Silent Voices
Some familiar voices on radio stations across the country have gone silent…and more may soon.
Not here, or even around here. But a number of the huge radio station ownership groups imposed vaccination requirements of all employees. Get jabbed, or hit the bricks, in essence.
One of these is called Cumulus Media. They own five stations in the Des Moines area, and none in Eastern Iowa, but own hundreds across the country, including in the major markets. They joined the bandwagon of one-size-fits-all companies and told employees they had to get the shot by a certain deadline or else be fired.
But while the law on such mandates is a bit unclear, one thing that is clear is that you have to allow exceptions, particularly for religious and medical reasons, and what the legal system calls “reasonable accommodations” have to be made. According to news reports, as a company, Cumulus has been rather stingy about granting religious exceptions and staff members have chosen to remain true to their faith rather than keep their jobs.
During the pandemic, the company was in the forefront of those who converted to remote broadcasting, with hosts in different studios, some working from home…in other words, reasonable accommodations thanks to technology. That technology still exists, but now it’s apparently not good enough for the unvaccinated.
Obviously, businesses can set their own rules for such things, and a business-imposed mandate is far different from a government-imposed mandate. But the impact on the employee is the same.
There’s no comparison between frontline health care workers and folks who talk into a microphone in terms of the work done during the pandemic. But one similarity is that both groups took certain risks and found innovative ways to do their respective jobs when it was really needed. To be tossed aside because of corporate mandatory policies, both in health care and broadcasting, seems like a poor way to say thanks.
