Good Morning To Monday! Here's The Pulse Briefing For Oct 19

Radio Broadcasting

NPR Funding: Public Media Bridge Fund launches Pathways to Sustainability program Tuesday to help local stations build lasting models after federal cuts. MORE

RIP: Noah Adams, the longtime host of NPR’s All Things Considered, died Friday at his home in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He was 84. MORE

Accreditation Pulled: Nielsen’s PPM Radio audience measurement service has lost Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation in four major markets—Baltimore, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh—and has been denied accreditation in 18 additional markets that were under review. MORE

Media Industry

SCOTUS Review: Fox News legal analyst and George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley urged the Supreme Court to review journalist Catherine Herridge’s case, warning that rejecting it could set a precedent making it easier to compel reporters to reveal confidential sources and undermine investigative journalism.⁠ MORE

It May End Badly: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are still locked in to call Super Bowl LXI for ESPN on Valentine’s Day, but things between them are clearly a little frosty right now. MORE

Israeli Settler Attack: A WaPo photojournalist was hospitalized after Israeli settlers attacked her and a group of Palestinians during the annual olive harvest in the occupied West Bank. MORE

U-S News

Trump Defends: The President face backlast over his  decision to ease sanctions on Russia, arguing it would keep Russia at the bargaining table, while Republican lawmakers and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the move as favoring Moscow and undermining Ukraine’s position.

VP Town Hall:  Vice President JD Vance faced pointed, unscripted questioning from both Michigan voters and CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil during a combative hour-long town hall Saturday night, as he was pressed on elevated gas prices, the ongoing war with Iran, immigration enforcement, and corruption allegations involving the Trump White House.⁠ MORE

Holiday Sales: American retailers are expected to top $1 trillion in holiday sales for the first time this year, but the record is being driven largely by wealthier households while others face rising costs for everyday necessities. MORE

Local Public Media Eligible for New Funding

Public Media Bridge Fund launches Pathways to Sustainability program Tuesday to help local stations build lasting models after federal cuts.

The program, announced as the fund shifts from short-term emergency grants to long-term organizational strength, provides coaching, customized action plans, and implementation funding of up to $150,000 for radio-only stations and up to $250,000 for television or joint licensees. Applications open tomorrow, with the effort aimed at reducing reliance on federal support and improving operations, revenue diversity, and regional partnerships.

The move follows the Knight Foundation’s recent additional $10 million commitment over three years to the fund’s next phase. That investment is part of a broader $38 million fundraising goal to move stations beyond stabilization. To date, the Bridge Fund has raised approximately $87 million from more than 1,500 donors and has already distributed emergency aid that helped stabilize 186 public radio and television stations serving roughly 30 million people.

R.I.P.: Noah Adams, Longtime All Things Considered Host

Noah Adams (1941-2026)

Noah Adams, the longtime host of NPR’s All Things Considered, died Friday at his home in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He was 84.

Adams hosted the program for 18 years, guiding listeners through major events including Ronald Reagan’s landslide electoral victories, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the September 11 terrorist attacks. Colleagues remembered him most for the softer, observational features he produced after riding trains across the country or spending days in small towns talking to people he met.

“He was always observing,” said Melissa Block, who produced pieces with him for years before hosting All Things Considered herself. “He would have a little reporter’s notebook and he would be taking notes in shorthand. ... Somehow, when we came back, he would capture the character of a place or a person or a town in the most vivid, rich, simple language.”

NAB Show New York Set To Kickoff

NAB Show New York 2026 returns Wednesday and Thursday at the Javits Center, bringing together roughly 250 companies—including at least 37 first-time exhibitors and about 23% international firms—focused on production, AI, streaming, cloud, infrastructure and related tools.

Production remains the largest exhibitor category at about 42%, followed by infrastructure, IT and security solutions at 33%. Asset management, automation and media supply chain technologies each account for roughly 25% of exhibitors. Streaming appears among 66 companies, cloud among 51 and remote production among 42, reflecting growing integration across those areas. At least 33 firms are highlighting AI and machine learning applications.

MRC Pulls Accreditation for PPM Service in Multiple Markets

Nielsen’s Personal Portable Meter (PPM) radio audience measurement service has lost Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation in four major markets—Baltimore, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh—and has been denied accreditation in 18 additional markets that were under review.

Those markets are:

Vance Grilled During CBS News Town Hall In Michigan

Vice President JD Vance faced pointed, unscripted questioning from both Michigan voters and CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil during a combative hour-long town hall Saturday night, as he was pressed on elevated gas prices, the ongoing war with Iran, immigration enforcement, and corruption allegations involving the Trump White House.⁠

The “Things That Matter” event, held in the Flat Rock area of Michigan and aired on CBS and Paramount+, came less than three weeks before the midterm elections in a key battleground state that helped deliver the 2024 victory for Donald Trump and Vance. Dokoupil, 45, repeatedly challenged the 42-year-old vice president rather than allowing him to pivot or deflect.⁠

Israeli Settlers Attack WaPo Photojournalist On Assignment

A Washington Post photojournalist was hospitalized after Israeli settlers attacked her and a group of Palestinians during the annual olive harvest in the occupied West Bank.

Veteran photojournalist Heidi Levine, on assignment for the newspaper, said the Palestinians she was accompanying began to retreat after seeing dozens of settlers running toward them. In a video statement, Levine described being thrown to the ground and repeatedly kicked. “I had my camera bag and my pouch with my passport, and my telephone was on a rope around my neck and they broke that off me, and they broke my cameras off me, and they broke my bag, and they kept kicking me,” she said, estimating the attack lasted about 10 minutes. “Just absolute craziness, and I didn’t see anybody trying to stop it.”

SCOTUS Urged to Hear Case of Reporter Catherine Herridge

Fox News legal analyst and George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley urged the Supreme Court to review journalist Catherine Herridge’s case, warning that rejecting it could set a precedent making it easier to compel reporters to reveal confidential sources and undermine investigative journalism.⁠

In an column Saturday in The Hill, Turley said Herridge—a former Fox News and CBS national security reporter—is in the “fight of her life” to protect source confidentiality, the “most vital prerequisite of the free press.” He argued the Court should correct a “terrible wrong,” clarify the murky 1972 Branzburg v. Hayes precedent, and address a circuit split on reporter’s privilege.

Retailers Project Record $1T Holiday Shopping Season

American retailers are expected to top $1 trillion in holiday sales for the first time this year, but the record is being driven largely by wealthier households while others face rising costs for everyday necessities.

The Boston Globe reports the National Retail Federation forecast Thursday that retail sales will grow 4.2 percent to $1.013 trillion in November and December, up from $972 billion last year and faster than the 3.1 percent gain in 2025. Chief economist Mark Matthews said the total does not mean all Americans are flush with cash. Higher-income households are spending more, while rising gas and food prices pressure lower-income shoppers, producing what he called a “K-shaped” economy in which the wealthy continue to do well and others fall further behind.

Off Air Since June, Four S.Dakota Stations Return

Energy 106.7 morning show hosts Joe Swanson
and Sarah Jorges (Newton News photos)

Four long-silent central Iowa radio stations—KCOB-AM 1280 and KCOB-FM 95.9 in Newton, KGRN-AM 1410 in Grinnell, and Hot AC “Energy 106.7” (KRTI)—have been purchased by Yankton, South Dakota-based Riverfront Broadcasting of Iowa and are back on the air with restored local programming and familiar voices.⁠

Riverfront, owned by Carolyn and Doyle Becker, acquired the cluster from Connoisseur Media in early September 2026 for $40,000 under an asset purchase agreement filed with the FCC. A local marketing agreement allowed operations to begin October 1. The stations had been off the air since Connoisseur abruptly shut them down on June 9 for financial reasons after acquiring them as part of its purchase of Alpha Media.

Intense Backlash Over Sweeney Latest Commercials

A Los Angeles Dodgers player joined parents in criticizing sexualized commercials that aired repeatedly during Major League Baseball playoffs this week, calling them unsuitable for children watching games.

Alex Call, a left fielder not on the postseason roster, posted Wednesday asking networks to “get the soft porn ads off playoff broadcasts.” He wrote that his son “wants to watch baseball with Dada,” but “half-naked women could come on screen anytime.” The post replied to an entrepreneur who said the ads risked alienating kids and urged, “Just show baseball in a way I can leave on in my house.” A mother replied that she had to explain to her 10-year-old that the ads were “trying to exploit his young brain.”

The spots included Sydney Sweeney promoting the Novig gambling prediction market and Megan Fox endorsing a male enhancement product from Ro. Casual fans had already been complaining about the ads on social media.

If It Ends, It's Going To End Badly

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are still locked in to call Super Bowl LXI for ESPN on Valentine’s Day, but things between them are clearly a little frosty right now.

During a Thursday interview with 96.7 The Ticket in Dallas, Aikman basically confirmed the reports that there’s been some real tension between the two over their contract situations. Buck just locked in a monster six-year, $108 million extension with ESPN. Aikman? He’s still waiting. His deal runs out after this season, and from what we’re hearing, ESPN hasn’t even put a formal offer on the table yet.

Billy Joel Says He Can't Drive or Perform

Billy Joel says it is unclear when he will perform again after his 2025 brain disorder diagnosis, telling the Hollywood Reporter he must first undergo “a series of tests.”

According to the L-A Times, the 77-year-old singer is not allowed to drive and cannot return to the stage, he said in the interview published Thursday. “What the neurologist told me, every time you do a show, it’s like you’re getting a concussion,” Joel explained. Doctors have warned that lighting and sound can stress the body, and they told him, “You really shouldn’t be doing that right now.”

Survey: Half of Us Don't Use AI Chatbots

About half of U.S. adults—51 percent—say they never use AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in February 2026.⁠

Among these non-users, lack of interest stands out as the leading barrier. Six in ten cite it as a major reason they avoid the tools, while 23 percent call it a minor factor, for a combined 83 percent. Concerns about personal data follow closely: 54 percent name privacy worries as a major reason, and another 24 percent say it is a minor one. Distrust in accuracy ranks third, with 45 percent viewing it as a major obstacle and 30 percent as a minor one.

Radio History: Oct 19

Bern Bennett

➦In 1921...Announcer Bern Bennett born (Died at age 92 – May 29, 2014). For nearly sixty years, beginning in 1944, Bennett was a staff announcer at CBS Radio and television. In the 1940s and 1950s, he was closely associated with Bud Collyer, as announcer on three Collyer-hosted game shows, Winner Take All, Beat the Clock, and To Tell the Truth, all produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman.

Other radio programs for which Bennett was the announcer included This Is Broadway, School of the Air and Breakfast With Burrows. In 1960, he was host of Upbeat Saturday Night, a 30-minute program featuring live jazz music on CBS radio.

➦In 1937...the radio classic, “Big Town“, made its debut on CBS radio. Star reporters at the Illustrated Press, Steve Wilson and Lorelei Kilbourne, were played by Edward G. Robinson and Claire Trevor. In 1942 they were succeeded by Edward Pawley and Fran Carlon, who carried the show for most of its 14 year run.

Julius LaRosa

➦In 1953...Julius LaRosa was fired live on-air by Arthur Godfrey.

La Rosa was on Godfrey's shows from November 19, 1951 to October 19, 1953. When Archie Bleyer, Godfrey's bandleader, formed Cadence Records in 1952, the first performer signed was La Rosa. Cadence's first single, which was also La Rosa's first recording, was "Anywhere I Wander." It reached the top 30 on the charts, and his next recording, "My Lady Loves To Dance", was a moderate success.

After La Rosa's third recording, and a dispute with Godfrey over his failure to attend a Godfrey-mandated dance class required of all cast members, La Rosa hired his own agent and manager: Tommy Rockwell.

Radio News Summary: Week of October 12–17, 2026

The week featured major ownership and financial shifts, programming continuity, research affirming radio’s reach, industry honors, leadership changes, and several notable passings, alongside announcements of upcoming events.

Station and Ownership Developments