The morning show at Krol Communications AC 93.5 WHMI-FM Howell MI has departed the station after just shy of twenty years together with one host stating he was forced out due to advertisers and political leaders threatening to cut sponsorships due to their accusations of biased reporting and his co-host quitting in solidarity.
News Director/co-host Jon King announced early last week that his last day would be February 25th as he was being forced out. King and co-host Mike Marino, both departed the station following their show last Friday. King stated he was being let go telling Michigan Radio that “vague requests to succumb to commercial and political interference” with King saying “he believes he was pushed out because of external pressure from influential conservative advertisers and local Republican political leaders who accused him of biased reporting” although management never gave him specific examples.
Marino would then quit on his own telling WLNS-TV, “I felt pressured that sooner or later I was going to be forced out as well, so why not make it on my terms instead of them showing me the door. Me walking out the door with my head held high, saying you know what we’ve done a heck of a radio show for almost 20 years here. You can’t replace the mike and Jon show, it’s not going to be Mike and somebody else.”
WHMI released a press release on Monday attributed simply to Krol Communications Inc. stating, “Regarding Jon King’s decision to exit early from WHMI, there are reports that state a single advertiser is responsible for his exit which is completely false. The fact is that no advertiser gave an ultimatum to terminate Jon King or they would pull their advertising. The company would never cower to such a demand. Additionally, no advertiser pulled their advertising due to threats of boycotts from various groups. In our need to address the concerns of the Station’s news presentation, the management team at WHMI met with Jon to discuss this. We had fundamental disagreements on the direction of the News Department moving forward. As hope for an agreed strategy failed, Jon suggested that we create an exit plan for him. On January 27, 2022 Krol Communications presented Jon with a Separation Agreement making February 25, 2022 his last day at WHMI. Without informing us, the following day on the air, Jon decided to make Friday, January 28 his last day signing off near the end of the shift. Mike Marino independently submitted his resignation and signed off as well. We wish the two of them all the best! WHMI will continue to provide our community with the best in local news and information. We ask for your patience during the process of hiring our next News Director and Morning Show.”
King disputed that framing telling WLNS-TV, “It was relayed to me by WHMI management. Specific advertisers either threatened to, or already had, pulled their advertising based on stories that I had written. In addition, I always asked for specific examples of stories or reported facts that were untrue. At no time was an example provided to me.”