Former CBS News CEO 'Concerned' About 60 Minutes

Former CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon says she is “absolutely concerned” that the DNA of “60 Minutes” is being rewritten in real time and that a push to transform the program may be dismantling the very thing it is meant to protect.

Speaking at the Status Summit, McMahon said she would not declare “60 Minutes” dead until she sees the next edition, but she warned that the problem facing the show may have been misdiagnosed.

“Am I concerned that the DNA of ’60 Minutes’ is being rewritten in real time. Am I concerned that, in the quest to transform, that the problem has been misdiagnosed. And we are potentially changing, dismantling, the very thing we are meant to protect? Yes. I am absolutely concerned,” she said. 

“But I will stop short of weighing in on the death of ’60 Minutes’ until I see this next ’60 Minutes.’”

Wendy McMahon

McMahon also said colleagues she trusts have described firsthand editorial interference at the program. 

“My last year at CBS News, Stations and Syndication was largely spent defending, protecting, standing up for and oftentimes fighting for the editorial independence of ’60 Minutes,’” she said. “I think it’s deeply concerning to have colleagues I trust, some in the room here today, saying so very directly and so very plainly that they experienced editorial interference firsthand. I wasn’t there, but I trust them completely in that.”

The Wrap reports she also addressed President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against “60 Minutes,” calling it frivolous, while discussing her departure from CBS.  McMahon stepped down last May as president of CBS News and Stations. In a memo at the time, she said it had “become clear the company and I do not agree on the path forward,” the New York Times reported. She described relations with parent company Paramount Global as “challenging.”

Bay Area Radio: Connoisseur Shuffles Staffers

Big Reid is taking over mornings on 102.9 KBLX immediately, joining Freska and replacing Rudy Ortiz, as Connoisseur Media reshuffles on-air and behind-the-scenes roles across its Bay Area radio cluster.

Reid had been hosting afternoons on urban adult contemporary KBLX while also handling nights on contemporary hit station KMVQ-FM (99.7 NOW). 

The company said replacements for the newly opened KBLX afternoon shift and 99.7 NOW evening shift will be announced later.

The changes also expand duties for three other staffers. Morris Knight, afternoon host on adult contemporary 96.5 KOIT, will add middays on 101.7 KKIQ, replacing Faith Alpher. Knight lives in Pleasanton, giving him a direct local tie to KKIQ’s Tri-Valley and East Bay audience.

Ileana Matzorkis has been promoted to regional production director. She already oversees production for Connoisseur’s San Francisco stations and will keep hosting nights on KOIT. In the new role, she will work across the company’s Bay Area stations on production and collaboration.

Richie Brown adds music director duties for KOIT and KEZR (Mix 106.5) while remaining program coordinator for KOIT, KBLX and KEZR.

The moves span several of Connoisseur’s Northern California brands: heritage R&B/throwbacks outlet KBLX, AC stations KOIT and KKIQ, Top 40 99.7 NOW, and hot AC Mix 106.5. The company has been tightening its Bay Area footprint since acquiring the former Bonneville San Francisco cluster and pairing it with its existing San Jose and East Bay stations.

“These upgrades reflect our continued commitment to investing in great talent and delivering an even better experience for our audience,” said Brian “Fig” Figula, regional operations manager for Connoisseur Media Bay Area. “Each of these individuals brings a unique set of skills and experience to their expanded roles, and together they strengthen our ability to serve our listeners, our communities and our partners across the Bay Area.”

ABC Says News of Kimmel's Demise Is 'Inaccurate'

ABC says a Page Six report that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will end in 2027 is “inaccurate,” and that any claims about the show’s future right now are “purely speculative.” 

The denial came after Page Six reported Tuesday that Kimmel’s contract would not be extended and that the current 24th season would be his last. A source familiar with the situation told the outlet, “His contract is not getting extended.” 

An ABC Entertainment spokesperson repeated the same line to multiple outlets: the report is inaccurate, and talk about what happens after the current deal is premature. What is settled is the existing contract. Kimmel signed a one-year extension in December 2025 that keeps him on ABC through at least May 2027. 

The new season returned this week after a summer of guest hosts; Kimmel marked the 4,000th episode on his first night back. The rumor lands in a late-night landscape already in flux. CBS ended The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in May 2026. Kimmel, on air since 2003, has also spent the past year in a running public fight with President Donald Trump. 

ABC briefly pulled the show in September 2025 after a monologue about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk; affiliates including Sinclair and Nexstar dropped it, and the FCC chair threatened action before Disney put the program back on. Page Six sources said any end to the show would not be about Trump. ABC has not announced a final season, a successor, or a decision on what happens when the May 2027 deal expires. 

For now, the network’s position is that the show’s future beyond that date has not been decided in public — and that reports saying otherwise are speculation.

NBC Sports To Stop Mixing Nielsen Data For NFL Games

NBC Sports will start reporting NFL audiences with Nielsen’s standard linear-and-streaming methodology, beginning with the Patriots-Seahawks season opener last night. 

The decision comes after friction with other league rights holders over how networks count viewers. 

Industry sources told Front Office Sports, the Comcast-owned network is dropping its long-used Total Audience Delivery (TAD) figures for NFL games. TAD blended Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel numbers with digital data from Adobe Analytics. Rivals and Nielsen objected to that mix when networks used it to make public, apples-to-apples claims. 

Nielsen recently reminded networks that “mixing internal or third-party data with Nielsen metrics to make comparative statements in the press is not permissible.” 

The fight sharpened this summer at the FIFA World Cup, when Fox released Nielsen-only numbers while NBCUniversal’s Telemundo used the TAD blend. NBC Sports is treating the Nielsen-only approach as a trial through January. It will apply first to NFL games and MLB wild-card coverage. NBA measurement for 2026-27 is still undecided. College football will keep TAD internally, but without public comparisons to other broadcasters. 

Officials expect the switch to produce higher — and, they argue, more accurate — NFL numbers. Adobe Analytics will still measure NBC’s digital content, now with extra Nielsen auditing. The change lands as the NFL itself remains uneasy with Nielsen. The league called recent co-viewing and weighting updates “overly rushed” and said early looks looked negative for sports, even as last season’s 18.7 million average viewers was the highest since 1989 under Big Data + Panel. 

Ratings still set ad rates and shape the next rights cycle, which is why how a network reports an audience can matter as much as the game on the field.

Streaming Prices Rising 3 Times Faster Than Inflation

Streaming prices have jumped more than three times the rate of inflation since 2022, turning “cutting the cord” into a collection of auto-drafting subscriptions that now rival the worst cable and satellite hikes of the past.

Watching all eight major streamers without ads or bundle deals costs about $151 a month. Four years ago the same lineup ran about $90.

• Apple TV has tripled since its 2019 launch at $4.99, a 200 percent increase despite one of the thinnest libraries among major services. 
• Disney+ launched at $6.99 with no ads in 2019 and now charges $11.99 with ads—or 172 percent more than its original price. 
• Paramount+’s cheapest tier is up 80 percent in five years. 
• Netflix Premium has risen 125 percent since 2013.

In the past year alone:  Apple TV jumped 50 percent and Peacock’s tiers rose about the same. 

Over the last 12 months streaming rates collectively increased 11.8 percent. The steepest year was 2023, when prices averaged a 17.7 percent rise.

HBO Max is the outlier, up only 23 percent over six years. It launched in 2020 at a higher price than rivals and has long been sold as a premium product. Even so, HBO Premium now costs only $3 more than Peacock Premium Plus.

A Hollywood Reporter analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows cable and satellite prices rose an annual average of 3.9 percent (excluding a late-1980s deregulation spike that hit 14 percent). 

Consumer prices overall have climbed 3.84 percent a year since 2019—double the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target—for a cumulative 33 percent increase in the cost of living. Streaming’s 10-to-15-percent annual bumps compound far faster.

Fully loaded cable and satellite bundles from Spectrum and DirecTV still cost more than $170 a month, so they are not a bargain unless you are a heavy sports viewer or a dedicated Hallmark Channel fan.

Households Prefer Live + Streaming Combos

A narrow majority of U.S. internet households — 51 percent — would prefer a video subscription that combines live television with their favorite streaming services, according to a new Parks Associates report.

Of those households, 27 percent wanted a traditional live-TV bundle paired with on-demand streaming, while 24 percent favored a skinny bundle combined with streaming services.

A skinny bundle is a limited-channel pay-TV or streaming package, often grouped by genre such as entertainment, sports or news, and priced below full traditional lineups. Among current streaming pay-TV subscribers — including users of YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo and DIRECTV Stream — 68 percent found the skinny-bundle idea appealing.

The findings indicate consumers still want live TV but are rethinking how it is packaged. Combining smaller channel lineups with streaming services could serve as a middle ground between traditional pay TV and streaming-only plans, the Plano, Texas, research firm said.

Parks Associates Director of Entertainment Research Michael Goodman said many viewers are not choosing between live TV and streaming; they want both. Smaller channel packages paired with streaming could give providers more flexibility and simpler access to preferred content, he said, and could also function as a retention tool by giving existing subscribers another option before they cancel.

Radio History: Sept 10

➦In 1920...KNX Los Angeles began broadcasting as 6ADZ. Although KNX received its first formal broadcasting station license on December 8, 1921, the station has traditionally dated its founding to September 10, 1920, starting with broadcasts conducted by Fred Christian over his amateur station, 6ADZ. Christian was a former shipboard radio operator, who later explained that he began the broadcasts in order to provide something to listen to by customers who had constructed receivers from parts purchased at the store. Christian began making broadcasts with a five-watt vacuum-tube transmitter, operating on the standard amateur wavelength of 200 meters (1500 kHz).

KNX - 1925

Initially there were no specific standards in the United States for radio stations making transmissions intended for the general public, and numerous stations under various classifications made entertainment broadcasts. However, effective December 1, 1921, the Department of Commerce, regulators of radio at this time, adopted a regulation that formally created a broadcasting station category, and stations were now required to hold a Limited Commercial license authorizing operation on wavelengths of 360 meters for "entertainment" broadcasts or 485 meters for "market and weather reports" (833 and 619 kHz). By the end of 1922 over 500 stations would be authorized nationwide.

On December 8, 1921, the Electric Lighting Supply Company was issued a broadcasting station license with the randomly assigned call letters KGC, authorizing operation on the 360 meter entertainment wavelength. The station's location was listed as Fred Christian's Harold Way home. The shared 360 meter wavelength required times-haring agreements between an increasing number of stations needing exclusive time periods. On May 4th the Los Angeles Times reported that a total of seven local stations were slated to make broadcasts that day, comprising a schedule that ran from noon to 9:00 p.m., with KGC assigned 2:00-2:30 and 7:30-8:00 p.m.

KNX Request Line Operator

On May 4, 1922, the Electric Lighting Supply Company was issued a broadcasting license for a station with the randomly assigned call letters of KNX, also on 360 meters.  This was technically considered to be a second station in addition to KGC, however, after KGC was formally deleted on June 20, 1922, the Department of Commerce concluded that KGC and KNX were functionally the same station, and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) records list December 8, 1921 as KNX's "date first licensed".

The new authorization coincided with preparations for a move to the California Theater, with Fred Christian continuing as station manager. On June 12, 1922 the Los Angeles Times reported that "After more than two months of preparation, the new broadcast station at the California Theater had its opening program Saturday evening at 9:15, sending out a wavelength of 510 meters [588 kHz].

Bob Crane - 1960

KNX's power was raised to 100 watts in early August 1922. In the fall of 1924, Guy Earl, Jr., owner of the Los Angeles Evening Express, arranged for the newspaper's purchase of KNX. The Express made significant upgrades, including increasing the power to 500 watts, and began broadcasting from the Paul G. Hoffman Studebaker building in Hollywood. KNX was one of the last stations to have stayed on the original 360 meter wavelength, and the newspaper engineered a move to 890 kHz. It remained on this frequency until November 11, 1928, when the station was reassigned to 1050 kHz, under the provisions of a major reallocation resulting from the Federal Radio Commission's (FRC) General Order 40.

In early 1928 KNX changed owners and was then operated by the Western Broadcast Company. In 1929 the station's transmitter power was upgraded from 500 to 5,000 watts, followed by an increase to 10,000 watts in 1932. In 1933, the station moved its studios to another part of Hollywood, after being granted permission by the FRC on June 7, 1932, to raise its output to 25,000 watts. The following year, KNX's transmitting power was raised to the nationwide maximum of 50,000 watts, which the station continues presently.

CBS purchased KNX in 1936 and began operating it as its West Coast flagship, which ended CBS's eight-year affiliation with KHJ. In 1938, the CBS Columbia Square studios were dedicated for KNX as well as West Coast operations for the entire CBS radio network. That October, the station carried Orson Welles' celebrated version of The War of the Worlds. In March 1941 the station was shifted to 1070 AM as part of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement assignments, where it has been ever since.

In 2009, KNX adopted the slogan "All news, all the time." It was previously used for 40 years by KFWB, KNX's historic rival in the news radio wars before both became sister stations through the 1995 merger of Westinghouse Electric (KFWB's owner) and CBS. KFWB's format change to news-talk in September 2009 (and currently as a Regional Mexican station) now leaves KNX the only all-news outlet in the Los Angeles area, which is now emphasized in its alternate slogan, "Southern California's only 24-hour local news & traffic station".

On February 2, 2017, CBS agreed to merge CBS Radio with Entercom (now Audacy). The merger was approved on November 9, 2017 and consummated 8 days later.

➦In 1933…Early radio entertainer Jimmy Durante first appeared Eddie Cantor's "Chase and Sanborn Hour" with Eddie Cantor.

➦In 1935…The radio program "Popeye, the Sailor," debuted on NBC Red Network as a 15 minute, three-times-a-week feature. But instead of spinach giving him strength (as in the comics and cartoons), it was the sponsor’s breakfast cereal Wheatena. “Wheatena’s me diet / I ax ya to try it / I’m Popeye the Sailor Man”.

➦In 1945...KLS 1310 AM changed its call letters to KWBR and changed its format to focus on an African-American audience. In 1959, it was bought by the owners of Memphis radio station WDIA, and the call letters were changed to KDIA. During the 1960s through the 1980s, the station was the premier soul and funk station in the San Francisco Bay Area. The station helped launch the careers of such musicians as Sly and the Family Stone. Its tagline at that time was "KDIA, Lucky 13."

The Revamped 60-Minutes Launches This Sunday

The remade “60 Minutes” under CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss will premiere its 59th season Sept. 13 with correspondent Jon Wertheim’s in-depth look at the Los Angeles Rams, oddsmakers’ Super Bowl favorites.

“60 Minutes” has frequently opened seasons with sports stories after a late-afternoon NFL game. Last year’s premiere, Wertheim’s profile of UFC CEO Dana White, drew more than 10 million viewers and ranked as the week’s most-watched non-sports program. 

CBS News faces pressure for a strong ratings start after major upheaval at the program. Following a season in which ratings rose 9%, Weiss fired correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, who said she pushed them to insert right-wing talking points. She also dismissed executive producer Tanya Simon and replaced her with screenwriter and documentary filmmaker Nick Bilton, who has no prior TV news experience.

Longtime correspondent Scott Pelley accused Weiss of “murdering” the program and putting “her thumb on the scale” for more favorable coverage of the Trump administration. He was dismissed with cause after confronting management at a June 1 meeting. 

CBS denied the claims.

The program spent much of the summer hiring replacements, including conservative New York Times opinion writer Ross Douthat, who has no TV journalism experience. Other new contributors are author Sebastian Junger, former CNN and Vice correspondent Gianna Toboni, and British journalist Trevor Phillips, already a CBS News senior global affairs correspondent. They join Wertheim, Norah O’Donnell, Bill Whitaker and Lesley Stahl. Stories from other CBS News correspondents, including Seth Doane and Matt Gutman, will also air.

Weiss, founder of the Free Press, was hired by Paramount CEO David Ellison with a mandate to move the news division toward the political center. Critics have said the hire is intended to placate the Trump White House as Paramount pursues Warner Bros. Discovery.

The remaining two premiere segments, which could include a major newsmaker interview, have not been announced. The broadcast should benefit from a strong NFL lead-in: most of the country will see the Green Bay Packers-Minnesota Vikings game, with “The NFL Today” originating from Green Bay.

CNN Reports Fox News Is Suppressing 'MAGA' News

Peter Navarro

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro accused Fox News of “suppressing MAGA news” and enforcing a “shadow ban” on some of President Donald Trump’s surrogates in a Tuesday op-ed, as a dispute over coverage of Trump’s election-fraud claims intensifies.

Navarro also defended longtime Fox host and Trump ally Maria Bartiromo, whom the network ousted last week, and addressed his own role in the episode that led to her departure.

CNN reports the clash dates to mid-July, when Trump delivered a prime-time speech alleging election vulnerabilities, including supposed Chinese interference. Fox News carried the speech live, unlike some other networks, but did not linger on the conspiratorial claims. “Fox & Friends,” often described as the president’s favorite show, did not mention the speech the next day.

Bartiromo wanted to follow up and booked Navarro for her Fox Business Network morning show. Hours later, Navarro wrote, she told him Fox had blocked coverage and forwarded internal guidance sent to her producers.

Navarro published that guidance, which he attributed to Fox Business executive Ralph Giordano: “Hi – We don’t want to promote it or push to the speech at all. We don’t want to do 2020 election segments at all Thurs or Friday.”

Suzanne Scott

Giordano did not explain the ban. 

A plausible reason is legal risk. Trump’s 2020 election claims, aired on several Fox programs including Bartiromo’s, prompted multiple defamation suits. Dominion Voting Systems settled on the eve of trial in 2023 for $787.5 million. A similar Smartmatic suit remains pending.

Those lawsuits have made Fox unusually cautious when Trump revisits 2020 election claims, opening a rift with the White House that Navarro highlighted.

He singled out Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott: “I don’t know whether Suzanne Scott is a Trump-hating RINO. I do know her business model is.” Navarro argued that Fox’s largest advertisers “despise key MAGA issues,” so the network serves conservative viewers “red meat” on topics such as Democrats, transgender athletes in women’s sports, and crimes by undocumented immigrants, while avoiding “MAGA themes such as election integrity, Big Pharma and benefits of the Trump tariffs.”

The op-ed praised Bartiromo at length. She was taken off the air after Fox management learned she had shared the mid-July internal memo with the White House.

Bartiromo's Exit Remains Shock of Summer At FOX News

Maria Bartiromo and Attorney Bryan Freedman

Fox News Media has ended Maria Bartiromo’s shows and said she is no longer with the company, a sudden break that stunned politics and cable news even as she remains under contract—and entitled to pay—through 2028.

A Fox spokesperson said Thursday, “Effective today, Maria Bartiromo is no longer with FOX News Media.” The network called the move “a business decision.” Bartiromo last hosted Mornings With Maria on Fox Business on Aug. 7 and her Fox News program on Aug. 9. She was then told her shows would end and that she would not return even for an on-air sign-off. Executive producer Patrick Ignozzi left after the announcement.

The rupture followed a July dispute over coverage of President Trump. On July 15, Fox Business senior vice president of programming Ralph Giordano texted Bartiromo’s producers, including Ignozzi, directing them not to cover Trump’s planned primetime speech on election integrity. Trump delivered the speech July 16, repeating long-disproven doubts about the 2020 election, alleging Chinese interference and calling for stricter voting rules before the midterms.

Ignozzi forwarded the guidance to Bartiromo. According to Peter Navarro, speaking Friday to Puck’s Dylan Byers, Bartiromo screenshotted the message and sent it to him, saying management would not let her cover the speech—or was “censoring” it. Navarro said he passed that information “up the chain.”

Staff Layoffs Reported At Connoisseur Stations

Connoisseur Media laid off close to 70 employees across its radio stations in a companywide round of cuts that began Tuesday, according to staff who were let go. More specific details are not available.

Eddie Volkman

Chicago radio veteran Eddie Volkman reportedly among the lay-offs. Volkman had been hosting mornings on suburban Joliet classic hits station The 9-6-7 WSSR and spent the past decade across the cluster that now includes Connoisseur’s Chicago-area stations. 

He is best known for co-hosting mornings at B96 WBBM-FM from 1986 to 1994 and again from 1997 to 2008. “Today was my last day with the company, and I am another unfortunate casualty of the radio industry,” Volkman wrote. “Luckily, I really wasn’t doing it for the money, but rather for my love of the radio and the business.” 

Connoisseur, based in Westport, Connecticut, and led by founder and CEO Jeff Warshaw, grew sharply after completing its acquisition of Alpha Media in September 2025. The combined company has operated more than 200 stations in dozens of markets. Since the deal closed, Connoisseur has sold or shuttered stations in smaller markets, including clusters in Iowa, while shifting resources toward larger markets such as the San Francisco Bay Area. 

The company has not publicly detailed the scope of Tuesday’s cuts or named all of the stations involved. 

Jeff Warshaw

When the Alpha deal closed last year, Warshaw said Connoisseur planned to add staff rather than cut its way to growth. The latest reductions come as other major radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Audacy and Cumulus, have also trimmed on-air and programming jobs this year.

When Connoisseur closed on Alpha in September 2025, Jeff Warshaw framed the deal as a scale play for a local operator. Connoisseur jumped from 11 stations to more than 200 across 47 markets and into the top 10 U.S. radio groups. The pitch: large local sales staffs, live talent, events, community presence, and digital marketing layered on top of radio. He explicitly rejected the iHeart-style “cut your way to prosperity” model and said the company would add people, not strip them.

Alpha was attractive because it already had strong positions in midsize markets Connoisseur liked—Portland, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, San Jose, Louisville, Palm Springs—but had been starved of investment after bankruptcy and later staff cuts. Warshaw’s bet was that Connoisseur’s operating style could improve stations Alpha could not fund.

The public philosophy is localism and staffing. The portfolio math pulls the other way.Alpha arrived with many tiny markets—Warshaw cited towns as small as 7,000 people—and those stations cannot support “huge sales staffs” and live lineups. He has said Connoisseur could not keep subsidizing operations that jeopardize the whole company. That is why the small-market purge is explicit and unfinished.

San Diego Radio: Ben Marcotte Named PD For KGB, KIOZ

iHeartMedia has named Ben Marcotte program director of active rock Rock 105.3 KIOZ and heritage classic rock 101.5 KGB-FM in San Diego. 

The appointment moves a 14-year company veteran into one of the country’s most storied rock clusters. Marcotte will oversee on-air programming as well as social and digital strategy for both stations and will report to iHeartMedia Executive Vice President of Programming Gene Romano. 

KGB-FM, which signed on in 1950 and became a pioneering album-oriented rock station in the early 1970s, remains San Diego’s long-running classic rock brand. Sister station KIOZ, branded Rock 105.3, carries an active rock format and has been a local rock fixture since the mid-1990s. Both are part of iHeartMedia’s San Diego cluster. 

Ben Marcotte

Marcotte arrives from Indianapolis and St. Louis, where he most recently served as senior vice president of programming. In Indianapolis he programmed classic rock Q95 WFBQ and classic alternative Indy 103.3 WOLT, including a stretch as afternoon host on WOLT after that station launched in 2020. He added Q95 programming duties in 2022 and was elevated to SVP for both markets in 2025. 

His earlier iHeart roles include program director of 96.5 JACK-FM KJAQ and Alt 102.9 KFOO in Seattle, plus programming work on Portland’s Radio 102.3 / Alt 102.3 and Spokane’s Alt 96.1. He joined the company in 2012 as assistant program director and music director in Spokane, where he also worked as a night jock, and earlier held production roles at WLS in Chicago. 

“Ben’s broad background in rock makes him a perfect fit,” Romano said. “He’s always curious and creative on how to keep up with listener’s always evolving tastes. He’ll bring some full volume fun with him to the west coast!”

“This felt like one of those opportunities you don’t overthink,” Marcotte said. “Two legendary stations, incredible teams, and a chance to do great radio in San Diego. Excited to get started.”

Cable News, Broadcast Nets Plan Extensive 9/11 Coverage

Broadcast and cable newsrooms are treating Friday’s 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks as a full commemoration day, with live reports from New York, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa., plus primetime specials. 

NBC: Today airs a special edition at 7 a.m. ET, with Savannah Guthrie at Ground Zero and Craig Melvin co-anchoring. At 8:30 a.m., Guthrie anchors an NBC News Special Report covering the moments of silence; that report also streams on NBC News Now. Tom Llamas is set to anchor special editions of NBC Nightly News and Top Story from Ground Zero. At 10 p.m., Lester Holt hosts a Dateline documentary that revisits New Yorkers filmed by NBC on Sept. 11, 2001, and follows them 25 years later. NBC News Now later streams NBC Nightly News Presents: Great Americans: Service and Sacrifice. Coverage also runs on Meet the Press and NBCNews.com.

ABC: Good Morning America, World News Tonight, Nightline, This Week and The View are carrying remembrance pieces. At 7 p.m., ABC News Live and WABC stream a one-hour Prime from Ground Zero with Linsey Davis, Sade Baderinwa and Mike Marza. At 8 p.m., David Muir, Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer anchor the live hour 9/11 Tribute in Light: Live from Lower Manhattan on ABC, Disney+, Hulu, National Geographic and ABC News Live, produced with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and ending with the Tribute in Light beams. From 9–11 p.m., ABC repeats Michael Strahan’s two-hour special 9/11: United We Stand – 25 Years Later.

NYC Radio: 1010WINS Providing 9/11 Remembrance Coverage

Audacy news station 1010 WINS will air live, wall-to-wall coverage of 25th-anniversary 9/11 commemorations on Friday, Sept. 11, beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET with the annual ceremony at the National September 11 Memorial.

Reporters Juliet Papa and Scott Stanford will co-host from the studio through the first moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., the time American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower. 

The broadcast will continue through the reading of the names and later silences honoring those killed on Sept. 11, 2001; victims of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; and people who have since died of 9/11-related illnesses.

WINS reporters will file live reports from sites across the region, including the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, ceremonies in Atlantic Beach, Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, and events tied to the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund.

The 25th anniversary is a major milestone in New York and national remembrance. 

WINS plans extensive on-air reporting, interviews and eyewitness accounts throughout the morning as the city marks the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

2026 CMA Nominees To Be Unveiled Thursday

CMA and ABC have revealed that 12-time CMA Award winner Lainey Wilson will return to host “The 60th Annual CMA Awards,” marking her third consecutive year in the role and second consecutive year as solo host.

The announcement was made live on ESPN’s “College GameDay,” timed to the show’s own milestone 500th show on the road from Louisiana State University in Wilson’s home state. Wilson will lead the star-studded evening as the CMA Awards celebrate 60 years of shining a spotlight on the industry’s most outstanding talent and unforgettable moments. Country Music’s Biggest Night™ broadcasts live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 8/7c on ABC, Disney+ and will be available next day on Hulu.

Orlando Radio: WFLF Adding Tampa-Based Ryan Gorman For Mornings

Ryan Gorman and Dana KcKay

“The Ryan Gorman Show” will join NewsRadio WFLA Orlando (WFLF-AM 540) on weekday mornings from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., beginning Sept. 14, 2026, iHeartMedia announced Wednesday. 

The addition gives the Tampa-based news-and-talk program a third major Florida market. 

Hosted by Ryan Gorman and Dana McKay, with veteran news anchors Nathalie Rodriguez and Chris Trenkman, the show already airs on NewsRadio WFLA in Tampa and NewsRadio 610 WIOD in Miami. 

In Orlando, it will replace Simon Conway, who left the morning slot last month. iHeartMedia Orlando Market President Judy Copier said Gorman and McKay “have built a show that is informative, entertaining and distinctly Florida,” arguing that their focus on issues that matter to Floridians, paired with iHeart’s broadcast, digital and social platforms, will help the station reach listeners and advertisers across Central Florida.

Gorman said the team is “looking forward to bringing our unique style of news and talk to the Orlando area” and “entertaining more of our fellow Floridians.” The program mixes statewide and national news with interviews, trending stories and a lighter, personality-driven tone Gorman has described as “laugh first, politics second.” 

It launched on WFLA in Tampa on Jan. 4, 2022, and expanded to Miami in 2024.  Gorman began in radio at 16 as an intern at Tampa Top 40 station WFLZ-FM, later studying political science and history at the University of South Florida. He has hosted elections and breaking-news coverage for iHeartRadio news/talk stations and has appeared on NewsNation and other television outlets. 

McKay, the show’s executive producer and co-host, comes from Top 40 radio and handles much of its social-media presence. A mother of two, she adds pop-culture and trending-story coverage and what the station calls a parent’s perspective on the day’s news. 

📻Listeners can hear the program on AM 540 and via the iHeartRadio app.

Good Morning! The Pulse Has Your 9/9 Wednesday Briefing

Radio Broadcasting

iHM Promotion: iHeartMedia has named Ben Marcotte program director of active rock Rock 105.3 KIOZ and heritage classic rock 101.5 KGB-FM in San Diego.

Cumulus Exit: Kenny Smoov has left Cumulus Media after 23 years, including 21 as program director of Nashville’s 92Q (WQQK), to launch independent projects through his new firm, Nashville Brown LLC.

Connoisseur Layoffs: Connoisseur Media layed-off almost 70 employees across its radio stations in a companywide round of cuts that began Tuesday, according to staff who were let go. More specific details are not available.

Nashville Radio: Cumulus Media's Urban Chief Exits

Kenny Smoov has left Cumulus Media after 23 years, including 21 as program director of Nashville’s 92Q (WQQK), to launch independent projects through his new firm, Nashville Brown LLC.

Kenny Smoov

As Cumulus vice president of urban formats, Smoov oversaw urban brands and talent nationwide and approved programming hires in markets such as Shreveport and Memphis. Through Nashville Brown he plans media, content, consulting and entertainment work and said he remains open to another executive, programming or media leadership job.

“This has been an incredible chapter of my life and career, and I’m extremely proud of what we built, the people I’ve had the opportunity to work with, and the relationships I’ve developed both in Nashville and nationally over the past two decades,” Smoov said. “But I’m also excited about what comes next. I still have a lot of ideas, energy, and great work ahead of me.”

Smoov joined Cumulus in 2003 and was named 92Q program director. The Tennessean named him Favorite Radio Personality of the Year in 2017. He launched The Kenny Smoov Morning Show in October 2018 and was promoted to VP of urban formats in June 2019 while continuing to run 92Q.He left mornings in July 2025 when 92Q introduced The 615 Wake Up, then spent his last year as program director and midday host.

Pittsburgh Radio: Kiki Jones Promoted At WAMO

WAMO/W297BU (610/107.3), an Audacy station in Pittsburgh, elevates KiKi B. Jones to Brand Manager, where she will lead the station’s content strategy, talent, operations and branding. Jones will continue to host the station’s midday show weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.

“I've had the privilege of knowing KiKi for over 10 years and have watched her continue to grow,” said Skip Dillard, Rhythmic AC and Throwback Format Vice President, Audacy. “I'm so happy for her elevation and can’t wait to see her lead the station into its next evolution.”

“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to lead WAMO 107.3, a station with such a rich history and deep connection to Pittsburgh. Radio has taken me on an amazing journey. Still, there’s something especially meaningful about stepping into this role in my hometown and helping shape the future of a brand that means so much to our community,” said Jones. 

Atlanta Radio: Star 94 Continues To Tweak Music Playlist

Star 94 has dropped its six-year dance-pop and hip-hop lean and returned to a more traditional adult pop format, now sounding much closer to longtime ratings leader B98.5.

The change follows last month’s cancellation of the Kevin & Taylor morning show. Star’s new slogan is “Atlanta’s best variety of the ’90s to today,” replacing “Atlanta’s upbeat variety.” B98.5’s slogan is “‘90s, 2K and today.” 

B98.5 has outrated Star for much of the past 20 years. Star still plays current tracks by artists such as sombr, Ella Langley, Djo and Olivia Dean. It has also brought back 1990s and early-2000s hits it once played in heavy rotation, including Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn” (1997), Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (1998) and Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles” (2002).

Harder hip-hop titles the station was still airing days ago—T-Pain’s “Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin’),” Baby Bash’s “Suga Suga” and Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot”—are largely gone.

Atlanta Radio: 'Crash' Clark Lands Traffic Gig At WSB Radio

Crash Clark

Veteran Atlanta radio and TV personality Christopher “Crash” Clark, recently laid off as morning host at 99X, has been hired to cover traffic at WSB Radio. He starts Monday, Sept. 14.

Ken Charles, WSB director of operations, branding and programming, announced the hire in a staff note Friday that Clark shared on Instagram. “I’m excited to announce that well-known local traffic personality Crash Clark is joining the WSB traffic team,” Charles wrote. “Crash’s knowledge of Atlanta traffic and his long time experience in the market make him a great addition to our award winning traffic team.”

ESPN Studio Shows Delivered Audiences During August

ESPN’s studio programming continued its strong performance in August as fan interest in the upcoming NFL and college football seasons, combined with MLB pennant races and a busy summer sports calendar, drove audiences across the network’s daily lineup. 

Multiple programs delivered their best August viewership on record, while overall studio show audiences increased 13% year over year.

Among the month’s top performers, NBA Today delivered its best August on record, posting a 64% year-over-year increase. ESPN’s weekday morning and early afternoon block also reached new milestones, with Get Up, First Take (tying its record set in 2025) and The Pat McAfee Show all achieving their best August audiences. The 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET editions of SportsCenter likewise set new August viewership highs.

August milestones across ESPN’s daily lineup:

• Record August performancesGet Up (8 a.m. M-F) averaged 378K, a YOY increase of 19%.
• First Take (10 a.m. M-F) averaged 419K viewers, tying 2025’s mark for the show’s best August.
• The Pat McAfee Show (noon M-F) averaged 405K viewers (linear + digital), up 19% YOY.
• NBA Today (3 p.m. M-F) was up 64% YOY, averaging 328K viewers.

'Choosin' Texas' Close to Historic Run

Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” is Billboard’s Songs of the Summer No. 1 for 2026, leading a historic country sweep of the season-ending top three.Langley’s hit sits at No. 1, Taylor Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You” is No. 2, and Langley’s “Be Her” is No. 3 — the first time country songs have occupied the entire top three on the ranking.

The 20-song tally measures cumulative performance on the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot 100 from Memorial Day through Labor Day, covering charts dated June 6 through Sept. 12. Songs that appeared on the 2025 Songs of the Summer chart or peaked on the Hot 100 during or before summer 2025 were ineligible.“Choosin’ Texas” has spent 21 weeks and counting at No. 1 on the Hot 100, including 11 straight weeks since the chart dated July 4. 

During its run, country titles that had hit Hot Country Songs claimed the Hot 100’s entire top five for a week in August — another first.Country’s summer dominance has grown this decade. Genre songs finished 1-2 in both 2023 and 2024. In 2025, Morgan Wallen occupied Nos. 2, 3 and 4 with three tracks from I’m the Problem.

“Choosin’ Texas,” released in October 2025, is a rare Songs of the Summer champion that originated the previous year. The last such winner was OMI’s “Cheerleader” in 2015, after a May 2014 release; that song, however, first hit the Hot 100 in 2015. Langley’s track is the first season-ending Songs of the Summer No. 1 to have debuted on the Hot 100 in a prior year in 30 years. Los Del Rio’s “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” won in 1996 after debuting in September 1995 and spending 14 weeks at No. 1.

FOX News Leads All Broadcast Networks on YouTube

FOX News closed August 2026 leading all broadcast networks with YouTube views, according to Emplifi. 

Throughout August, FOX News posted 287 million views leading the broadcast competition including ABC News (138 million views), NBC News (109 million views) and CBS News (45 million views). FOX Business was also number one on YouTube amongst business brands for the 58th consecutive month in August, with 39 million video views, according to Comscore Social. 

Year-to-date, FOX News (3.1 billion views) continues to dominate the competition leading MS Now (2.3 billion views), CNN (1.6 billion views), ABC News (1.1 billion views), NBC News (892 million views), CBS News (410 million views) and the New York Times (103 million views).

Once again ranking number one in social engagement in August, FOX News nabbed 82.8 million social media interactions across Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok, according to Emplifi & Comscore Social. 

FOX News garnered 25.6 million Facebook interactions, 14.2 million Instagram interactions, 4.7 million X interactions and, according to Comscore Social, 38.3 million TikTok interactions (up 76% year-over-year). Collectively, FOX News drove 1.4 billion total social video views throughout the month.

Radio History: Sep 9

➦In 1908...Early radio actor, announcer Ed Prentiss born (Died at age 83 – March 18, 1992). He was perhaps best known for portraying the title role on the radio version of Captain Midnight. He was announcer on another kid’s radio favorite, Jack Armstrong the All-American Boy.

He was also the narrator for a number of daily hour of NBC radio soap operas.

➦In 1926... the National Broadcasting Company was created by RCA, the Radio Corporation of America.

NBC is the oldest major broadcast network in the United States. In 1986, control of NBC passed to General Electric (GE), with GE's $6.4 billion purchase of RCA. GE had previously owned RCA and NBC until 1930, when it had been forced to sell the company as a result of antitrust charges.

After the 1986 acquisition, the chief executive of NBC was Bob Wright, who remained in that position until his retirement. He was succeeded by Jeff Zucker. The TV network is currently part of the media company NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast, which formerly operated NBCUniversal in a joint venture with General Electric from 2011 to 2013 (and before that, jointly owned by GE and Vivendi). As a result of the merger, Zucker left NBC and was replaced by Comcast executive Steve Burke.

The radio network officially launched Nov. 15, 1926.  On January 1, 1927, NBC formally divided its programming into two networks, called the Red and the Blue. Legend has it that the color designations originated from the push-pins early engineers used to mark affiliates of WEAF (red pins) and WJZ (blue pins), or from the use of double-ended red and blue colored pencils.

The two NBC networks did not have distinct identities or "formats", and, beginning in 1929, they shared use of the distinctive three-note "NBC chimes". The NBC Red Network, with WEAF as its flagship station and a stronger line-up of affiliated stations, often carried the more popular, "big budget" sponsored programs. The Blue Network and WJZ carried a somewhat smaller line-up of often lower-powered stations and sold air time to advertisers at a lower cost. NBC Blue often carried newer, untried programs (which, if successful, often moved "up" to the Red Network), lower cost programs and unsponsored or "sustaining" programs (which were often news, cultural and educational programs). In many cities in addition to New York, the two NBC affiliated stations (Red and Blue) were operated as duopolies, having the same owners and sharing the same staff and facilities.

On April 5, 1927 NBC reached the West Coast with the launching of the NBC Orange Network, which rebroadcast Red Network programming to the Pacific states and had as its flagship station KGO in San Francisco. NBC Red then extended its reach into the Midwest by acquiring two 50,000–watt clear-channel signals, Cleveland station WTAM on October 16, 1930 and Chicago station WMAQ (coincidentally, a CBS Radio Network charter affiliate) by 1931. On October 18, 1931, Blue Network programming was introduced along the NBC Gold Network, which broadcast from San Francisco's KPO. In 1936 the Orange Network name was dropped and affiliate stations became part of the Red Network. The Gold Network adopted the Blue Network name.

In a major move in 1931, RCA signed crucial leases with the new Rockefeller Center management that resulted in it becoming the lead tenant of what was to become in 1933 its corporate headquarters, the RCA Building, at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Under the terms of the lease arrangement, this included studios for NBC and theaters for the RCA-owned RKO Pictures. The deal was arranged through the Center's founder and financier, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., with the chairman of GE, Owen D. Young, and the president of RCA, David Sarnoff.

In 1987 NBC sold its remaining radio network operations to Westwood One, which continued using NBC identification for some of its programming until 2014. Beginning in 2016, NBC Radio News has been distributed in conjunction with iHeartMedia.

Elvis outside the Lamar-Airways
Shopping Mall in Memphis 1954

➦In 1954...Young Elvis Presley performed at the opening of Lamar-Airways shopping mall in Memphis, and met audience member Johnny Cash for the first time. In November 1954, Presley performed on Louisiana Hayride—the Opry's chief, and more adventurous, rival. The Shreveport-based show was broadcast to 198 radio stations in 28 states.

➦In 1956...Elvis made the first of three appearances on Ed Sullivan's CBS show. (Sullivan had previously announced he would never have such an act on, but ratings prevailed and Sullivan offered Elvis a record $50,000 for the three shows.) With actor Charles Laughton filling in for an ailing Sullivan. Elvis performed "Don't Be Cruel," "Love Me Tender," "Ready Teddy," and "Hound Dog."  A record 54 million viewers -- nearly 83 percent of the nation's sets! -- were tuned-in.

➦In 1958...Stereo records and phonographs were introduced.

Country Music Ruled Summer of 2026

Summer 2026 was a high-water mark for country music’s cultural reach. The genre didn’t just own its own format—it repeatedly occupied the center of the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, powered by streaming, radio, and a run of sticky, sing-along singles that traveled far beyond traditional country audiences.

The season belonged first to Ella Langley. “Choosin’ Texas” spent the summer locked in as Billboard’s Song of the Summer and piled up historic weeks at No. 1 on both Hot Country Songs and the Hot 100, eventually breaking the record for longest-running non-holiday No. 1. Langley stacked the charts with follow-ups (“Be Her”) and a duet with Morgan Wallen (“I Can’t Love You Anymore”), at one point placing three songs in the Hot 100’s top four. For a stretch, country or country-adjacent records filled the entire Hot 100 top five—an unprecedented snapshot of how thoroughly Nashville product was traveling.

Country radio still did its traditional job even as the pop charts told a bigger story. Taylor Swift’s Toy Story 5 single “I Knew It, I Knew You” became a genuine format event: added everywhere on impact and later reaching No. 1 on Mediabase country radio. Other airplay leaders across the summer included Jason Aldean (“Don’t Tell On Me”), Luke Combs (“Be By You,” “Sleepless in a Hotel Room”), Morgan Wallen (“Don’t We”), Josh Ross, Tucker Wetmore (“Brunette”), and Jelly Roll.

FCC Chair Comments On Meet the Press, Political Rates

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Sunday that President Donald Trump is “over the target” after Trump demanded the agency rebuke or punish NBC’s Kristen Welker for saying his midterm endorsement record was “mixed.”

Asked on Fox News’s “The Sunday Briefing” whether the FCC had received Trump’s complaint, Carr did not say a report had arrived. He instead argued that broadcast television is unlike cable and other platforms because stations receive what he called taxpayer-subsidized spectrum and must serve the public interest, “not some sort of narrow, partisan interest.”

“I think President Trump is over the target, and we’re looking at a lot of actions,” Carr said. He added that the FCC may soon issue guidance warning broadcasters not to air “fake polls,” especially if they could suppress turnout this fall.

🚨 NEW: FCC Chair Brendan Carr on President Trump calling for NBC’s Kristen Welker to receive "punishment" for saying he has a mixed record on endorsements: "I think President Trump is over the target, and we are looking at a lot of actions."

PETER DOOCY: “President Trump was… pic.twitter.com/CA1DmXH4sL

— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) September 6, 2026

The dispute began after Welker, on a “Meet the Press” preview Sunday August 30 on NBC’s Washington affiliate, said Trump would “loom large” over the midterms and had endorsed a slate of primary candidates with “some mixed results.”

Fewer Laboring In Radio Broadcasting

In 2026 (through early September), U.S. radio broadcasting saw another wave of job cuts driven by debt, weak advertising, centralization, automation, and for public stations, the lingering effects of lost federal funding. Exact nationwide totals were not published; companies rarely released headcount figures. The pattern was consistent: fewer local on-air voices, more national or automated programming, and repeated reductions at the largest groups. 

CBS News Radio
In March, CBS News announced it would shut down its nearly century-old radio service (founded 1927), which supplied hourly newscasts to about 700 affiliates. The service ended May 22. The move was part of a broader CBS News reduction of more than 60 jobs (about 6% of the newsroom). Every radio-division position was eliminated.

Audacy
In late March and early April the company cut on-air talent and staff while eliminating the local market-manager role in favor of a regional sales-and-oversight structure. Affected markets included Houston (the Frito & Katy morning show), Cleveland, Hartford, Philadelphia, Seattle, and others. The company described the reductions as limited but did not give a number. Audacy had already cut as many as 300 jobs in 2025 after emerging from bankruptcy.

Local TV News Employment Continues Decline

Local television news employment fell for a second straight year in 2025, dropping 2.2% to 26,458 full-time workers, according to the latest RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University Survey.

The decline was smaller than 2024’s 2.9% drop but came as fewer stations produced original local news — 689, down from a record-low 695 a year earlier. Consolidation among major station groups added pressure, including Nexstar’s acquisition of Tegna, Sinclair’s move on Scripps, and Gray Media’s purchase of stations from Allen Media Group.

Full-time staffing fell in nearly every category. Commercial stations outside the largest ownership groups were the only notable exception, a gain survey authors said was likely a statistical anomaly tied to lower response rates. Part-time employment also slipped modestly.

Stations reported an average of two unfilled jobs, with vacancies heaviest in the largest markets and lightest in markets 100-150. Hiring grew slightly easier: 76.1% of news directors said they could fill open positions, up from 73.9% a year earlier. Multimedia journalists and producers remained the most sought-after roles.Salary was the top reason employees left newsroom jobs (61.8%), followed by work-life balance (50%) and burnout (38.2%).

Staffing still tracked closely with market and newsroom size. The biggest markets and largest newsrooms had the most resources, including on the digital side, though digital staffing declined broadly. Use of multimedia journalists rose after two years of decline; nearly two-thirds of stations now rely on MMJs as their primary reporting model.

New-hire volume remained historically low. Replacement hiring — led by producers and MMJs — far outpaced hiring for newly created jobs.

The annual survey, conducted in the fourth quarter of 2025, received responses from more than 1,100 television stations and nearly 600 radio stations. It is supported by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and the Radio Television Digital News Association.