Be controversial but not bigoted

Matt "Matty in the Morning" Siegel has presented Boston’s Kiss 108 morning show for 4 decades. The show celebrated its 40th birthday in January.

Siegel, 71, caused controversy this week after appearing to quit live on-air because he was told he couldn’t joke about Demi Lovato’s non-binary status.

‘Matty, out’: Audio clip of Matt Siegel (Matty in the Morning) @Kiss108 apparently quitting live on the air this morning (via Kevin Doyle) pic.twitter.com/YToNubWkJr

— Mike Saccone (@mikesacconetv) May 19, 2021

Charming.

If he was a conservative talk show host, unfortunately, you might expect it - along with attacks on what they pathetically call "woke" culture. But it’s a CHR morning show FFS.

The station positions itself as Boston’s No.1 Hit Music Station targeting 18-34 year-olds, the generation most likely to be sensitive around this topic (of course, homophobia and transphobia is wrong wherever it’s found).

I’m glad management recognised this. Know your audience and understand their lives. And it’s nothing to do with age - just look at the ever brilliant Elvis Duran based in neighbouring New York state.

Anyway, the next morning, he was back. His co-host, Bex, was told by bosses not to upload the Matty in the Morning podcast the day before. How did he respond? Well… like this:

#redflag at work: when your boss says “you work for me” to manipulate you. This was preceded by lots of patronizing from Matty to Bex. It ends when he was caught in a lie (“you didn’t call me”) and demands she turn her mic off #mattyinthemorning #lethimquit pic.twitter.com/7HMBD6Ts3g

— Becca Canavan (@B_Canavan) May 20, 2021

Not only is it unprofessional, it’s a prime example of how not to treat your team or your listeners. It shouldn’t have happened at all, let alone on-air.

It’s why I get frustrated by the "not all men" brigade who line up to defend themselves against male treatment of women. Unless we take responsibility, call it out and educate one another, the problem persists.

I’d never suggest presenters should avoid (legal/compliant) topics their audience is discussing. Relevance is essential for success.

Radio is an incredibly intimate and powerful medium - you can build a deep and special connection with listeners and to do so is a privilege.

It might be more acceptable to be controversial (within reason) if you’re established, but you always need to be aware of who you’re talking to because it's their show as much as it's yours.