Blaze Radio calls for station manager’s removal after unanimous vote by board of directors

This is a developing story.

Blaze Radio’s board of directors has called for the removal of its station manager on Monday after she tweeted a story by the New York Post about Jacob Blake’s shooting and why a warrant was out for his arrest.

According to a statement released Monday by The Blaze Radio on Twitter, the station’s board of directors gave Rae’Lee Klein an opportunity to step down under her own will, however, she did not resign and was instead voted out by the board.

“We reached this conclusion after a series of extensive discussions with one another and our Blaze Radio members,” the statement said. “In light of this, the board wants to make it clear that we do not recognize Rae’Lee Klein as the station manager of Blaze Radio.”

pic.twitter.com/5fcokgzQJr

— Blaze Radio (@BlazeRadioASU) August 31, 2020

The statement also said that at the time of its release, Klein had not made the decision to resign. Despite this, however, Klein has not been removed from the role as station manager.

Klein was under fire on Twitter Saturday after she tweeted the New York Post’s article about why Jacob Blake had a warrant out for his arrest, while also citing information some on Twitter have deemed irrelevant about Blake at the time of his shooting.

The original tweet has since been deleted and Klein did issue an apology for her tweet. Students, however, were not so easy to let Klein’s actions go unnoticed.

“It was not my intent to make an excuse for what happened to Jacob Blake. The incident is tragic in every sense of the word. The point of my tweet was to provide an additional perspective,” Klein’s tweet said.

I would like to clear the air about my previous tweet. It was not my intent to make an excuse for what happened to Jacob Blake. The incident is tragic in every sense of the word. The point of my tweet was to provide an additional perspective.

— Rae’Lee Klein (@RaeLeeKlein) August 29, 2020

Current Cronkite students and alum called her out on Twitter later that evening, saying that she ignored the school’s standards of “minimizing harm” by spreading biased and factually misleading information.

The Walter Cronkite College Council issued a statement to Interim Dean Kristin Gilger calling for Klein to step down from her position as station manager of The Blaze Radio.

“We were taught and continue to be guided on the journalism principles to seek truth, minimize harm, act transparently and be accountable,” the statement said. “Ms. Klein represents a multitude of students within Blaze Radio, and by posting these tweets, she has potentially caused the harm and exclusion of students of color, specifically Black students.”

We want what’s best for our diverse community at the Cronkite School. No one should feel excluded or discriminated against. pic.twitter.com/QuDn9lBdSg

— Walter Cronkite College Council (@cronkite_cc) August 29, 2020

The decision to remove Klein as station manager was not an immediate decision on Blaze Radio’s part.

Shortly after the statement from the Cronkite Council, Blaze issued a statement saying the tweets posted by Klein came from a personal account and was not affiliated with the radio station at all.

“As a station, we do not condone the tweet or the messaging within it in any way,” the statement said. “Our board, our club members, and our content will continue to reflect those values.”

After releasing this statement, the board of director’s then held discussions over the weekend between them and other Blaze members before unanimously voted and individually do not recognize Klein as the station manager. However, Klein still currently holds the position.

Downtown Devil has reached out to the Cronkite school for further comment.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated Klein had been removed from her position as station manager. We have updated the article with the correct information.

Contact the reporter at smedwar7@asu.edu.