Happy TGIF: Check The Pulse for May 15

Radio Broadcasting

News Service Launches: Red Apple Audio Networks Launches 24-Hour Nationwide News ServiceRed Apple Audio Networks will debut the Worldwide News Network on Saturday, May 23, at 12:00 a.m., introducing a new 24-hour national radio news service focused on hard news, breaking headlines, and fact-driven reporting to affiliates across the country.

WTOP GM Retires: Joel Oxley, president and general manager of WTOP and Federal News Network, said Wednesday he will retire later this year after nearly 35 years with the company, including 28 years as general manager. Oxley, who turns 65 this year, made the surprise announcement during the station’s annual employee service anniversary celebration.

Non-Coms Settle: Miami-Dade School Board, SFPMG Reach 7-Year Settlement for WLRN. The long-running dispute between the Miami-Dade County School Board and South Florida Public Media Group (SFPMG) over NPR affiliate WLRN-FM Miami (91.3) has been resolved.

Media Industry

Israel to Sue NY Times for Defamation: The Israeli government plans to file a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times and veteran columnist Nicholas Kristof over an article alleging systematic sexual violence by Israeli soldiers, prison guards, and settlers against Palestinian prisoners.

Super Prices: Disney has secured more than 10 30-second advertising spots for the upcoming Super Bowl, selling them for approximately $9 million apiece after initially seeking $10 million per slot.

OBITS: Claudine Longet, the actress and singer known for 1960s television roles and her high-profile 1976 trial after fatally shooting her Olympic skier boyfriend, has died at age 84. Also Clarence Carter, the Southern soul singer and guitarist famous for his candid songs about adultery and lust, died Thursday. He was 90.

U.S. News

Trump and Xi Meet: President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met Friday at Zhongnanhai, the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership compound in Beijing. The leaders held talks over tea and a working lunch, with Trump stating they “feel very similar on Iran” and both want the conflict to end.

SCOTUS Preserves Access: The Supreme Court on Thursday maintained widespread access to the common abortion pill mifepristone, allowing doctors to continue mailing the drug to patients without an in-person visit. The brief order on the court’s emergency docket keeps on hold a lower-court ruling that would have restricted access to the medication, the most common method of ending a pregnancy.

Oil Surplus Dwindling Rapidly: A once-underappreciated surplus of crude oil is shrinking at a record pace after cushioning the global economy when the Persian Gulf closed 2½ months ago. Oil executives and analysts warn that acute shortages of key fuels and soaring prices could emerge within weeks if the Strait of Hormuz stays shut.

Israel Threatens To Sue NY Times For Defamation

The Israeli government plans to file a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times and veteran columnist Nicholas Kristof following the publication of an article accusing Israeli soldiers, prison guards, and settlers of systematic sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the move on Thursday, saying he had directed his legal advisers to pursue “the harshest legal action” possible against both the newspaper and Kristof, who reported the story from the occupied West Bank.

The decision marks a significant escalation in Israel’s response to international media coverage of its treatment of Palestinian detainees. Netanyahu’s office framed the article as containing false and damaging claims that constitute libel, potentially harming Israel’s reputation and the safety of its personnel.

D-C Radio: WTOP GM Joel Oxley Announces Retirement

Joel Oxley, president and general manager of WTOP and Federal News Network, announced Wednesday that he will retire later this year after nearly 35 years with the company, including 28 years as general manager.

Oxley, who turns 65 this year, made the surprise announcement during the station’s annual employee service anniversary celebration, where he first praised 25 colleagues marking 10 to 30 years with the organization.

“Because we are doing well, and because the best time to make changes is when you are doing well, and because I’m flipping 65, I’ve decided it’s time for me to hang up my cleats and retire,” Oxley told the newsroom. 

Florida Radio: Parties Resolve Dispute For Non-Com WLRN

A long-running legal battle over the future of NPR affiliate WLRN-FM Miami (91.3) has been resolved through an out-of-court settlement.

In an agreement announced Thursday, the Miami-Dade County School Board — which owns the news/talk station — and South Florida Public Media Group (SFPMG), which manages it, have reached a new seven-year management contract for WLRN. 

The deal also ends their dispute over SFPMG’s planned purchase of urban AC station WFLM (104.7) in West Palm Beach.

NYC Radio WFAN Leads Off Subway Series With All-Day Broadcast

As New York’s most passionate sports rivalry takes center stage, WFAN (WFAN-FM/AM), the most listened-to sports radio station in America, is bringing fans directly into the action. On May 15, the station will broadcast live all day from the MLB Flagship Store (NYC), leading into the Yankees vs. Mets Subway Series matchup at Citi Field as part of MLB “Rivalry Weekend.”

The station’s entire weekday lineup will air at its regular schedule, including “The Warm Up Show” from 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. ET, “Boomer & Gio” from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. ET, “Evan & Tiki” from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET and “The Craig Carton Show” with Chris McMonigle from 2:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET. All festivities at the flagship store lead fans to the New York Yankees pre-game show at 6:35 p.m. ET and the play-by-play broadcast with Dave Sims and Suzyn Waldman at 7:15 p.m. ET.

L-A TV: MLB Angeles Fire Team Announcer

Patrick O’Neal, who has served as a television announcer for the Los Angeles Angels for the past 13 seasons, will not return to the club, the team has announced.

Patrick O'Neal

O’Neal, 58, rotated play-by-play duties with lead voice Wayne Randazzo and also handled pre- and postgame hosting responsibilities on Angels telecasts. He has simultaneously contributed to Los Angeles Kings hockey broadcasts.

“The Angels organization would like to thank Patrick O’Neal for his 13 years of dedication to the Angels broadcast team,” the club said in a statement. “He brought a sense of pride to each telecast, something that was felt by Angels fans watching at home.”

In a statement posted to X, O’Neal wrote: “Thank you to the Angels for the amazing broadcast opportunities. I cherish every moment and every friend I made. It’s the great people I will miss the most. Chopping it up talking baseball with some of the best to ever do it. It will be hard to replace that. Go Halos!”

Disney Sells 10+ Super Bowl Ad Slots at $9M Each

Disney has secured more than 10 30-second advertising spots for the upcoming Super Bowl, selling them for approximately $9 million apiece after initially seeking $10 million per slot from advertisers.

The sales come as the entertainment giant pushes to capitalize on the NFL’s marquee event, one of the most expensive advertising platforms in television. While the final price landed slightly below Disney’s original asking rate, the deals still represent a significant haul potentially exceeding $90 million from just those 10+ slots.

ESPN Promotes Mike Foss to EVP Sports News and Entertainment

ESPN has named Mike Foss to succeed the retiring David Roberts as Executive Vice President, Executive Editor, Sports News and Entertainment, with the promotion effective immediately. Roberts recently announced he would be retiring at the end of August. Roberts and Foss will work together on a transition of the role in the coming months.

Foss, who has been ESPN Senior Vice President, Sport Studio & Entertainment, since 2023, steering the creative and operational direction for ESPN’s daily programming, will report to Burke Magnus, ESPN President, Content.

“In his nine years with ESPN, Mike has continually demonstrated his collaborative leadership style and excellent organizational and management skills, as well as his boundless vision, innovation and creativity,” said Burke Magnus, ESPN President, Content. “I am confident that he will continue to do so in his new role and help make us better every day.”

Upon assuming his new role, Foss will gain oversight of ESPN’s vast news operation including sports news and coverage, investigative and enterprise journalism, research and digital editorial. He also will begin oversight of ESPN’s Creative Content Unit and Studio Enhancement Team.

R.I.P.: Claudine Longet, Actress, Singer, Married To Andy Williams

Claudine Longet (1942-2026)

Claudine Longet, the actress and singer best known for 1960s TV roles and a high-profile 1976 trial after fatally shooting her Olympic skier boyfriend, has died at age 84.

Longet’s nephew, Bryan Longet, announced the news on social media, writing in French: “You were a true source of inspiration in my life, and you always will be. One more star in the sky. Thank you for everything, Auntie.”

R.I.P.: Clarence Carter, Soul Singer Known For Bawdy Hits

Clarence Carter, the Southern soul singer and guitarist famous for his unabashed songs of adultery and lust such as the late-1960s hits “Slip Away” and “Back Door Santa,” died on Thursday. He was 90.

His death was confirmed by Rodney Hall, president of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where many of Carter’s hits were recorded. No further details were immediately available.

Blind from a young age, Carter stood out with his deep, declamatory baritone and a signature lecherous, full-throated laugh. He blended the fiery delivery of a backwoods preacher with the raw humor of a juke joint, most memorably on the extended spoken-word track “Making Love (At the Dark End of the Street).” 

Radio History: May 15

 ➦In 1923...WJZ moved to New York City.

The WJZ call sign was first used on what is now WABC in New York City. The original Westinghouse Electric Corporation, whose broadcasting division is a predecessor to the current broadcasting unit of CBS Corporation, launched WJZ in 1921, located originally in Newark, New Jersey.

WJZ was sold in 1923 to the Radio Corporation of America, who moved its operations to New York, and in 1926 WJZ became the flagship station for the NBC Blue Network.  NBC Blue would become the American Broadcasting Company in 1942. ABC later established WJZ-FM and WJZ-TV at the same time in 1948.

In 1953 ABC merged with United Paramount Theatres, and changed the call letters of their New York area stations to WABC, WABC-FM (now WPLJ) and WABC-TV. Four years later, Westinghouse Broadcasting acquired Baltimore television station WAAM (channel 13) and changed its call letters to WJZ-TV, which remained an ABC affiliate until 1995 when the station switched to CBS.

➦In 1933...the radio serial “Today’s Children” was heard for the first time.  The woman who would soon become a soap opera icon, Irma Phillips, who was an NBC Blue network program-features writer, starred in the role of Mother Moran.  Today’s Children became the #1 radio soap by 1938.

➦In 1961...Peter Tripp of WMGM 1050 AM in NYC found guilty of 35 counts of "commercial bribery".  Tripp was a Top-40 countdown radio personality from the mid-1950s, whose career peaked with his 1959 record breaking 201 hour wake-athon (working on the radio non-stop without sleep to benefit the March of Dimes). For much of the stunt, he sat in a glass booth in Times Square. After a few days he began to hallucinate, and for the last 66 hours the observing scientists and doctors gave him drugs to help him stay awake. Tripp suffered psychologically, after the stunt, he began to think he was an imposter of himself, and kept that thought for some time.

Red Apple to Launch New News Service

Red Apple Audio Networks is making a bold move into the national news arena with the May 23rd debut of the Worldwide News Network, the new 24-hour national radio news service built to deliver hard news, breaking headlines, and fact-driven reporting to affiliates across the country.

The service goes live at 12:00 AM on Saturday, May 23, immediately feeding stations professionally produced top and bottom of the hour newscasts every hour, seven days a week, while simultaneously igniting one of the most aggressive newsroom staffing initiatives in radio syndication.

Former CBS Radio broadcast journalists Michael Wallace, Cooper Lawrence, Bill Rehkopf, and Matt Pieper are the first major hires in what will be a rapid buildout of the network’s team of elite news anchors, correspondents, writers, and producers.