Report: The View Would Like Karoline Leavitt At The Table

ABC’s The View wants outgoing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt as a permanent panelist and has already invited her on as a guest, two sources told the Daily Mail. 

Leavitt is considering the idea, and President Donald Trump and other White House officials have enthusiastically backed it.

Thursday was Leavitt’s last day in the job. 

The 29-year-old announced earlier this month that she would leave at the end of August to spend more time with her newborn daughter, Viviana, and her 2-year-old son, Nicholas.

Karoline Leavitt

Producers want her on soon after she leaves as a test run but are serious about adding her to the all-female daytime lineup, one source said. A second source said official talks have not started, though ABC representatives have made their interest clear to people close to Leavitt.

Leavitt declined to comment. ABC also declined. 

The show’s 30th season begins this fall with all six current hosts returning: Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Ana Navarro and Alyssa Farah Griffin.

Discussions of future media jobs while still in government are legally sensitive. Officials cannot negotiate private-sector opportunities while in office. Under President Joe Biden, then-press secretary Jen Psaki drew criticism for lining up an MSNBC role before announcing her White House exit.

Adding Leavitt — widely seen by MAGA supporters as Trump’s strongest communicator — would mark a sharp shift for The View, which has long struggled to land an authentic conservative foil for its largely liberal panel. 

CNY Radio: Talker Bill Keeler Finds New Radio Home

Bill Keeler will return to morning radio on 92.7 The Drive (WXUR) on Tuesday, Sept. 8, airing live weekdays from 5 to 9 a.m.

The announcement was first reported CNYRadio.com. He will be joined by former WIBX colleagues Davey Smith and Jeff Monaski, plus Jay Aiello. The show will also stream live on Keeler’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Live 365 and The Drive’s website.

Keeler was let go earlier this month from Townsquare Media’s 950 WIBX, along with Smith and Monaski. WXUR is dropping the nationally syndicated “Bob and Tom Show” to make room for the local program.

Keeler said local ownership was a deciding factor. “Local radio works when it’s actually local,” he said. “It means the people making decisions live here, work here, know the businesses, know the charities, know the important players and, most importantly, know the people listening.”

He added that the new show will include “everything we did at IBX, plus all the things they wouldn’t let us do.” He also noted he is returning to studios he built 20 years ago and will work with Program Director “Genesee” Joe Trisolino and station owner Mindy Barstein.

Barstein, WXUR’s GM and owner, said the hire returns radio to “entertaining, informing and serving the local community.” With Keeler in the morning and Genesee Joe in the afternoon, she said The Drive will be “the only full time live radio station playing music you won’t hear anywhere else.”

Trisolino called Keeler “a local radio legend” and said the move gives the station a fully local lineup. “This is why WE DARE TO BE DIFFERENT,” he said.

MN Radio: Connoisseur Media To Shed Four More Stations

Connoisseur Media has agreed to sell four Minnesota radio stations serving Austin and Albert Lea to Hometown Broadcasting of Austin and Albert Lea, LLC.

The deal covers NewsTalk KAUS-AM and KAUS-FM in Austin and Countrty KATE-AM and A/C KCPI-FM in Albert Lea. It is subject to FCC approval and is expected to close in early fall.

Connoisseur said the sale is part of an effort to refine its station portfolio and focus resources on markets where it believes it can have a greater impact. The move continues a strategy adopted after Connoisseur acquired Alpha Media’s stations in September 2025.

Jeff Warshaw

“The Austin and Albert Lea market area was not a market where we felt Connoisseur could make a meaningful difference with the focus and approach we bring to radio,” said founder and CEO Jeff Warshaw.

Warshaw said the company looks for strong local operators when a market does not fit its strategy. He said Connoisseur had been talking with Hometown Broadcasting CEO Greg Jensen for some time and was impressed by Jensen’s commitment to the communities and desire to return to radio.

“We look forward to serving our communities and surrounding areas with hometown ideas, local broadcasting and a commitment to being an active part of the communities we serve,” Jensen said. “We also look forward to hearing from our listeners and community members and building these stations together.”

CBC Tells Journalists To Avoid Calling 9/11 'Terrorist' Attacks

CBC News has defended an internal memo telling reporters and editors not to describe the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as “terrorist attacks,” saying the guidance reflects its longstanding practice of attributing politically and emotionally loaded terms rather than applying them independently.

CBC Public Affairs Director Kerry Kelly told Fox News Digital that the network “exercise[s] extreme caution before using the words ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism.’” She said the memo was “a reminder of the longstanding practice that favors the use of these terms with attribution in our reporting.”

The memo, written by Basem Boshra, CBC News’ senior director of journalistic standards and public trust, surfaced ahead of the attacks’ 25th anniversary. Toronto Sun columnist Warren Kinsella first reported it and said it was addressed to CBC News staff. 

It instructed: “Do not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks.” It instead described the events as hijackings that led to passenger-jet crashes in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Manhattan and said the World Trade Center was destroyed.

Critics condemned the language. New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino called the guidance “outrageous and insulting” and said it showed “callous disregard for the memory of those who perished on 9/11” and a “deliberate effort to undermine the fundamental truth of what happened that day.” 

Conservative Canadian MP Rachael Thomas called it “absolutely shameful,” saying CBC was “choosing to redefine terrorism in a way that downplays the atrocity of 9/11” and that “9/11 was an act of terrorism. Full stop.” 

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said describing the attacks as “hijackings that led to crashes” sanitized history and marked a “collapse of journalistic standards.”

Howard Loses Archive Channel, As SiriusXM Revamps Channel Settings

SiriusXM has dropped Howard Stern’s Howard 101 channel from its lineup, adding weight to reports that Stern will cut back his schedule when he returns from summer break.

The change takes effect Sept. 1 as SiriusXM updates channel numbers across sports, entertainment, comedy, news, talk and music. Radio Andy will move from Channel 102 to Channel 101. Howard 100 will stay on Channel 100. Howard 101 will leave the lineup.

Among the changes, Audacy sports stations will fill the following channels

• WFAN New York (channel 94)
• 
  KSPN Los Angeles (channel 95)
• WSCR Chicago (channel 96)
• WEEI Boston (channel 97)
• WIP Philadelphia (channel 98)
• KRLD-FM Dallas (channel 99)
• KDKA-FM Pittsburgh (channel 169)
• WXYT-FM Detroit (channel 170)
• KGMZ San Francisco (channel 171)
• WKRK-FM Cleveland (channel 172)

Howard 101 originally carried programs Stern selected, including “Bubba the Love Sponge” and sports talker Scott Ferrall, then became a home for Stern archives and extra programming.

The shutdown follows two rounds of layoffs affecting about 50 employees tied to “The Howard Stern Show” and its SiriusXM channels. Reports say many of those laid off worked mainly on Howard 101.The staffing cuts and channel removal come as questions grow about Stern’s longer-term role. He signed a three-year contract in December 2025 that runs through 2028.

Stern is also reportedly reducing his live schedule from two days a week to one. That would lessen the need for a second dedicated channel, with Howard 100 able to air archived shows, interviews and clips.

Meta Is Providing Ray-Ban Meta Glasses To Blind Veterans

Meta is donating Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses to every legally blind veteran in the United States, a program the company says will reach more than 130,000 eligible recipients. 

The glasses are free. Meta and partners, led by the Blinded Veterans Association, are also providing hands-on training so veterans can use the devices to read documents, identify objects, describe their surroundings and move through daily life with more independence. Eligible veterans can request a pair at bva.org/glasses. Veteran organizations can apply through TechSoup. 

Meta announced the program June 12, 2026, under the slogan “The Future Is for Everyone.” Company officials framed the gift as a way to honor veterans who lost their sight in service. Retail prices for the glasses typically range from about $200 to $800, depending on the model. 

The effort was inspired by U.S. Army veteran Don Overton of the 82nd Airborne Division, who lost his vision in a Desert Storm bunker explosion and later worked with Meta’s wearables team on features for blind users.  “When I lost my eyesight in Desert Storm from a bunker explosion, I also lost my independence. The moment I put on my Ray-Ban Meta glasses, I got my independence back,” Overton said. 

Meta President and Vice Chairman Dina Powell McCormick said Overton’s collaboration showed the company it needed a path to every blind veteran in America. CTO Andrew Bosworth called the donation “a profound honor” and said it underscored why Meta builds the technology. Mark Zuckerberg said Meta AI on the glasses can describe what is around a wearer, read documents and help with navigation. 

Partners include the Blinded Veterans Association, Tunnel to Towers, Homes for Our Troops, Lighthouse Guild, American Council of the Blind, National Industries for the Blind and Oscar Mike. Training includes guides, monthly webinars and in-person events. The BVA has said it aims to finish shipping glasses by the end of September 2026. Some reports note BVA membership may be required to request a pair through the association’s site.

Radio History: Aug 29

➦In 1892...Broadcast Pioneer Harry Read was born in Seattle, WA.. He was a co-founder  of KXL Portland OR. Read was Secretary-Treasurer of KXL Broadcasters and, General Manager & Chief Technician KXL Radio.  Today KXL is known as KXTG 750 AM and airs a sports talk format.  It's sister-FM station uses the KXL calls and airs news/talk. Both are now owned by Alpha Media Group.

➦In1914...Radio actor Willard Waterman (right) was born in Madison Wisconsin (Died at age 80 - February 2, 1995).  He was versatile supporting actor. He replaced Harold Peary, on "The Great Gildersleeve," radio program after Peary was unable to convince sponsor and show owner Kraft Cheese to allow him an ownership stake in the show.

He began his radio career at WIBA in Madison, singing in a quartet that performed "musical interludes between programs." and moved to NBC in Chicago in early 1936.

➦In 1936...ABC news anchor Peter Jennings was born in Toronto (Died was age 68 - August 7, 2005). The son of a CBC newsman/exec he had his own half-hour Saturday radio program at age 9.  Before his 30th birthday he anchored briefly for CTV and ABC TV, but was considered too young with insufficient gravitas.  After much reporting from world hot spots he became sole anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight in 1983, an assignment he continued until just before his death from lung cancer.

➦In 1943...summertime replacement show 'Paul Whiteman Presents' was heard on NBC radio for the last time. The hostess was Dinah Shore, and Whiteman led a 35-piece orchestra. His well-known theme song was Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

➦In 1946...Bwana Johnny (left) was born in Oregon (Died at age 59 in 2005).  Bwana, whose real name was Richard Johnson, had been a popular disc jockey at the old 1260/KYA back in the late 1960s. Most recently, he had worked in production with Jones Radio Networks in Seattle before his illness forced him into a care facility.

Before coming to the Bay Area in 1969, "Beautiful Bwana" worked at KLOG/Kelso, Wash., WUBE/Cincinnati and KJR/Seattle.

He moved on to WWDJ/New York as music director and afternoon-drive jock (1971-1973) and spun records for a year at WFUN/Miami before returning to his hometown, Portland, Ore., as "Crazy Dick Simms" on the Rose City's legendary KISN in 1975.

➦In 1957...The ABC radio network purchased KQV 1410 AM in August 29, 1957 for $700,000. ABC hired two executives from Storz Broadcasting to launch the top 40 format in Pittsburgh  They hired Dale Maudy who had been an executive engineer for the Stroz group and Ralph Beaudin, who had been a KOWH sales executive, as the KQV general manager.

The station was one of the oldest in the U-S and went silent on December 31, 2017 For more on KQV: Click Here.

➦In 1966...The Beatles played what would prove to be their last concert before a paying audience at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, to a sold-out crowd of 25,000. John and Paul, knowing what the fans do not (that this will be the last concert ever) brought cameras on stage and took pictures between songs. (Their lone remaining public performance was the 1969 rooftop appearance in London).

Baltimore Radio: WBAL Radio Cuts Local Shows

WBAL NewsRadio in Baltimore said Thursday it is dropping two local weekday talk shows and filling midday hours with nationally syndicated programs from Premiere Networks. 

Local midday host T.J. Smith is leaving the 10 a.m.–2 p.m. slot. Glenn Beck will air from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show from noon to 3 p.m. 

Afternoon host Angelette Aviles, who joined the station a little more than a year ago, is also departing. 

The station will air The Sports Lounge from 3 to 5 p.m., then WBAL News Now with longtime anchor Robert Lang from 5 to 7 p.m. WBAL has not named a Sports Lounge host or explained the exits. 

CNN Uses Photo of Vegas Impersonator To I-D Dolly Parton

CNN has apologized to Dolly Parton’s family after airing a photo of Las Vegas tribute artist Kelly Vohnn instead of the country star during a report on Parton’s death.

R.I.P.: Paul Stagg, MN Hall of Fame Broadcaster

Paul Stagg ('43-'26)

Paul Stagg, a former WCCO Radio and television announcer and 2017 Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductee, died Sunday at the Montevideo Veterans Home. He was 83. 

Stagg, born Paul Steigerwald, spent more than six decades on Minnesota airwaves in roles ranging from on-air talent to station owner. Colleagues remembered his baritone delivery and professional presence across markets large and small. 

Funeral arrangements remain pending. 

He spent 18 years at WCCO in Minneapolis as a staff announcer, music director and program director, reading news and weather and later serving as general manager of WCCO-FM. Under his leadership the station became WLTE, now country station KMNB (102.9 The Wolf). 

SCOTUS May Get Request To Rule On Lowest Unit Charge

National Democrats and Republicans are pressuring local broadcast stations in opposite directions after a federal appeals court this week struck down an FCC policy that would have given political parties and related groups the same discounted broadcast ad rates as individual candidates, Axios reported. 

How stations respond could determine which party’s money buys more airtime in the closing stretch of the 2026 midterms and, with it, the fight for Congress. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled 2-1 that the “lowest unit charge” required by federal law applies only to legally qualified candidates, not to party committees or joint fundraising committees that include non-candidate members. The court set aside a March FCC Media Bureau notice that would have extended those discounts beginning Sept. 4, the start of the 60-day pre-election window. 

Outside groups often pay several times what candidates pay for the same spots. The ruling favors Democrats’ typical fundraising pattern. Democratic candidates generally raise more directly; Republicans have been stronger at the party-committee and super PAC level. Combined with a June Supreme Court decision that lifted caps on coordinated party spending, Republicans had hoped to flood the airwaves at candidate rates. 

The 4th Circuit blocked that path unless the Supreme Court intervenes. 

Good Moring!! It's Friday And The Pulse Has Your Aug 28 Briefing

Radio Broadcasting

Lowest Unit Rates:  National Democrats and Republicans are pressuring local broadcast stations in opposite directions after a federal appeals court this week struck down an FCC policy that would have given political parties and related groups the same discounted broadcast ad rates as individual candidates

WBAL Drops Most Local Shows: WBAL NewsRadio in Baltimore said Thursday it is dropping two local weekday talk shows and filling midday hours with nationally syndicated programs from Premiere Networks. 

Dolly Spins Surge: Spotify reports songs by Dolly Parton they jumped 2,320% the day she died compared with her average over the prior week; globally, they rose 1,260%. 

RIP: Paul Stagg, a former WCCO Radio and television announcer and 2017 Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductee, died Sunday at the Montevideo Veterans Home. He was 83.

Fox Corp, News Corp Considering Re-Merger

Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan Murdoch are considering a remeger of Fox Corp. and News Corp., a combination that would reunite the family’s television and publishing businesses and tighten their hold on what remains of the media empire, newly unsealed Nevada court records show. The discussions surfaced in documents and testimony unsealed in recent weeks from the family’s 2023–25 succession fight. 

Reuters reports Probate Commissioner Edmund Gorman released findings at the end of July. An attorney for Lachlan argued in a June hearing that merger-related material should stay sealed or redacted because a deal “still could happen in the future.” 

A combined company would bring together Fox News, the Fox broadcast network (including NFL games), The Wall Street Journal, The Sun and the New York Post. 

Rupert Murdoch

In June, Fox, led by Lachlan, agreed to buy streaming platform Roku for about $22 billion to reach more than 100 million households as traditional TV shrinks. That deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027. 

Court files show Rupert, then chairman of both companies, revived the idea of putting them back together in 2022, less than a decade after he split them. He drafted a letter telling both boards that the family trust would not “vote in favor of any alternative sale, merger or similar transaction involving either company.” 

Fired Stars & Stripes Staffers Sue the Pentagon

Three Stars and Stripes staffers — publisher Max Lederer, editor in chief Erik Slavin and reporter Lara Korte — sued the Defense Department on Thursday in federal district court in Washington, arguing that their firings last week for “insubordination” were retaliatory, illegal under federal administrative law and a violation of their First Amendment rights. 

They asked a judge to halt the dismissals.

The Pentagon official Andrew Brey had emailed Lederer last week and directed him to fire Slavin and Korte after they participated in a CBS News interview. Lederer refused and instead submitted retirement plans. All three were fired on Friday, with the dismissals set to take effect after five business days. Lederer later confirmed he was fired for refusing to carry out the order.

Spotify Reports Surge In Dolly Parton Songs

Dolly Parton, the country music icon, died Tuesday at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer, her representatives confirmed. Her nephew and head of security, Bryan Seaver, first announced the news in a video posted to her social media accounts. Streams of her catalog surged immediately. 

On U.S. Spotify, they jumped 2,320% the day she died compared with her average over the prior week; globally, they rose 1,260%. 

• “Jolene” climbed 1,225% in the United States and 630% worldwide. 
• “9 to 5” rose 1,030% in the U.S. and 630% globally.