The board of directors of Arizona State University’s student-run radio station postponed scheduled programming while board members threatened to resign over a tweet by the station’s manager.
The dispute among students at Blaze Radio and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication was sparked by an Aug. 29 message on Twitter by Station Manager Rae’Lee Klein, The Arizona Republic reported Wednesday.
Klein tweeted a link to a New York Post article and wrote, “Always more to the story, folks. Please read this article to get the background of Jacob Blake’s warrant. You’ll be quite disgusted.”
A white police officer shot Blake, who is Black, seven times in the back Aug. 23, sparking protests and unrest that included some businesses being burned and vandalized. Authorities said an armed civilian killed two demonstrators Aug. 25, and a 17-year-old from Illinois was charged with the killings.
The article tweeted by Klein included graphic details from a police report concerning a sexual assault Blake is accused of committing earlier this year.
Blaze Radio’s six directors offered an ultimatum during a video conference Tuesday and said the station would not resume programming until the issue was resolved.
“Our intention is clear,” station Music Director Vaughan Jones said during the meeting. “It is either Rae’Lee or us.”
Klein said in the meeting she does not plan to resign.
“I am more than willing to do what I can as a one-man band. There are people willing to step up into your positions as there would be for mine,” Klein said. “The difference is that I’m not stepping down.”
The board voted to remove Klein from her leadership role, but the station manager is a paid university position, leaving her employment in the hands of the university and the Cronkite journalism school.
Cronkite leadership was working with Blaze Radio students to resolve the situation, Cronkite spokesperson Karen Bordeleau said Tuesday.
Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
