Bell off the air

September 4, 2020 Off By Eric O'Brien

After some comments which severely “stirred the pot” this week, KDKA-AM (1020) afternoon drive host Wendy Bell has been taken off the air. Calls were pouring into the station on Wednesday as well as KDKA-TV (2). The TV station which is no longer under the same ownership as radio, received so many calls they had to post a message to social media not to call there.

It doesn’t appear that Bell has been fired from the station, but may be on “probation” at this time.

On Friday, KDKA-AM issued a statement on their website saying, in part:

We take very seriously our responsibility to provide a platform for our communities to engage in diverse and meaningful dialogue, debate and the right to freedom of speech, we do not condone the incitement of violence on any of our platforms. 

Members of our community have recently brought to our attention comments made by Wendy Bell that do not align with Entercom’s values. Wendy has been taken off air until further notice.

Breadworks Bakery on Pittsburgh’s North Side, an advertiser on KD radio, posted this to their Facebook page on Thursday:

Bell was fired from WTAE-TV in 2016 after a post about a shooting in Wilkinsburg on her station Facebook account. The post was seen to have some racially-charged comments.