WBUR Boston Uses Its Taxpayer Funded Media and Social Media to Smear Peaceful Protesters
BOSTON, MA – On February 7, WBUR, a taxpayer funded Boston radio affiliate of NPR (National Public Radio), published a racist attack on protesters upset over Mayor Michelle Wu’s Covid vaccine mandate policies and Covid vaccine passport policies.
Collette Phillips, posed as a racial grievance specialist of DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) in WBUR tweets to claim that a multi-racial group, who regularly protests Mayor Michelle Wu’s policies outside her home, were guilty of racist intimidation and hate crimes.
Phillips is a public relations executive well known to WBUR, and many others in the Boston media world, as well as a friend of Radio Boston (WBUR anchor programming), host Tiziana Dearing.
Taxpayer funded WBUR failed to disclose that Collette Phillips public relations practice has political clients, and that Phillips has been paid by Mayor Wu campaigns in the past, and recently she has been speaking in the media on behalf of Mayor Wu’s promotion of minority owned businesses. It is unclear at this time if those media appearances were paid or unpaid.
However, Collette Phillips is a City of Boston contractor having received over 2M in Covid Relief Funds from Boston to promote diversity in Boston tourism under Mayors Walsh and Janey. WBUR failed to disclose this conflict of interest. WBUR reported extensively about Phillips 2M contract with Boston on Tiziana Dearing’s Radio Boston program. https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2021/04/08/boston-all-inclusive-tourism
Catherine Vitale, Chairperson of WeThePeopleOfMA.org said, “It is an outrage that this taxpayer funded National Public Radio outlet would use its media platform to suppress protestors, make them out to be violent/crazy, and label them racist, all while helping a local public relations specialist retain her lucrative travel promotions contract with Mayor Wu and the City of Boston.” “Covid 19 relief funds should not reward public relations grifters shilling for Mayor Wu. For the record, Collette Phillips never said a word when BLM was protesting at Mayor Marty Walsh’s home.” Vitale added, “We have demanded an apology from Paul C. Gannon, Chairman of the Board of WBUR, Retired Partner/COO, The Baupost Group, LLC.”
For More information contact Catherine Vitale at We The People Of MA by email at:
WeThePeopleOfMA@protonmail.com
https://www.boston.gov/news/vendor-selected-create-and-launch-visit-boston-tourism-campaign
https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2021/04/08/boston-all-inclusive-tourism
