Bader suspended over Lawton report

GREEN BAY - WTAQ radio talk show host Jerry Bader has been suspended for two weeks because of a story he reported on the station’s Web site regarding Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton.

Station manager Duke Wright made the announcement on air Thursday morning. Wright said Bader would be on vacation Thursday and Friday, and would begin serving the suspension Monday. Bader’s future status with the station was to be decided after that.

• Click here to visit Bader's Facebook page.

Thursday afternoon, Bader e-mailed a statement to FOX 11, reading, "I contacted Lt. Gov. Lawton's office in an effort to apologize and her office said they would get back to me." Earlier, Bader posted the following statement on his blog: "I wish to sincerely apologize to Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton for previously posted internet comments regarding her." Earlier this week, Bader retracted the report which claimed Lawton dropped out of the 2010 governor's race because she was involved in an extramarital affair which was about to come to light. Lawton vehemently denied the report, calling the allegations “gross.”

Lawton said she first heard of the suspension when contacted by FOX 11 on Thursday morning.

"I think it is a minimal first action on the part of their station and the station's ownership. I have yet to receive an apology from Jerry Bader," Lawton said. "A two-week suspension seems inadequate to me."

• Click here to listen to FOX 11's full interview with Lawton.

Station management did not respond to repeated requests for comment, but FOX 11 has learned that WTAQ is soliciting listener comments before a decision is made about Bader's future.

Bronson Smith decided to take his opinion right to the station's front door. As a friend and loyal listener of Bader's, Smith protested outisde of the station on Thursday.

"Jerry might have made a mistake but he shouldn't lose his job over it," said Smith. "I'm sure he had all his ducks in a row. He's a very responsible reporter and I don't know what happened," he added.

Lawton said she's not only angry with Bader but also the station for giving him a platform for making hateful comments.

"Green Bay, Wisconsin seems to repeatedly brand itself as a provincial backwater and it has a profound negative impact on the economy, so this is a minimal first step," said Lawton.

For now ... it's a two-week suspension. Many are waiting, however, to see if it becomes something more.