Feder: McGurren calls Eric Ferguson 'serial abuser of women'; he'll be off the air all month

While embattled Radio Hall of Famer Eric Ferguson faces allegations of misconduct from a growing number of former co-workers, he'll be off the air at least through the end of the month, Robert Feder reports.

In court documents filed Tuesday, Melissa McGurren, his former morning co-host on WTMX 101.9-FM, became the third woman to publicly accuse Ferguson of inappropriate behavior at the Hubbard Radio hot adult-contemporary station. "For many years, Ferguson has grossly abused his power, and his conduct was the major reason the station became a hostile working environment," she said in the filing.

McGurren worked for 22 years at the Hubbard Radio hot adult-contemporary station, where she rose from traffic reporter to co-host of Ferguson's morning show before she left in 2020. At the time she posted a video on social media saying the company's version of events was "not accurate" and added: "The truth will come out."

McGurren's statements were added as supporting evidence to a defamation lawsuit against Hubbard Radio Chicago filed by Cynthia DeNicolo, who worked as an associate producer on Ferguson's show. The lawsuit alleges Ferguson coerced her into an "unwelcome sexual relationship" in 2004 and engineered the elimination of her job in 2020.

McGurren now hosts mornings on Audacy country WUSN 99.5-FM.

Jeff England, vice president and market manager of Hubbard Radio Chicago, alerted employees to McGurren's complaint in an email and braced them for "another round of media stories about Eric's situation."

Ferguson has not been on the air this week.

"We have made the decision that Eric will not be on the air through October," England wrote. "We take these allegations seriously and we are confident in the results of multiple investigations we have initiated. But we also owe it to ourselves and our listeners to have a deliberate and thoughtful process about our path forward, and candidly we are not there yet."

Earlier the company released a statement about taking "concerns about our workplace culture and the experience of our employees very seriously" and said internal and external investigations "found no evidence to corroborate allegations of illegal workplace conduct." Attorneys for Ferguson also denied the allegations.

Ferguson's fate ultimately rests with Ginny Hubbard Morris, chair and CEO of the Minnesota-based privately-owned parent company of The Mix. Morris has been at the station this week meeting with managers and employees.

• For the text of England's email to staff and more from Robert Feder, or to comment on his active blog, visit robertfeder.com.