Can’t ‘wave’ it away

CBS Radio crucible

A US radio giant came under pressure on Wednesday to suspend at least two of its biggest New York personalities — one day after The Post reported more-troublesome occasions of alleged harassment and discrimination.

A radio industry publication called on Entercom Chief Executive David Field to suspend WCBS-FM’s Dan Taylor and WFAN’s Joe Benigno following reports in these pages, including claims made against Benigno in a lawsuit, that they had harassed former employees for years.

“Everyone still employed at 345 Hudson Street that had anything to do with looking the other way during the CBS Radio ownership of the actions of Dan Taylor, Joe Benigno, or anyone else needs to be suspended until an outside party discovers what role they played in sweeping aside the complaints,” Lance Venta, founder of RadioInsight, wrote in an open letter to Field.

“You have positioned yourself and Entercom as wanting to be at the forefront of leading the radio industry into the future. Now is the time to take action,” Venta continued.

Taylor hosted his usual midday show on Wednesday. Benigno took a leave of absence last month after an initial story detailed claims in a lawsuit about his trying to pressure a former female colleague into having group sex with his wife and a prostitute.

Benigno, through his lawyer, denies the allegations.

Separately, a former CBS Radio employee said Taylor’s office dress at time put off female workers.

Taylor had a habit of walking around the office in bike shorts to show off his “package,” ex-CBS Radio broadcaster Tim Tyrrell wrote in “The Name Dropper,” his selfpublished book out last June.

“The bike shorts stopped after too many of the girls were talking about it,” Tyrrell wrote.

Spokespersons for Entercom didn’t immediately respond to questions about the passages in Tyrrell’s book.

At the same time, Entercom executive Susan Larkin sent a memo to staffers on Wednesday saying she was “offended” by The Post’s reporting on HR complaints filed by former employees of CBS Radio and Entercom office policies.

Entercom, which operates 256 radio stations across the country, closed on its CBS Radio acquisition last November.

The Post reported allegations that Taylor had used homophobic slurs and other hateful language.

Those claims “were linked to prior ownership and prior management and are in no way representative of what Entercom is today,” Larkin wrote.