KDKA-TV/Pittsburgh Posts Reminders That Controversial KDKA-A Talk Radio Host Wendy Bell Doesn't Work For Them

Bell (Photo: KDKA Radio)

ENTERCOM News-Talk KDKA-A and CBS O&O KDKA-TV/PITTSBURGH were sister stations for many years, but not anymore, a fact which the TV station decided needed to be reinforced due to complaints it has received about a controversial host at the radio station.

The TV station has again posted reminders on its website and on social media that WENDY BELL, the conservative host and former anchor at crosstown HEARST ABC affiliate WTAE-TV, does not work for KDKA-TV. The posts redirect listeners to the radio station's phone number to complain about BELL, KDKA-A's afternoon host since JANUARY 2019.

BELL was fired from WTAE-TV in 2016 for making comments on FACEBOOK speculating that the gunmen in a mass shooting were young Black men who "have multiple siblings from multiple fathers and their mothers work multiple jobs. These boys have been in the system before. They’ve grown up there. They know the police. They’ve been arrested," followed by praise for a young Black restaurant worker she said she observed cleaning the floor and tables "with a rhythm and a step that gushed positivity."

She later apologized but was fired; since joining KDKA, BELL has been criticized for her comments on subjects like COVID-19, about which she said in APRIL that she was "on the fence" whether saving lives was worth shutting down the economy. At that time, KDKA-TV responded to complaints on social media by noting that BELL works for ENTERCOM and not the TV station.

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