employees the following:
Please take care what you post on social media knowing many of your friends and followers work here in the office. Please take care in what you hang in your studio, your cubicle or your office. To the extent possible let's keep our office an environment that is free of hard held stances and advocacy on issues.
Shannon (as in the boss, not Shannon Burke), in a text, wrote, “We are a place of business first and foremost and I am simply saying that political displays are not appropriate. I would have an Obama or Clinton sign taken down as well.”
He added that he doesn’t restrict what any talk show host says on air. “But decorating a part of the office is different,” he added.
Talk 106.7 is owned by Atlanta-based Cumulus Media and it shares office space with Q100, Kicks 101.5 and Rock 100.5.
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