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Philadelphia radio station WURD has severed ties with a host who revealed that President Joe Biden’s team gave her pre-approved questions ahead of a recent interview.
WURD President and CEO Sara M. Lomax announced in a statement Sunday that the station has “mutually agreed to a separation” from Andrea Lawful-Sanders, after Lomax admitted that the “questions were sent to me for my approval.”
Lomax noted that the interview was “independently arranged and negotiated” by Lawful-Sanders “without the knowledge, consultation or cooperation of WURD management.” Using the campaign’s pre-approved questions “violates our practice of remaining an independent media outlet that is accountable to our listeners,” Lomax said.
“WURD Radio will continue to be an independent voice that our audience can trust and that will hold elected officials accountable,” she said. “As Pennsylvania’s only independent, Black-owned talk radio station, WURD Radio has built that trust with our audience over our 20-year history. This is something we take very seriously. Agreeing to a predetermined set of questions compromises that trust and is not a practice that WURD Radio engages in or endorses as a matter of practice or official policy.”
Lomax added: “WURD Radio is not a mouthpiece for Biden or any other administration.”
Lawful Sanders previously asked Biden four questions about WURDs The source after his debate with former President Donald Trump last month. “The questions were sent to me for approval. I approved them,” she told CNN.
“I was asked multiple questions. Eight of them,” Lawful-Sanders added. “And the four that were chosen were the ones that I approved.”
Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt told The New York Times in a statement that offering preferred topics is “not unusual,” but noted that they “do not condition interviews on acceptance of these questions.”
“Presenters are always free to ask questions that they think will best inform their listeners,” Hitt added.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin radio host Earl Ingram also admitted to ABC News that he “got some questions for Biden” during their interview, noting that he was asked five questions but was only able to ask four.
“The idea that I would get the opportunity to ask a question to the president of the United States is I think a little bit more than anyone would expect,” Ingram said, adding, “The fact that they gave me this opportunity … certainly meant a lot to me.”