Musk To Media: People Hate You

Elon Musk told The Economist editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes last week that the public hates the media far more than it hates him.

“I think a lot more people hate you and the media more than you realize,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO fired back during the interview after Beddoes said people loathed him for trying to influence European politics. 

Musk rejected her criticism outright, arguing that distrust of journalists exceeds any opposition directed at him. “The shoe is on the other foot. They hate you. They hate you far more than they hate me,” he said. “I think you’re the problem. The media.” 

He asked whether she recognized the industry’s standing with the public: “Do you realize the media is despised? Do you realize that journalists, the view of journalists is like, it’s like a favorable view of journalists is like 15%?”

Beddoes had confronted Musk over his support for right-wing European political parties, pointing to his wealth, ownership of X, and large following as giving him unusual power to shape politics abroad. 

“Why should you be able to shape European politics? You don’t even live there,” she said. “But do you see why this makes people think that this man who has all this power, he’s the world’s richest man, he thinks he has a right to influence our politics? It’s why people loathe you. I mean, some people do loathe you.”

Musk dismissed the claim by citing his roughly 250 million followers on X as proof he has more supporters than detractors. “Maybe some people do loathe me, and that’s probably true. I don’t care,” he replied. “But the fact that, as you pointed out, a quarter billion people follow me is that I think a lot more people actually like me than don’t.”

Beddoes acknowledged low trust in American journalism but blamed part of the problem on polarization fueled by social media, including content Musk promotes on X. “I think in part there have been mistakes by journalists and journalism. I totally acknowledge that,” she said. “But I also think that the kind of polarized environment, particularly on social media, fostered by the kinds of things you are pushing on X, actually helps make this worse.” 

Musk rejected that explanation and maintained that public disdain for the press remains greater than any dislike of him.

A 2025 Gallup poll underscored the media’s standing, finding that only 28% of Americans had a great deal or fair amount of trust in newspapers, television, and radio to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly—a record low.

Car Makers Spend Millions To Lobby Against AM Radio Act

Automakers and Big Tech interests outspent broadcasters on second-quarter lobbying over the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, according to new disclosures, as Washington’s fight over requiring AM radio in cars continues.

Combined spending by Toyota, Honda, General Motors, and the Consumer Technology Association totaled approximately $4,907,500 in Q2, compared with about $3,990,457 from the radio industry. The gap reverses the first-quarter pattern, when pro-AM spending exceeded opposition by more than $2 million.

Toyota Motor North America led opponents with $2,020,500 in combined lobbying across two filings that listed the AM Act among other issues. American Honda Motor Company reported $1,477,000, while General Motors disclosed $40,000. The Consumer Technology Association spent $1,370,000, with its transportation and mobility filings naming both the AM Act and the BUILD America 250 Act.

On the broadcasters’ side, the National Association of Broadcasters reported $2,620,000 in in-house lobbying and retained two outside firms that each disclosed $30,000 tied to AM radio and the Local Radio Freedom Act. iHeartMedia filed seven reports totaling $1,280,457, and Salem Media reported $30,000.

The AM Act has two potential routes to passage. As a standalone bill, it cleared committee in November 2025 and awaits a House floor vote. Broadcasters also hope it will advance through Rep. Brett Guthrie’s (R-KY) Motor Vehicle Modernization Act if that measure is folded into the BUILD America 250 Act.

President Trump has repeatedly voiced support for the legislation this year, most recently reaffirming it in a Monday radio appearance ahead of a Capitol Hill fly-in. Broadcasters from 31 state associations, joined by AARP, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and local emergency managers, met with lawmakers to urge passage.

Economic Pressures Hit Sports Media

Last week's numerous cuts at ESPN, the network’s biggest in three years, stemmed directly from Disney’s acquisition of NFL Network. Chairman Jimmy Pitaro made the connection explicit in an internal memo, stating that ESPN had made “significant progress” integrating the rival network it had competed against for more than two decades. 

As with any merger, he added, the company “had to make some difficult decisions.” When two organizations combine, executives and bean counters inevitably examine overlapping roles. Where two people perform the same job—or something close to it—one is typically shown the door. That process is now underway as ESPN absorbs NFL Network staff, creating redundancies between its existing talent roster and newly acquired NFLN employees. 

One former ESPN insider predicted the cuts will continue precisely because of those overlapping positions.

These latest reductions fit a grim, recurring pattern. An ex-ESPNer described the company as operating on an approximate three-year layoff cycle, with major cutbacks ordered in 2017, 2020, and 2023. In 2017, high-profile departures included Trent Dilfer, Britt McHenry, Jay Crawford, and Ashley Fox. 

Jimmy Pataro

Three years later the network eliminated roughly 300 mostly behind-the-scenes jobs while scrubbing another 200 open positions. The 2023 round proved the bloodiest talent purge in company history, jettisoning Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, Steve Young, Suzy Kolber, Max Kellerman, Jalen Rose, Vince Carter, Neil Everett, Andre Ward, Doug Kezirian, Chris Chelios, John Dahl, and longtime PR executive Mike Soltys, among others.

The sense of vulnerability marks a sharp departure from ESPN’s earlier decades. From its founding in 1979 through 2009 the network expanded almost without interruption and was widely regarded as immune to the painful downsizings that routinely hit legacy print outlets such as Sports Illustrated. Employees accepted life in the relative isolation of Bristol, Connecticut, in exchange for job security that peers in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, and other media hubs lacked. 

That insulation began to crack in 2009 with the first round of staff reductions. What was once an exception has since become routine, leaving even the once-untouchable sports-media giant exposed to the same economic pressures reshaping the broader industry.

Where Things Stand: Combatting News Deserts

The closure of nearly 3,500 U.S. newspapers from 2005 to 2025 has left 50 million Americans in news deserts, correlating with higher municipal borrowing costs, increased loneliness, lower voter turnout, and reduced civic engagement, according to recent studies.

A Northwestern University analysis found 212 counties now have no local news source and another 1,525 are limited to just one, usually a weekly paper. Many remaining outlets feature consolidated ownership and reduced print frequency. Separately, 60 Minutes reported that nearly 60% of newsroom jobs have disappeared since 2008, with digital growth failing to replace most positions.

As newsrooms shrink, coverage shifts toward high-traffic topics like crime and sports while in-depth reporting on education, health, and the environment declines. A joint study by Rebuild Local News and Muck Rack of 4.2 million articles from 52,000 outlets in early 2026 documented a 75% drop in “local journalist equivalents” since 2022. 

States with fewer local journalists show elevated municipal borrowing costs and higher rates of loneliness; prior research links news closures to weaker government accountability and lower rates of voting, volunteering, and charitable giving.

Even Vermont, which ranks highest in local journalists per capita, still undercovers key issues such as education. Nontraditional outlets have not filled the gap and often prioritize opinion, gossip, and inaccuracies over factual reporting. The resulting vacuums are increasingly occupied by social media, talk radio, national cable news, and “pink slime” websites funded by political dark money that generate heat rather than insight.

Multiple complementary strategies are emerging to combat U.S. news deserts

Key approaches include:

• Employment tax credits and job incentives: Illinois implemented the nation’s first refundable tax credit for local news employment, awarding more than $4 million that supported over 260 journalist jobs across 120+ outlets (none to major chains like Gannett). New Mexico enacted similar $15,000-per-journalist credits (plus support for printers). New York offers a $30 million annual jobs tax credit program. California advanced the Community NEWS Act for refundable employment credits and continues funding the UC Berkeley Local News Fellowship, which has placed more than 110 journalists producing over 10,000 stories.
• Advertising redirection and transparency: Several states require or encourage government agencies to prioritize local outlets for public advertising (or disclose spending). Colorado’s budget mandates prioritization of local media; Connecticut and others require disclosure. Experiments show this can shift meaningful dollars without compromising independence.
• Fellowships and capacity-building: California’s program (renewed with $15 million) and similar efforts in New Mexico, Washington, and elsewhere place early-career reporters in underserved newsrooms. Report for America has placed hundreds of journalists nationwide in community outlets.
• Other measures: Tax incentives for small businesses advertising in local media, notices for newsroom sales (“replanting” ownership to local nonprofits or residents), and limited tech-related taxes (e.g., Utah, proposals in Hawaii and Washington).

Federal proposals, such as the bipartisan Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (allowing smaller publishers to negotiate collectively with platforms like Google and Meta) and various Local News Sustainability bills, have advanced in committees in prior years but have not become law.

CBS To Shuffle Market Affiliates

CBS is switching its network affiliations in half a dozen U.S. markets effective Aug. 1, moving programming from Nexstar Media Group stations to outlets owned by Hearst Television and Forum Communications. 

The changes stem from a multi-year affiliation agreement in which Paramount (CBS’s parent) extended deals with Nexstar in 36 markets while shifting six others. Nexstar confirmed it will replace CBS with The CW in several of those markets or promote Fox to primary status, while expanding local news where possible. 

A Paramount spokesperson said the company was “pleased to have entered into several new CBS Television Network affiliation agreements, including extending our long-standing partnership with Nexstar, expanding our relationship with Hearst Television and welcoming Forum Communications Company into the CBS Family.” 

The affected markets and new homes for CBS include:

• Albuquerque, N.M.: CBS moves to Hearst’s KOAT-TV (an ABC station); Nexstar’s longtime affiliate KRQE-TV will elevate Fox programming to its primary channel.
• 
  Birmingham, Ala.: CBS shifts to Hearst’s WVTM-TV (NBC); Nexstar’s WIAT-TV will expand local news.
• Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.: CBS moves to Hearst’s WYFF-TV (NBC); Nexstar’s WSPA-TV will expand local news.
• Jackson, Miss.: CBS goes to Hearst’s WAPT-TV (ABC); Nexstar’s WJTV-TV will become a primary CW affiliate.
• Bismarck/Minot, N.D.: CBS moves to Forum’s KBMY/KMCY; Nexstar’s KXMB and related stations will elevate The CW.
• Rapid City, S.D.: CBS shifts to Forum’s KNBN; Nexstar’s KCLO will become a primary CW station.

In some markets, CBS programming will air on a digital subchannel of the new affiliate (such as WYFF 4.3 or WVTM 13.4) while the station’s primary channel continues its existing network lineup and local newscasts. Viewers may need to rescan antenna channels or check cable/satellite/streaming guides after the switch for updated channel positions. Nexstar noted the transitions will give it greater scheduling flexibility to grow local news in Greenville/Spartanburg, Birmingham, and other affected areas.

The shakeup marks the end of decades-long CBS affiliations for several Nexstar stations, including a 72-year run in Albuquerque. It comes amid broader industry realignments as station groups renegotiate network deals and seek more control over local programming and news expansion.

Huntsville Radio: Major Changes At Non-Com WLRH

Huntsville’s public radio station WLRH is expanding its locally produced programming from 32% to 72% of its weekly schedule beginning today.

The shift makes the vast majority of the station’s content original and community-focused, a rarity even in public media. “It’s rare, even in public media, that over 70% of your programming is 100% local and original,” General Manager Erich Brukner said. 

“Ultimately, the common goal is to serve the community in ways that other media around here can’t.”

WLRH made the changes after declining to renew its National Public Radio programming in September 2025. Its parent company, Alabama Public Television, lost $2.8 million from federal funding cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in July 2025. Continuing NPR would have required the station to cover $192,000 itself.

Since dropping NPR, listenership has risen. WLRH ranks as the No. 4 most-listened-to station in its most recent Nielsen report, according to Brukner—up from its typical position around No. 10. 

WLRH 89.3 FM (100 Kw)

Membership donations fell 40% immediately after the NPR departure but have recovered significantly, down only 7% in the first financial quarter of 2026 compared with the prior year. Underwriting support from local businesses has grown 22%.

Leadership deliberately directed the budget toward staffing rather than national content. In the past year the station hired a news director and morning show host and converted two part-time positions in the digital and membership departments to full-time roles.

Most of the new local focus centers on weekdays. Tennessee Valley Mornings, airing 5 a.m. to 9 a.m., remains the primary news block. A new 30-minute evening news program, “ICYMI” (In Case You Missed It), will debut at 5 p.m. weekdays, condensing the morning show’s top stories for the evening commute. Existing local programs such as Arts Underground, Valley Sounds, and Curiosity Squad have moved to early weekday evenings.

The largest schedule addition is Adult Album Alternative, a mix of alternative rock, acoustic folk, and related genres hosted by rotating local DJs. It will air every weekday from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Brukner said the overall weekday lineup was restructured for better musical cohesion and smoother hour-to-hour flow while preserving the mix of talk and music that listeners value.

NYC Radio: 77WABC Host Labels NYC Mayor 'Terrorist'

Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Griff Jenkins issued an on-air statement Saturday distancing the program from a guest who had labeled New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani a “terrorist.”

Conservative 77WABC radio host Sid Rosenberg made the remarks earlier in the show while discussing an Upper West Side stabbing attack earlier in the week in which a man allegedly stabbed two people while shouting “Allahu Akbar.” One victim was Jewish and the other Asian; the suspect, 51-year-old Raul Morales, faces attempted murder as a hate crime and other charges related to the Jewish victim. “This guy is a terrorist. That’s the bottom line, I’ll say it. You don’t want to say it, I’ll say it. He’s a terrorist, he’s a jihadist,” Rosenberg said of Mamdani. 

He accused the mayor of hating Jewish people, America, and various ethnic groups unless they are Muslim, called him a “horrible person,” and asserted that “that blood is on his hands” for the stabbing. 

7:32a: Radio host Sid Rosenberg calls @NYCMayor Zohran Mamdani a terrorist, says "the liberal Jew today is every bit as much of a problem as the terrorist"

8:12a: @GriffJenkins apologizes for "one of our guests" labeling Mamdani a terrorist. No comment about liberal Jews. https://t.co/rBQwyJF3lw pic.twitter.com/kMtPxNn22U

— Bad Fox Graphics (@BadFoxGraphics) July 26, 2026

“We’ve got to find a way to get this guy out of here,” Rosenberg added. Jenkins interjected during the segment, telling Rosenberg, “I think you may be a bit over your skis in calling him, in labeling him a terrorist and you’re probably going to be flagged for that.” Rosenberg replied, “Why?” and continued criticizing the mayor as a “low life.” 

Later, Jenkins addressed the comments on air: “We know there are heated feelings around this war last hour, while discussing the role anti-Israel is playing in the rise of antisemitism, one of our guests labeled New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a quote, terrorist. Now that word carries an extremely serious meaning, it should not be used freely and it’s important we distinguish between strong political criticism and factual allegations.” 

Rosenberg later posted the full segment on X, standing by his assertions and noting that Fox had apologized twice on his behalf after the appearance. The stabbing occurred Thursday near Central Park West and Amsterdam Avenue; both victims were treated and expected to survive. Mayor Mamdani had described the attacks as “horrifying.”

MN Radio: WELY The Community Station At 'The End Of The Road'

WELY (1450 AM and 94.5 FM, with a 103.9 FM translator) is a longtime community radio station based in Ely, Minnesota, serving the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), the Arrowhead region of northeastern Minnesota, and nearby communities. It is widely known as “End of the Road Radio” because Ely sits at the end of the road network—a former mining town that became a gateway for canoeists, outdoor enthusiasts, and visitors to the remote wilderness along the Minnesota-Canada border.

Early History and Founding

A short-lived predecessor station, WXLT, operated on the same 1450 kHz frequency in Ely for roughly two years in the late 1940s before failing financially in the tough iron-mining economy. Engineer Charles B. Persons (who had worked on WXLT) later obtained a construction permit, reused the site and tower, and launched WELY on October 2, 1954 (some accounts note October 11). Persons and his family lived above the studios in what became known as Broadcast House; mail addressed simply to “Broadcast House, Ely” was delivered.

The station started as a modest operation with limited power (initially around 250 watts) and poor coverage outside town due to low soil conductivity, but it quickly became a local favorite as the only radio outlet in a community of several thousand. Persons hosted a non-commercial Sunday “Hello Neighbor” fireside-chat program and successfully petitioned the FCC for permission to air third-party personal messages—critical in an era (and region) without telephones or cell service in the surrounding wilderness. This tradition of broadcasting personal and emergency messages to people in the BWCAW continues and is a distinctive feature of the station (one of only a couple in the U.S. with such a longstanding waiver).

Ownership Changes and Challenges

Persons sold the station in 1959. Subsequent owners included WELY Corporation (operated for years by Vincent T. Hallett as a side business), North Central Video (1963), Northern Lakes Corporation (1967), and BJL Broadcasting Corporation (1976). The station faced financial difficulties and suspended operations for a time in 1987.

WELY-FM signed on July 25, 1992 (briefly holding the call letters KQEK before becoming WELY-FM; it later operated on 94.5 MHz after an earlier frequency). The AM and FM operated as a pair thereafter.


In 1995, after another period off the air, legendary CBS journalist Charles Kuralt (famous for his “On the Road” segments) purchased the stations. Kuralt had fallen in love with Ely and the area; his ownership brought national attention and helped revive the “End of the Road Radio” identity. He owned it until his death on July 4, 1997. 

The stations later passed through his estate and other private owners before the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa acquired them in 2005. The Band operated them for about 17 years (reportedly investing significantly) until financial pressures led to the stations going silent on December 1, 2022.

Zoe Communications of Shell Lake, Wisconsin, acquired the licenses (without the original downtown studios) in a deal consummated in 2023, but operations remained intermittent or largely silent due to technical and other challenges.

Revival Under Civic Media

In early 2025, Wisconsin-based Civic Media acquired WELY-AM and WELY-FM (its first expansion outside Wisconsin) and returned them to the air. The company established new studios in downtown Ely, restored the AM signal (1450 kHz at reduced but effective power of around 770 watts non-directional, sharing a transmitter site south of town), and worked through antenna/transmitter issues on the FM (which has higher power—reported around 35 kW ERP after upgrades). A 103.9 MHz translator has provided local FM coverage during repairs.

Programming emphasizes local and regional content: community news, weather, high school sports, Minnesota Twins baseball, the long-running “Trading Post” (with “Trader Craig”), a popular Polka Show, music mixes (including oldies on the AM/Hometown Radio side), personal/emergency messages for the Boundary Waters, and community events. The station serves a small year-round population that swells dramatically with summer visitors and remains a vital information lifeline in a remote area with limited other media options.

WELY’s storyline mirrors the fortunes of Ely itself—from mining-era practicality and financial struggles, through periods of silence and revival, to its role as a cultural and practical hub for a unique wilderness gateway. Its enduring appeal lies in hyper-local service rather than mass-appeal formats: it connects residents, visitors, and people deep in the canoe country who otherwise have little access to outside communication. The “End of the Road” nickname captures both its geography and its character as a resilient small-town voice at the edge of the map.

 
As of 2025–2026, under Civic Media ownership, the stations continue operating from downtown Ely with a focus on community radio, streaming available online, and the traditional mix of music, information, and wilderness messaging that has defined them for decades.

Radio History: July 27

➦In 1901...Hubert Prior "Rudy" Vallée born (Died – July 3, 1986) He was a singer, actor, bandleader, radio host and was first modern pop stars of the teen idol type.

Rudy Vallee

In 1929, Vallée began hosting The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour, a popular radio show with guests such as Fay Wray and Richard Cromwell in dramatic skits. Vallée continued hosting radio shows such as the Royal Gelatin Hour, Vallee Varieties, and The Rudy Vallee Show through the 1930s and 1940s.

In 1929, Vallée made his first feature film, The Vagabond Lover for RKO Radio. His first films were made to cash in on his singing popularity. While his initial performances were rather wooden, his acting greatly improved in the late 1930s and 1940s, and by the time he began working with Preston Sturges in the 1940s, he had become a successful comedic supporting player. He appeared opposite Claudette Colbert in Sturges's 1942 screwball comedy The Palm Beach Story. Other films in which he appeared include I Remember Mama, Unfaithfully Yours and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer.

In 1955, Vallée was featured in Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, co-starring Jane Russell, Alan Young, and Jeanne Crain. The production was filmed on location in Paris. The film was based on the Anita Loos novel that was a sequel to her acclaimed Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Gentlemen Marry Brunettes was popular throughout Europe at the time and was released in France as A Paris Pour les Quatre ("Paris for the Four"), and in Belgium as Tevieren Te Parijs.

Vallée performed on Broadway as J.B. Biggley in the 1961 musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and reprised the role in the 1967 film version. He appeared in the 1960s Batman television show as the villain Lord Marmaduke Ffogg and in 1971 as a vindictive surgeon in the Night Gallery episode "Marmalade Wine".

He died July 3, 1986 at age 84.

➦In 1910...announcer Bill Goodwin was born in San Francisco. He was for years the announcer on The Burns & Allen Show, and as well was incorporated into the script playing a ladies man.  He was spokesman for Swan Soap and Maxwell House Coffee, among others, on radio; Carnation Evaporated Milk on television.  His last job was on The Bob Hope Radio Show (1953-55.)

Bill Goodwin

Goodwin was known for frequently promoting the item sold by the sponsor of the show (Swan Soap or Maxwell House Coffee, among others, on radio; Carnation Evaporated Milk on television). He was effective on radio in doing "integrated commercials", the first announcer to do so in which the advertisement was deftly woven into the show's storyline. In 1945, Goodwin was the "featured comedian" as a regular on The Frank Sinatra Show and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. In 1947, he had his own program, The Bill Goodwin Show, a situation comedy, also known as Leave It to Bill, which ran from April 26-December 13, 1947. He was the announcer for the Blondie radio program.

He died following a heart attack May 9 1958 at age 47.

➦In 1914...bandleader Carmen Dragon was born in Antioch Calif.  He conducted the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra, and they performed on The Standard School Broadcast, broadcast on NBC radio in the western U.S. for elementary schools from 1928 through the 1970s. The show was sponsored by the Standard Oil Company of California (now the Chevron Corporation), but other than the name there were no commercials. The program featured a high quality introduction to classical music for young people growing up in the 1940s and early 1950s.

In the summer of 1947, Dragon and Frances Langford had a program on NBC. Langford sang, accompanied by Dragon and his 25-piece orchestra. The show began June 5 and ran for 13 weeks as a summer replacement for George Burns and Gracie Allen's program.

Dragon also hosted a regular classical music radio show broadcast on the Armed Forces Radio Network well into the 1980s.  Dragon's concert band arrangement of America the Beautiful is played by bands across the country in concerts of patriotic music.

He died Mar 28, 1984 at age 69.

➦In 1962...Westinghouse purchased then-Top40 WINS 1010 AM for $10 Million.