S-F Radio: KNBR Hosts Rebuke DHS Commercial

Some hosts at KNBR, the San Francisco sports radio station owned by Cumulus Media, have publicly expressed outrage over a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) advertisement airing on their station. 

The ad, part of a $200 million nationwide media campaign launched by the Trump administration in mid-March, features Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem thanking President Donald Trump for “securing our border” and issuing a stern warning to “illegal aliens” to “leave now” or face deportation. In the Bay Area, DHS allocated over $150,000 to blanket local TV and radio, including at least $30,000 across the region’s top four broadcast TV stations and a significant portion on KNBR, the flagship station for the San Francisco Giants and 49ers.

The controversy erupted when KNBR’s afternoon show co-host Adam Copeland, a former program director, returned from vacation on March 12 and heard the spot. 

On air, he unleashed a fiery rebuke, calling it a “stupid-ass racist Homeland Security ad” and emphasizing that it had “nothing to do with KNBR.” Copeland, who co-hosts Dirty Work (2-6 p.m.), told listeners he was “pissed” and insisted the decision came from Cumulus’s national corporate level, not the local station. He even threatened to talk over the ads and instructed producer Tim Webb to warn listeners when they were about to air so they could switch stations or mute their radios. “This is absolutely insane that we are airing these spots,” he fumed, highlighting the irony of mandatory diversity and inclusion training at KNBR while corporate accepted DHS funds for what he deemed discriminatory content.

Longtime morning host Brian Murphy (Murph and Markus, 6-10 a.m.) echoed Copeland’s frustration earlier that week, clarifying to listeners that the ad was “out of our market” and a “national, corporate decision.” Co-host Markus Boucher visibly raised his arm in disgust during the segment. Both hosts urged listeners to direct complaints to Cumulus’s corporate offices, distancing KNBR’s local team from the ad’s placement. The station’s hosts, known for keeping sports talk apolitical, found the intrusion of what they called “anti-immigration propaganda” particularly jarring, especially on a platform traditionally focused on Giants, 49ers, and Warriors coverage.

The ad’s content—featuring Noem’s blunt message, “If you don’t, we will find you and we will deport you. You will never return”—drew ire for its tone and perceived targeting. Copeland and others labeled it “racist,” a sentiment amplified by posts on X and coverage from outlets like SFGATE and Awful Announcing. 

Cumulus, which controls ad placements across its 400 stations, did not respond to SFGATE’s inquiries, leaving local hosts powerless to stop the spots. Copeland claimed he’d emailed management and was “on top of it,” but the ads persisted as of March 28, reflecting corporate’s financial priorities over local sentiment. The episode underscores tensions between national directives and regional identity at KNBR, a station already navigating budget cuts and staff shakeups, including the loss of hosts like Tom Tolbert and John Lund in late 2024.