In this week’s issue… Giuliani out at WABC – Remembering a Buffalo legend – Beasley makes job cuts – WPHT adds local nights –
By SCOTT FYBUSH
*He was once “America’s Mayor” – but now Rudy Giuliani is persona non grata at NEW YORK‘s WABC (770), where he’d been a fixture on the conservative talk lineup since early 2001.
The news broke Friday afternoon, when Giuliani was missing from his usual 3-4 PM slot. WABC owner John Catsimatidis wasn’t shy about explaining why: as he told the New York Times, he’d asked Giuliani repeatedly to refrain from making comments claiming the 2020 presidential election had been stolen.
“We warned him once. We warned him twice,” he told the Times. “And I get a text from him last night, and I get a text from him this morning that he refuses not to talk about it.”
For a station that usually thrives on controversy, why is this particular topic so touchy for Catsimatidis? The answer seems to be in the courts, where other conservative media outlets including Fox News and Newsmax have been the targets of legal action from Dominion Voting Systems and other companies claiming defamation over the claims they’ve made about voting machines allegedly being rigged.
In Giuliani’s case, the timing of his suspension may well have been pegged to the lawsuits he’s facing from two Georgia voting inspectors who accused him of defamation. They already won a $148 million judgment that Giuliani hasn’t yet paid, and last week they asked a federal judge to enjoin the former mayor from continuing to defame them in his comments.
That, no doubt, has made Catsimatidis wary of the possibility that WABC and its parent, Red Apple Media, could end up being sued themselves over Giuliani’s comments – and it may explain why WABC pulled Giuliani off the air mid-sentence on Thursday while he was reportedly complaining about the suspension of his law license and and the other legal woes he’s facing.
For his part, Giuliani issued a statement complaining about “a clear violation of free speech” (which, of course, doesn’t apply when you’re an employee on someone else’s radio station) and claiming he wasn’t aware of any policy restricting comments on alleged election fraud.
At least on Friday, WABC veteran Curtis Sliwa was hosting Giuliani’s usual 3 PM hour.
Behold, the 2025 calendar!
We chose the 100,000-watt transmitter of the Voice Of America in Marathon, right in the heart of the Florida Keys. This picture has everything we like in our covers — blue skies, greenery, water, and of course, towers! The history behind this site is a draw, too.
Other months feature some of our favorite images from years past, including some Canadian stations and several stations celebrating their centennials (can you guess? you don’t have to if you buy the calendar!).
We will ship daily through Christmas Eve. Place your order now for immediate shipping!
This will be the 24th edition of the world-famous Tower Site Calendar, and your support will determine whether it will be the final edition.
It’s been a complicated few years here, and as we finish up production of the new edition, we’re considering the future of this staple of radio walls everywhere as we evaluate our workload going forward.
The proceeds from the calendar help sustain the reporting that we do on the broadcast industry here at Fybush Media, so your purchases matter a lot to us here – and if that matters to you, now’s the time to show that support with an order of the new Tower Site Calendar. (And we have the new Broadcast Historian’s Calendar for 2025 ready to ship, too. Why not order both?)
Visit the Fybush Media Store and place your order now for the next calendar, get a great discount on previous calendars, and check out our selection of books and videos, too!
In this week’s issue… WBUR backs off local talk - EMF's expansion in NY, nationally - Rochester broadcasters honored - Russell finds new PA radio home - Remembering Bruce Stevens - The new calendar's here!
In this week’s issue… Remembering WNY's Palvino, Harris - Will King sell Bangor stations? - Kay moves earlier - New signal on LI - Cumulus cuts hit PA, New England - Frizzell sells in NH
In this week’s issue… Saluting a small-town radio vet - Bell moves CP24 - Scott heads west - Burlington gets Air 1, "Experimental Radio" - Family Life heads down I-86
In this week’s issue… NY TV anchor, radio historian both retiring - XPN PD to retire - More Cumulus cuts - Rogers sells FMs as Corus makes big talent cuts By SCOTT FYBUSH Jump to: ME - NH - VT - MA...
