Tom Tiberi, ‘Slick’, Leaves WGRF Following Trump/Putin Meme – RadioInsight

“Slick” Tom Tiberi has left Cumulus Classic Rock “97 Rock” 96.9 WGRF Buffalo NY after sharing a meme of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin lying in coffins on his personal Facebook page that he says was doctored by others to make it appear as if he posted it after Trump’s assassination attempt last weekend.

Tiberi, who worked at various times at WGRF (and its predecessor WGRQ) since the early 1980s, shared the following statement:

Last Thursday, I shared a darkly humorous Facebook meme about former President Trump on my personal Facebook page.

Was it in poor taste? Yes, it was. However, what I must point out is that this meme was posted BEFORE the assassination attempt on Saturday, and I immediately took it down! However, by that time, a small, well-organized group of far-right extremists on FB had taken a screenshot of my meme and posted it all over public FB and their private far-right FB groups. This included posting the phone numbers and email addresses of local management and Cumulus corporate. The screenshot they shared made it appear as if I had posted the meme AFTER the assassination attempt rather than on Thursday. This small group of individuals was successful in getting me fired from 97 Rock, while local management at Cumulus was collapsing under the pressure of this small group of lunatics. Make no mistake, this was a well-organized set-up! Funny, these are the same people who complain about cancel culture and freedom of speech. For now, I would like to express my deepest affection and thanks to all my loyal listeners who have welcomed me into their homes and supported me over the past 25 years. You are more than just listeners to me, you are and always will be my true friends. Let’s just say goodbye for now, because I will be back!!

A request for comment to Cumulus remained unanswered at the time of writing.

Tiberi’s radio career began in 1979 at 1400 WYSL Buffalo, and aside from brief stints early in his career in Nashville and Winston-Salem, he has remained in his hometown since joining “97 Rock” in 1982. His most recent stint at WGRF began in 2010 when he returned to the station after being part of budget cuts two years prior following a two-decade nighttime broadcast from 1988 to 2008. He also worked in the market at stations such as WBYR, WECK and WZIR.

INSTANT OVERVIEW: Reason #8787234 why personal politics and music radio shouldn’t mix. While Tiberi shared the meme on his personal account, he did so as a representative of WGRF and Cumulus. Anything said in a public space that could result in a loss of ad revenue or negative publicity will likely put a talent at risk.

It also didn’t help that this was the second incident in recent years involving WGRF talent. In 2021, then-morning show host Rob Lederman was fired after on-air comments comparing the way he likes toast to the skin tones of Black women. Weeks later, the station parted ways with the rest of the morning show and WGRF’s program director.