Good Morning! The Pulse Starts The Day For Friday, April 3

Radio Broadcasting

Executive Change: iHeartMedia has promoted Ann Marie Licata to CEO of its Multiplatform Group, the company’s largest operating segment, overseeing 860+ local broadcast radio stations, Premiere Networks, TTWN, live events, and data-targeting product. She was previously EVP of Sales Operations and Client Success at iHeart following a role at Madison Square Garden. Reporting to Licata will be Julie Donohue, President of the Enterprise Development Group, and Julie Talbott, President of Premiere Networks.

MLB Fans Are Listening: Audacy says MLB fans are increasingly turning to audio as a flexible companion to live games, reflecting a shift toward mobile, multitasking consumption. In a new Insights report, the company finds 36% of fans now pair play-by-play audio with TV broadcasts—often opting for local announcers to deepen connection and authenticity. The report notes audio helps fans stay engaged while commuting, working, or on the move.

Atlanta Exit: Cumulus Alternative WNNX (99X)/Atlanta has made a change in mornings as longtime Morning X co-host Leslie Fram has stepped away from the 6-10am show to focus on her new consulting company, Former 99X traffic reporter and longtime Atlanta radio & TV personality Crash Clark teams with Steve Barnes for The Morning X with Barnes & Crash.

Media Industry

Is 60-Minutes Next? CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss is poised for a major shakeup at “60 Minutes” — with layoffs slated for this summer that could engulf some of the show’s top talent and producers, The NY Post reports. The bloodbath is slated for June, a source with knowledge said. That’s after CBS News last month slashed 6% of its workforce — between 60 and 70 people — including the surprise shuttering of its 99-year-old radio division.

WaPo Rehiring: The Washington Post has been quietly rehiring some laid-off staffers after axing a third of its newsroom in a brutal round of cuts earlier this year. After getting rid of over 300 journos across nearly all news departments in February, the Jeff Bezos-owned paper quietly contacted at least 10 of those staffers to gauge their interest in returning to the company in new roles, the Status newsletter reported Wednesday. Several staffers have accepted those return offers, according to Status. 

The core question: Should the “marketplace” decide the conflict between Donald Trump and The Media. Debate centers on whether the “marketplace” should resolve the conflict between Donald Trump and the media, raising issues of free speech, corporate power, and democratic norms. By 2026, the conflict has included legal actions—lawsuits and proposals to regulate news organizations.

U-S News

Pam Sent Packing: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was adamant Thursday that Pam Bondi’s handling of government files related to sex predator Jeffrey Epstein did not play a role in President Trump’s decision to fire her.  “A lot of what you just said about what happened to the attorney general is simply not true,” Blanche told Fox News host Jesse Watters, in his first interview since being elevated to acting AG.  “I have never heard President Trump say that the attorney general –  that anything that happened to her – had anything to do with the Epstein files,” Blanche asserted. 

Top Soldier Fired During War! Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth asked Gen. Randy George, the U.S. Army's top officer, to step down from his position and immediately retire. George had served as the chief of staff of the Army since 2023. Hegseth wanted someone who could better implement his and President Donald Trump's vision in the Army, according to CBS News. Top Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed George's immediate retirement on X. The Pentagon "is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement."

Tiger's Life Tanks: Tiger Woods was seen in body camera footage released Thursday by the Martin County (Florida) Sheriff's office talking on the phone as he was approached by police in the wake of a rollover crash that led to his arrest last week. 

After he got off the phone, he told an officer he was “just talking to the president.” Woods was arrested on suspicion of DUI after crawling out of his rolled-over vehicle following a two-vehicle crash on Jupiter Island on March 27.