UPDATED: Marty Sheargold and SCA have ‘mutually agreed to part ways’
SCA‘s Chief Content Officer, Dave Cameron, said:
“Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) takes its responsibility to listeners, shareholders, and clients seriously and its programming should align with the standards and expectations of its audience. Right now, it’s clear this is a moment for reflection and review. Triple M, and the wider SCA network, will continue to take all necessary steps to support staff. A new Drive show will be announced in due course. Triple M acknowledges Marty’s contribution over the past four years, and we wish him well for the future.”
Sheargold said:
“Having mutually agreed to part ways with the Triple M Network, I fully understand the gravity of my comments. I’d like to sincerely apologise to the Matildas and the broader organisation. I would also like to thank my immediate team for their hard work and apologise for the situation they now find themselves in.”
Imagine you were at work one day and your colleague was in so much discomfort from a back injury that they were struggling to function. You have a heat pack you bring into work for your own flare ups of a disease you manage, and you lend it to your colleague.
Imagine then hearing them tell everyone thanks for the heat pack but while their pain is very real, yours is not.
“Controversial opinion. It’s something made up,” they say.
Marty Sheargold is already in hot water over thoughtless comments he and his team made about The Matildas soccer team and is off air this afternoon, Wednesday February 26. But I am not prepared to let his additional comments yesterday (listen above), after his Executive Producer Whitney Plowman loaned him a heat pack, slip through to the keeper (pun intended).
Putting aside that Marty cannot and will not EVER be able to experience endometriosis, how would you feel if someone, in public, dismissed your own condition, disease or illness as a something imaginary?
This week is the start of semester one back at Macquarie University for me. Before I can even log into my unit online I had to complete several modules around creating safer communities, one of which focuses on healthy relationships. Within it was discussed implicit bias, which is what The Marty Sheargold Show demonstrated today, towards women’s sports and health issues.
With awareness of how pain can make us all say and do silly things, I am hoping that beyond the apology Marty has already issued (below) he might also seek to redress this lack of understanding and sympathy towards the experiences of his own colleague.
This caps off a horrible week for SCA and the Triple M network. There were redundancies last week, of which we have only seen the tip of the iceberg so far, including The Night Shift program hosted by Luke Bona. That decision in particular has devastated listeners.
Tomorrow, February 27 at 11am AEDT, sees the release of SCA’s half year results, where they will likely address the job losses in further detail, but with a view to the future. That view seems uncomfortable at present.
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo. Email: [email protected]