It happened fast. One minute, Beni Rae Harmony was the face of a local lifestyle show in Springfield, Illinois. The next, she was the center of a national firestorm.
This isn't just about a career change. It's about a 77-second clip that ended a job and ignited a massive debate over where "personal" ends and "professional" begins in local news. Honestly, the whole situation is kinda wild when you look at how it played out on the ground at WICS-ABC20.
The Moment an ABC-Affiliate Anchor Resigns Over On-Air Charlie Kirk Tribute
On Friday, September 12, 2025, Harmony was wrapping up her usual duties on "Marketplace," a lifestyle and entertainment show. But things weren't usual. Two days earlier, Charlie Kirk—the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA and a polarizing figure in American politics—had been assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University.
For many, Kirk was a political firebrand. For Harmony, he was "CK."
She didn't just know him from the news; she had worked for him. Before her jump into local TV, she was a producer and administrator at Turning Point USA. He was her first boss. Her mentor. The guy who, in her words, made her believe she could actually make it in this industry.
So, she went off-script.
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Fighting back tears, she looked into the camera and told her viewers it was okay to grieve. She shared a quote she said Kirk used to yell "from the mountaintops" at the office: "When conversations stop happening, when individuals become wordless, that’s when violence begins."
She finished the tribute, thanked him for changing her life, and that was that. Or so she thought.
Why the Resignation Actually Happened
You’ve probably seen the headlines: ABC-affiliate anchor resigns over on-air Charlie Kirk tribute. But the "why" is where it gets messy.
By Monday, Harmony was out. She claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that she had been suspended for the tribute and chose to resign rather than be silenced. She called it a "non-partisan" move. In her view, she was just honoring a dead friend and mentor. She basically told her bosses she wasn't going to stick around if she couldn't talk about someone she cared about.
The station, WICS-ABC20, has a very different take.
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They told reporters they didn't actually suspend or fire anyone. According to their parent company, Rincon Broadcasting Group, Harmony was a lifestyle host, not a news anchor. Their stance? Lifestyle shows are for entertainment and community features—not for personal commentaries or political tributes. They say she chose to walk away on her own.
The Broader Fallout and "Cancel Culture" Claims
This wasn't happening in a vacuum. The days following Kirk's death were chaotic in the media world.
While Harmony was losing her job for honoring him, other people were losing theirs for mocking him. An MSNBC analyst was reportedly let go for comments made after the shooting. A Washington Post columnist faced the axe for social media posts.
Harmony pointed this out in her resignation post. She felt like she was the only one being targeted for being "nice" to Kirk, while everyone else was getting in trouble for being "mean."
"Many in the mainstream media have been fired or punished for mocking his assassination. I believe I am the first to be targeted for honoring him on air." — Beni Rae Harmony
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Whether you think she was brave or unprofessional really depends on how you view the role of a local TV personality. Is a lifestyle host allowed to have a "human moment," or does the corporate wall need to stay up 24/7?
What This Means for Local News in 2026
The reality is that local newsrooms are more sensitive than ever. They are terrified of looking biased. When an ABC-affiliate anchor resigns over on-air Charlie Kirk tribute, it sends a signal to every other reporter in the country: your past lives and your personal grief stay off the teleprompter.
For Harmony, the move seems to have worked out in terms of her own brand. She’s gone viral, appeared on national news outlets, and solidified her standing with the audience that followed her from her Turning Point days.
But for the viewers in Springfield? They just lost a familiar face over a minute of airtime.
Key Takeaways from the Controversy
- The Connection: Harmony worked at Turning Point USA from 2021 to 2022 before joining WICS in 2024.
- The Content: The tribute lasted 1 minute and 17 seconds and focused on Kirk as a mentor, not necessarily his specific political policies.
- The Dispute: Harmony says she was suspended; the station says she resigned voluntarily after being told her segment violated programming standards.
- The Suspect: The tribute occurred while the nation was still reeling from the arrest of Tyler Robinson, the man charged with Kirk's murder.
If you’re a journalist or a content creator, the lesson here is pretty clear. The "lifestyle" tag doesn't give you a free pass to ignore station editorial standards. Even if your intentions are purely personal, the platform belongs to the network.
If you want to follow how these media shifts affect local broadcasting, keep an eye on the FCC's updated guidelines on "Localism and Editorial Control" or check out the latest ethics reports from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). They’ve been having some pretty heated debates about "personal branding" versus "journalistic neutrality" lately.
Next steps for following this story:
- Search for the official statement from Rincon Broadcasting Group regarding employee editorial standards to see the specific policy Harmony allegedly violated.
- Follow the court proceedings for Tyler Robinson in Utah to understand the full context of the assassination that sparked the tribute.
- Check Beni Rae Harmony's social media for updates on her next career move, as she has hinted at staying in the media space.