Good Morning! The Pulse Has Your Briefing for Tuesday, April 28

Radio Broadcasting

A proposed merger between SiriusXM Holdings and iHeartMedia could create the largest advertising and podcasting company in the United States. The deal would combine the companies’ extensive radio networks and popular podcast libraries as both firms seek to counter declining listenership amid the ongoing shift to streaming platforms. Early-stage discussions, first reported by Bloomberg on Friday, are being viewed primarily as a defensive strategy.

Cumulus Media has promoted Art Webb to Program Director for its flagship News/Talk stations KABC 790 AM in Los Angeles and KSFO 810 AM in San Francisco. Webb, who has served as Assistant Program Director and Executive Producer for the stations since 2017, succeeds Luis Segura, who was recently promoted to Operations Manager for Cumulus’s WMAL-FM in Washington, D.C.

WEEI Boston announced Monday that Rich Shertenlieb will co-host the station’s new afternoon drive program alongside former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson and Ken Laird. Titled “Rich and Ken With Ted Johnson,” the show represents a major lineup change as WEEI attempts to challenge 98.5 The Sports Hub’s strong ratings in the afternoon slot.

Media Industry

President Trump called Monday for Disney and ABC to immediately fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a joke about First Lady Melania Trump, labeling the remark a “despicable call to violence.” The comment was made during Kimmel’s mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech on April 23, when he said of the First Lady: “Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.” Trump posted on Truth Social that Kimmel “should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC,” adding that the joke was “far beyond the pale.”

Kimmel pushed back against calls for his dismissal from Donald and Melania Trump, stating that the “expectant widow” line was a harmless roast about the couple’s age difference and not an incitement to violence. The quip gained additional attention after a foiled assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

CBS News has removed its London bureau chief, Claire Day, following a clash with editor-in-chief Bari Weiss over the network’s coverage of Iran and Gaza, according to sources. Shayndi Raice, a veteran journalist recently hired from The Wall Street Journal, will take over as foreign editor. She will oversee all international coverage and begin working from London on May 11.

U.S. News

Federal prosecutors have charged Cole Allen, 31, the suspected gunman in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, with attempting to assassinate President Trump. Allen allegedly opened fire Saturday outside the event at a Washington hotel where he was a guest. He faces a potential life sentence. One of his federal public defenders emphasized that Allen is presumed innocent and has no prior criminal record. 

Iran has presented regional mediators with a new proposal to halt its attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a complete end to the conflict. The offer includes the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and a postponement of nuclear negotiations, according to officials familiar with the matter. The proposal aims to break the current deadlock and restart talks. President Trump has discussed the offer with his national security team, the White House said.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla are scheduled to join President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for tea at the White House as part of the royal couple’s U.S. visit. The trip is intended to mark America’s 250th anniversary and help repair the strained “Special Relationship” between the U.S. and U.K. during the second Trump administration.

Trump Demands Disney Fire Jimmy Kimmel

• Jimmy Kimmel has a long history of targeting President Donald Trump in his comedy, but recent backlash intensified after his “expectant widow” joke about Melania Trump, prompting the first lady to declare that people like Kimmel “shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.”
• Her husband echoed the criticism. The remarks came after Kimmel’s pre-White House Correspondents’ Dinner joke went viral in the wake of the foiled assassination attempt at the event.
• This is not the first time Kimmel has faced consequences for controversial comments. Last fall, he was suspended by ABC after a remark about the assassinated conservative leader Charlie Kirk.
• In Monday night’s monologue, Kimmel defended the latest joke as “a light roast” about the first couple’s age difference and “not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination.” He expressed sympathy, saying he was sorry that the president and everyone at the event went through the “traumatic and scary experience.”
• ABC had no comment Monday.

President Trump on Monday called for Disney and ABC to immediately fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a joke about first lady Melania Trump, describing the remark as a “despicable call to violence.”

The comment came during Kimmel’s mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech on April 23, where he said of the first lady: “Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”

Trump posted on Truth Social: “Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.” He added that the joke was “far beyond the pale.”

First lady Melania Trump also condemned the host on X, calling his rhetoric “hateful and violent” and urging ABC to “take a stand” against him. “His monologue about my family isn’t comedy, his words are corrosive,” she wrote.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized Kimmel during Monday’s press briefing. Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Context of the Joke

Kimmel’s remark was made days before a shooting outside the correspondents’ dinner on Saturday. Suspected gunman Cole Allen faces charges including attempting to assassinate Trump, the third such attempt according to the White House. The first lady was seated next to the president during the incident and had to be ushered to safety.

This is not the first clash. In September, Disney temporarily pulled Kimmel’s show after he mocked Trump’s response to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and appeared to link the killer to the MAGA movement without evidence. Kimmel returned after four days following widespread backlash.

The latest dispute highlights ongoing friction between the Trump administration and the media. Last week, FBI Director Kash Patel sued The Atlantic for defamation. Trump has also pursued defamation lawsuits against outlets including The Wall Street Journal, with plans to refile a dismissed case.

Earlier this year, the FCC issued guidance on equal-time rules for broadcast television, widely seen as targeting late-night shows that frequently feature Democratic guests.

Jimmy Kimmel Plays The Victim Card

Jimmy Kimmel pushed back Monday against calls from Donald and Melania Trump for his firing, insisting his “expectant widow” joke about the first lady was a harmless roast about the couple’s age difference and not an incitement to violence, despite the quip going viral after a foiled assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

The late-night host addressed the controversy head-on during the opening monologue of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, defending the pre-event remark that drew sharp criticism from the Trumps in the wake of the April 25 shooting incident at the Washington Hilton.

“Sometimes, you wake up in the morning and the first lady puts out a statement demanding you be fired from your job,” Kimmel said. “We’ve all been there, right?”

Jimmy Kimmel addresses calls for him to be fired by First Lady Melania and President Donald Trump, claims his “expectant widow joke” was about their age difference, not assassination.

Regardless of his intent, he was joking about the President dying and Melania being happy about… pic.twitter.com/2FQ0bOjwGN

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 28, 2026

He described the joke as “a pretend roast,” recounting: “I said, ‘Our First Lady Melania is here. Look at her, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.’ It was a joke about their age difference, and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together. It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am. It was not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination. And they know that.”

Bill O'Reilly Rips Norah O'Donnell For Reading 'Thoughts of a Loon'

Bill O'Reilly sharply criticized CBS's 60 Minutes and anchor Norah O'Donnell for reading excerpts from the alleged White House Correspondents' Dinner gunman's manifesto during her Sunday, interview with President Donald Trump, calling it irresponsible journalism that amplified a violent criminal's deranged thoughts instead of focusing on the security failure or facts of the attack.

O'Reilly argued in his No Spin News breakdown of the interview that O'Donnell's choice to quote the suspect's manifesto—described by Trump as the writings of a "sick person"—crossed an ethical line by giving the would-be assassin a national platform. He portrayed it as classic liberal media bias: sensational and confrontational rather than responsible, forcing the president into a defensive reaction over inflammatory, unsubstantiated claims instead of probing deeper issues like Secret Service protocols or the gunman's background.

In the broadcast segment, O'Donnell directly read lines from the manifesto of suspect Cole Thomas Allen, who allegedly charged a security checkpoint at the Saturday dinner event and wrote that he was "no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes." 

Trump, who had been relatively composed, erupted, calling O'Donnell "disgraceful" and "horrible people" for amplifying the document. He insisted he was "not any of those things" and accused the network of knowing it would provoke him.

CBS News Ousts London Bureau Chief

CBS News has ousted its London bureau chief, Claire Day, after she clashed with editor-in-chief Bari Weiss over the network’s coverage of Iran and Gaza, according to sources familiar with the situation.

A CBS insider told The NY Post that Shayndi Raice, a veteran journalist recently hired from The Wall Street Journal, will step in as the new foreign editor. She will oversee all international coverage for CBS News and will be based in London starting May 11. 

Bari Weiss

Day, a nearly 25-year CBS veteran, is exiting her role on May 1. In a memo to staff, CBS News president Tom Cibrowski announced the leadership shift: “Our London Bureau will be moving to a new editorial leadership structure, with the introduction of a foreign editor role overseeing all international coverage.”

The move reflects broader changes at CBS News under the leadership of Weiss, who was brought in by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison. Sources indicate Day pushed back on editorial decisions regarding Middle East reporting, leading to tensions with Weiss. 

One additional report mentioned internal accusations about how the London bureau operated, though specifics remain limited.

Raice brings significant experience to the role. She previously served as deputy bureau chief for the Middle East and North Africa at The Wall Street Journal, where she covered security issues following the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. Earlier in her career, she worked as the Journal’s Midwest bureau chief and reported on tech and finance.

PSKY Seeks FCC Approval of Foreign Investments

Paramount Skydance has formally asked the FCC to approve foreign investments supporting its planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to regulatory filings made public Monday.

The filing is standard procedure for such transactions and is not required for the deal to close, a Paramount spokesperson said. FCC rules regulate foreign ownership in U.S. television broadcasting.

David Ellison

Current and expected foreign investors would own slightly less than 50% of Paramount’s equity after the investments. However, the family of Paramount CEO David Ellison would retain control of voting shares, the company stated in the filing.

Paramount disclosed last year that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Abu Dhabi’s L'imad Holding Company, and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) had committed to back the Warner Bros. Discovery takeover.

Approval from the FCC would lower barriers to additional foreign capital, helping Paramount expand its television broadcast operations. The company said the new equity and expected cost savings from the Skydance merger would better equip it to handle ongoing industry challenges for broadcasters and linear pay-TV networks.

The FCC approved Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media in July 2025. FCC Chair Brendan Carr recently told Reuters that the commission’s role in the Warner Bros. deal would be limited, noting that the foreign ownership structure appears to qualify as bona fide debt under FCC rules.

L-A, S- F Radio: Art Webb Named PD At Talk KABC-AM, KSFO

Cumulus Media announces that it has promoted Art Webb to Program Director for Cumulus Media’s high-powered News/Talk stations, KABC 790 AM in Los Angeles and KSFO 810 AM in San Francisco. 

Webb rises from Assistant Program Director and Executive Producer for the stations, roles he has held since 2017. He steps into the role previously held by Luis Segura, who was promoted to Operations Manager for Cumulus Washington, D.C.’s News/Talker WMAL-FM earlier this month.

Prior to joining Cumulus Los Angeles, Webb worked in Broadcast Services for Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA, for over a decade. He was also Programming Manager for Podcast One in Beverly Hills, CA, and Program Director and Production Manager/On-Air Talent for Burbank’s New Normal Music and “The Tom Leykis Show.”

Larry Blumhagen, Regional Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus Los Angeles/San Francisco, said: “Art has proven to be exceptionally dedicated and creative in his years as APD for KABC. We are eager to watch him bring those qualities to the role of Program Director for KABC and KSFO.”

Art Webb commented: “I’m excited to step into this role and build on the strong foundation already in place at both stations. Our focus remains on creating engaging, relevant content that truly connects with California listeners while continuing to elevate the incredible work of our talented teams. With such outstanding rosters in Los Angeles and San Francisco, I'm looking forward to sharing in much success together."

🎧To stream KABC 790 AM, visit: https://www.kabc.com/. To stream KSFO 810 AM, visit: https://www.ksfo.com/.

iHM, SiriusXM Facing Erosion of Core Businesses

A merger between SiriusXM Holdings and iHeartMedia would create the largest advertising and podcasting company in the U.S., combining their extensive radio footprints and popular podcast libraries to help the firms slow their decline amid listeners' shift to streaming platforms.

The early-stage talks, first reported by Bloomberg on Friday, are viewed primarily as a defensive move. 

While the deal would make the combined entity bigger, analysts say it would likely do little to reverse the broader industry challenges from competition by Spotify, Apple Music, and video podcast platforms like YouTube, according Marketwatch's Lukus Alpert. 

The potential tie-up would marry SiriusXM's satellite radio network with iHeartMedia's 860 terrestrial stations, forming a major advertising behemoth. It would also create the country's largest podcast company by uniting hit shows such as "Call Her Daddy," "Smartless," and "Things You Should Know."

However, both companies face ongoing erosion in their core businesses. Traditional and satellite radio audiences continue to shrink as consumers move to on-demand streaming. A recent Jacobs Media survey found the share of people who regularly listen to broadcast radio dropped from 77% a decade ago to 54% in 2026, while digital radio listening rose from 20% to 44%.

Red Apple Audio Networks Powers Up Weekends

Red Apple Audio Networks is proud to introduce Rockin’ the Decades with Tony Orlando, a new nationally syndicated music radio show that brings together one of the most recognizable voices in entertainment with the songs that defined generations. For two hours each weekend, Tony Orlando takes listeners on a nostalgic trip through time as he hits play on the most iconic and timeless songs spanning the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and beyond.

“Music has a way of bringing us back to the moments that matter most, and I’m excited to share that journey with listeners across the country," said Orlando. "Rockin’ the Decades is more than just great songs — it’s the stories, the memories, and the feelings that never fade. We’re going to celebrate the soundtrack of our lives every weekend.”

Orlando, who had been on 77WABC in New York since 2020, has a proven track record of connecting listeners to the soundtrack of their lives with the biggest hits of the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and beyond and behind-the-scenes stories from the artists who made them legendary.

“Rockin’ the Decades with Tony Orlando is a personality-driven experience built around timeless hits, storytelling, and connection,” said Chad Lopez, President Red Apple Media, the parent of Red Apple Audio Networks and 77WABC. “With his unmistakable charm and decades of experience in the music and broadcast industries, Tony brings every decade to life.”

Fox News To Air Extensive Coverage of King Charles Visit

FOX News Media (FNM) will present special live coverage of King Charles III’s state visit to the United States beginning Tuesday, April 28th. Anchor and executive editor of The Story (weekdays, 3 PM/ET), Martha MacCallum will lead coverage from Washington, D.C., reporting live on the key moments and ceremonies surrounding the visit.

Across its platforms, FOX News Media will follow King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s four-day trip commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence. FOX News Channel’s London-based senior correspondent Benjamin Hall, along with correspondents Jonathan Hunt and David Spunt, will contribute throughout the visit. Guests, including Piers Morgan Uncensored host Piers Morgan, The Sun editor at large Harry Cole, royals expert Kinsey Schofield, royal broadcaster Neil Sean, and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s foreign policy researcher Nile Gardiner, will also provide analysis.

FOX News Audio will report on the state visit with special coverage from the FOX News Rundown podcast, FOX News Headlines 24/7, The Brian Kilmeade Show, FOX Across America with Jimmy Failla and The Guy Benson Show. FOX News Digital will provide continuous coverage with a dedicated live blog, real-time updates, and expert commentary across its homepage. FOX Nation, FOX News Media’s streaming service, will stream the state dinner on April 28, along with additional events throughout the visit.

Radio History: April 28

➦In 1922...WOI-AM, Ames, Iowa, became the country's first licensed educational radio station.

The history of WOI can be traced back to 1911 when Physics Professor "Dad" Hoffman set a transmission line between the Campus Water Tower and the Engineering Building and set up a wireless telegraph station. By 1913 this was known as experimental station 9YI and it was sending and receiving weather reports by morse code on a regular basis. The first sound broadcast was an hour of concert music on November 21, 1921.

The Commerce Department issued a full radio license for station WOI in April 1922 and the first regular broadcast took place on April 28, 1922. It is the oldest fully licensed noncommercial station west of the Mississippi River. The original callsign 9YI is now WOYI and is retained by the ISU Campus Radio Club, with the amateur radio station located in the Electrical Engineering building.  The first regular programming on WOI was farm market reports gathered by ticker tape and morse code and broadcast throughout the state.

➦In 1932..."One Man's Family" was first aired on the NBC Radio Network.

One Man's Family, was an American radio soap opera, heard for almost three decades, from 1932 to 1959. It was the longest-running uninterrupted dramatic serial in the history of American radio. Television versions of the series aired in prime time from 1949 to 1952 and in daytime from 1954 to 1955.

One Man's Family debuted as a radio series on April 29, 1932 in Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco, moving to the full West Coast NBC network the following month, sponsored by Snowdrift and Wesson Oil. On May 17, 1933, it expanded to the full coast-to-coast NBC network as the first West Coast show heard regularly on the East Coast. The show was broadcast as a weekly half-hour series (1933-1950), sponsored by Standard Brands from 1935 through 1949, then shifted to daily 15-minute installments, initially originating from the studios of San Francisco radio station KPO, NBC's flagship station for the West Coast, eventually moving to Los Angeles.

➥In 1958...Herb Oscar Anderson started at WMCA 570 AM NYC.   H-O-A became the morning personality at 77WABC during most of the 1960s.  When he arrived at WABC in 1960, the station was in the early stages of a battle for listeners with WMCA, WINS and WMGM. He was one of the station’s “Swingin’ 7” air personalities, a group that included Scott Muni and was known as the All Americans. But Anderson was a throwback in a changing music scene, a fan of the big band sound, not necessarily the rock ’n’ roll he was playing on a 50,000-watt station that reached well beyond the city limits.

Boston Radio: WEEI Snags Rich Shertenlieb For PM Drive

Rich Shertenlieb, Ken Laird and Ted Johnson

WEEI announced Monday that Rich Shertenlieb will co-host the station’s new afternoon drive show alongside former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson and Ken Laird.

The program, titled “Rich and Ken With Ted Johnson,” marks a significant shakeup for WEEI as it tries to challenge rival 98.5 The Sports Hub’s dominant afternoon ratings.

Audacy’s senior vice president of programming and sports format vice president Mike Thomas, who first paired Shertenlieb with Fred Toucher in morning drive at The Sports Hub in 2009, called Shertenlieb “one of the most dynamic and entertaining voices in Boston media.”

“Paired with Ted’s championship pedigree and insight, and Ken’s deep understanding of the station and its audience, this show brings together a unique combination of credibility, energy and perspective that will resonate with Boston sports fans,” Thomas said in a statement.

The move comes after WEEI’s previous afternoon show, hosted by Andy Hart and Nick “Fitzy” Stevens with Johnson, finished 14th in the Nielsen Audio winter ratings with a 2.7 share. Hart and Stevens were let go last Wednesday. 

In contrast, The Sports Hub’s Felger & Mazz show led the market with a 15.3 share.

Shertenlieb, who arrived in Boston in 2006, previously worked with Johnson at both The Sports Hub and later at WZLX, where Shertenlieb hosted a short-lived morning show that ended in November 2024 after iHeartRadio budget cuts.

“I’m thrilled to be at WEEI and reunite with my buddy and one of my favorite colleagues, Ted Johnson, and work with Ken to see what we can build together,” Shertenlieb said. “The station’s connection to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund makes this deeply personal, given the role those organizations have played in saving my wife’s life.”

The new WEEI weekday programming lineup is as follows.

• 6:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. ET: “Greg Hill Morning Show”
• 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. ET: “Jones & Keefe”
• 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET: “Rich and Ken with Ted Johnson”
• 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. ET: Christian Arcand

Laird launched his radio career at WEEI in 2002. He later returned to Pittsburgh, joining ESPN Radio 1250 as a producer before becoming the station’s Steelers beat reporter and night host through 2011. From 2011 to 2015, he hosted and reported for TribLIVE Radio, covering Pittsburgh’s major teams and Pitt athletics. He rejoined WEEI in 2015 as a morning show producer and weekend host, rising to Operations Manager in 2022 and Brand Manager in 2023. Laird will retain his Operations Manager role.

Johnson is a retired NFL linebacker who was a second-round NFL Draft pick. He played ten seasons with the New England Patriots, winning three Super Bowls. He was named the Patriots team captain for the 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003 and 2004 seasons, Captain of defense, and the signal caller each year of his playing career. Johnson joined WEEI in 2025 after previous media stops with WZLX, 98.5 The Sports Hub, Sports Radio 610 Houston, and CBS Radio. He is also currently a contributor with NBC Sports Boston.

Reuters Study Reveals Young People’s News Consumption Shifts

A major new report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford shows that people aged 18–24 now get most of their news through social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube rather than traditional news websites or apps. 

The study “Understanding Young News Audiences at a Time of Rapid Change” synthesizes more than a decade of data and finds that news for this group is increasingly incidental, short-form, and personality-driven.

Key findings include:

• Social media is the main gateway to news for young audiences, rising sharply since 2015, while direct access to publisher sites has declined.
• Audiovisual formats dominate: young people prefer watching and listening to news and engage more with individual creators (51%) than traditional news brands (39%).
• Daily news consumption is lower (64% vs. 87% for those 55+), and interest in news and politics is notably weaker.
• News avoidance rates are similar across ages (around 42%), but young people more often cite irrelevance or difficulty understanding the content.
• Younger audiences are far more comfortable with AI tools for news (15% weekly use vs. 3% of older adults) and respond positively to AI-assisted explanations of complex stories.

The report, authored by Dr. Craig T. Robertson, Dr. Amy Ross Arguedas, Mitali Mukherjee, and Dr. Richard Fletcher, notes that differences between young and older audiences are often of degree rather than kind. 

Trust in news is somewhat lower among the young, and they are more open to non-neutral journalism on issues such as climate change or racism.

Implications:  Publishers are urged to meet young audiences where they are, on social platforms, with authentic, visual, short-form, and interactive content. 

The study highlights successful experiments by both large and small news organizations and stresses the importance of relevance, personality-led formats, and creator collaborations to sustain engagement.

The analysis draws primarily from the annual Reuters Institute Digital News Report (2013–2025) and supporting qualitative research. It emphasizes that young people (“social natives”) are not disengaged but consume news differently in a fragmented, algorithm-driven media environment where news competes directly with entertainment. 

The full report is available as a free PDF on the Reuters Institute website.