Radio Broadcasting
AM Radio In Demand: New research shows that AM radio continues to play an important role in the lives of Americans 50 and older, especially in terms of access, trusted information, and public safety. While listening habits are evolving, many still rely on AM radio for news, weather reports, emergency alerts, and community programming, leading most to believe that it should remain a standard feature in vehicles.
NPR Makes Cuts: NPR has laid off 10 journalists, including veteran reporters, and accepted voluntary buyouts from at least 18 additional news staffers as part of a cost-cutting reorganization.The public broadcaster also plans to leave eight positions unfilled.
New Foreign I-D Rules Starting: The FCC is moving ahead with revised foreign sponsorship identification rules for broadcasters next year, while at the same time easing pressure on stations by delaying some of the most controversial technical requirements tied to advertising. The FCC’s Media Bureau confirmed this week that revised foreign sponsorship identification requirements adopted in 2024 will take effect June 7 for any new leased programming agreements or renewals signed after that date.
Media Industry
60-Minutes Dispute: Longtime "60 Minutes" correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi's time at CBS News is over after nearly two decades, and she said an editorial dispute over a December story on the Trump administration's enforcement of immigration procedures is the reason why. The TV journalist's contract with the network expired over the weekend, following nearly 20 years at CBS News and more than a decade at "60 Minutes."
Trump vs. Media: President Donald Trump on Wednesday filed a revised lawsuit against the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, after a judge dismissed an earlier complaint that alleged he was defamed by an article about a birthday letter to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The lawsuit is one of several Trump has brought in his personal capacity against news organizations, part of what critics say is a wider pressure campaign against the media.
Final Sentencing: The final person charged in Matthew Perry's 2023 death has been sentenced. Kenneth Iwamasa was sentenced to three years and five months behind bars by U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, marking the end of the criminal proceedings against five people over their involvement in the "Friends" star's overdose death.
U-S News
New Military Strikes: U.S. forces conducted new military strikes against Iran on Wednesday after Tehran launched drones at commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz even as Washington and Tehran continue their efforts to forge a diplomatic settlement to the conflict and keep a fragile cease-fire intact. American forces shot down Iranian drones and hit a drone-control station near Bandar Abbas, a major port city in southern Iran located on the Strait of Hormuz. The site posed a threat to U.S. forces and commercial traffic in the strait, the officials said.
Trump IRS Probe Urged: A bipartisan group of 35 federal judges asked a federal court in Florida to reopen the legal case between President Donald Trump and the Internal Revenue Service and investigate whether the two parties' out-of-court settlement was an act of fraud against the court.
DOJ Opens Carroll Probe: The Justice Department has opened an investigation into writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused President Trump of sexually assaulting her 30 years ago, people familiar with the probe said. DOJ is examining whether Carroll, 82, committed perjury in civil litigation against Trump, the people said.