Radio History: Nov 27

➦In 1901...Early radio sportscaster Ted Husing was born in the Bronx NY.

At age 16, he joined the National Guard and during World War I was assigned to stand watch over New York's harbor. Following the war, he floated between jobs such as carnival barker and payroll clerk. After he won an audition over 500 other applicants for announcer at New York City radio station WHN, Husing found his life's calling. He was schooled under the tutelage of pioneer broadcaster Major J. Andrew White. There he covered breaking news stories and political conventions and assisted White during football commentaries.

Ted Husing

By 1926, Husing was working at WJZ and his  rapid manner of speech earned him the nickname Mile a Minute Husing. His use of descriptive language combined with a commanding voice made his broadcasts must-listen events. By 1927, he was voted seventh most popular announcer in a national poll. Following a pay dispute, he moved to Boston, where he broadcast Boston Braves (now Atlanta Braves) baseball games.

Later in 1927, he returned to New York and helped his mentor, J. Andrew White, start the new CBS chain.  After cigar mogul William S. Paley bought the cash-strapped network in 1928, Ted Husing rose to new heights of glory and fame.

At CBS, Husing took on a wide variety of events. In 1929, he was named studio director of WABC (the CBS flagship station) in addition to continuing his work as an announcer for the network.

In addition to his sports preeminence, Husing also did news/special events coverage for the CBS Radio Network. In the 1930s, he gave early tutelage to a budding CBS Radio announcer, Mel Allen, who, like Husing, would become a legendary sportscaster. (And, like Husing, Allen would also understudy in news, with Robert Trout.) In 1933-1934, he was host of the Oldsmobile Program, providing sports news to complement music from other participants on the program.

In both sports and special events areas, Husing developed a bitter rivalry with rising NBC announcer Bill Stern. When the two became the sports stars of their rival networks (and eventually their networks' sports directors), they would battle fiercely not only for events but also for broadcast position.

Husing could be arrogant, coarse, and opinionated. He was the first to bring a candid, editorial style to sports play-by-play.

 In 1946 Husing moved fromCBS to WHN 1050 (later WMGM) to pursue a career as a disk jockey. (He was succeeded as CBS Radio's sports director by Red Barber.) Husing's popular music show the Ted Husing Bandstand ran from 1946 to 1954. He continued to busy himself with sports assignments, including boxing on CBS and DuMont television, one year (1950) as the radio voice of New York Giants football, and as host of DuMont's Boxing From Eastern Parkway from May 1952 to March 1953. Perhaps he was best known as the voice of Army football from 1947 to 1953. By that time, Husing's yearly salary was close to half a million dollars.

In the spring of 1954, an operation to treat a malignant brain tumor left him blind and forced him to retire. He died at age 60 in 1962.

In 1963, Husing became the second inductee of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame.  In 1984, Husing was part of the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame’s inaugural class which included sportscasting legends Red Barber, Don Dunphy, Graham McNamee and Bill Stern.

➦In 1926...KXL AM in Portland, Oregon signed-on with 50 watts of power. Today, the station is owned by Alpha Media, it calls are KXTG and the station airs sports talk at 750 AM.  KXL-FM airs news/talk on 101.9 FM.

➦In 1930...“First Nighter” was first heard on NBC. It was a long-running 30-minute radio anthology comedy-drama series broadcast from November 27, 1930, to September 27, 1953. The host was Mr. First Nighter (Charles P. Hughes, Macdonald Carey, Bret Morrison, Marvin Miller, Don Briggs and Rye Billsbury (later known as Michael Rye).

Ad for FM Radio, NY Times 11/27/60: $24.95

➦In 1960...the CBS Radio Network canceled "Have Gun Will Travel".  It was a Western series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963.

The television version of the series was rated number three or number four in the Nielsen ratings every year of its first four seasons, and it is one of the few shows in television history to spawn a successful radio version.  That radio series debuted November 23, 1958, more than a year after the premiere of its televised counterpart.

This series follows the adventures of a man calling himself "Paladin" (played by Richard Boone on television and voiced by John Dehner on radio), taking his name from that of the foremost knights in Charlemagne's court. He is a gentleman investigator/gunfighter who travels around the Old West working as a mercenary for people who hire him to solve their problems.

NY Times article 11/27/60

➦In 1960...Veteran announcer, newsman Tony Marvin joined the Mutual Broadcasting System.

Tony Marvin

Marvin's first job in radio was at WNYC in New York City. From there, he went to CBS as a staff announcer, beginning October 1, 1939.  A 1959 article in Radio and Television Mirror reported that at CBS "Tony did everything from daytime serials to symphonies and in 1946, when the Arthur Godfrey morning show was sustaining, Tony was assigned to it." When Godfrey's activities expanded from Arthur Godfrey Time to include Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and Arthur Godfrey and his Friends, Marvin did the announcing for those shows as well.

Godfrey at times stirred controversy with his firing of his show's personnel. Marvin was the last of Godfrey's supporting players to go. He had been with Godfrey 12 years when he learned in 1959 that Godfrey would not need an announcer for the coming year.  Marvin's departure was widely perceived as a more amicable parting than Godfrey's previous dismissals of cast members, which were often abrupt.

Marvin branched out in 1958, adding a two-hour, Monday-Saturday disc jockey show on WABC to his other duties.

➦In 1962...In London, the Beatles recorded their first BBC radio session, performing "Twist and Shout," "Love Me Do," and "P.S. I Love You." The tracks aired later on the BBC program "Talent Spot."

➦In 1975...Bill Winters WCBS 101.1 FM personality died at age 35.

Musk Floats Buying MSNBC, But It's Not For Sale..Unless...

Last week, Comcast said it was moving forward with a plan to spin off its NBCUniversal cable networks into a separate company. The Wall Street Journal reports that news prompted speculation that the Tesla chief executive Elon Musk might pursue left-leaning news channel MSNBC.

Musk, who hasn’t been shy about his criticisms of MSNBC, calling the network “utter scum of the Earth,” fueled that story line in an exchange on X, the social-media platform he owns. When Donald Trump Jr. posted about MSNBC, encouraging Musk to buy it, the billionaire replied: “How much does it cost?”

It is unclear how serious Musk is about MSNBC, but buying the network wouldn’t be an easy feat. Comcast isn’t interested in selling off individual assets, people familiar with the matter said. It plans for the spinoff company, which will include several other NBCUniversal channels such as CNBC, USA, Syfy and E!, to explore acquisitions of other cable networks. 

“We are looking forward to the planned spin of our cable networks, which will create a new company owned by our shareholders—none of these assets are for sale,” a Comcast spokeswoman said in a written statement.

After Comcast completes the transaction—a process that is expected to take about a year—the new company will negotiate distribution deals with companies such as Charter Communications. MSNBC, with its loyal following, will provide critical leverage in those discussions, the people said.

“They never had any intention of selling things off piecemeal,” said Joseph Bonner, a senior analyst in technology, media and telecommunications at Argus Research. “Maybe if the price is right, they would do it.”

Comcast’s chairman and CEO, Brian Roberts, holds a one-third voting stake in the company, giving him significant sway in major decisions such as the sale of assets. Roberts will also hold a one-third voting stake in the new company, though he won’t serve on the board.  

If Musk did go after MSNBC, it likely wouldn’t be anywhere near Twitter’s price tag: The new cable company’s annual revenue, across all its networks, would be about $7 billion, and its assets are in decline in a media world dominated by streaming.

CNN Considers Moving Kaitlan Collins To Cover TWH

CNN top brass is considering naming primetime anchor Kaitlan Collins to the role of chief White House correspondent as the left-leaning network grapples with how to cover the incoming Trump administration, according to The NY Post.

Collins, who hosts “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” weekdays at 9 pm, would relocate with her New York-based show to Washington, D.C., at least part of the time, Semafor reported Sunday.

The move, which has not yet been finalized, is currently being discussed by CNN CEO Mark Thompson and his lieutenants in the hope that it would allow Collins to fully tap into her network of sourcing within Trump’s White House.

However, another veteran TV source who has worked at rival networks speculated that said CNN — which is cutting its own budget — will move Collins into the White House role and drop her as a primetime anchor.

“Her viewership numbers are bad,” the source said, noting that Collins is paid a a reported $3 million a year. “They probably want to move her back to D.C. and get her out of the anchor chair.”

Collins’ show, which launched on July 10, 2023, averaged 629,00 total viewers its first year. But since the election earlier this month, the program’s ratings have hovered between 565,000 to 430,000 range, according to Nielsen data.

CNN has been looking for ways to keep costs down while Thompson looks to amp up the network’s digital presence and increase its ratings. In recent months, Chris Wallace, who was making a reported $7 million a year, was informed that his poorly-rated shows would be canceled.

ACC Lands Ryan Fox As New Host

Cumulus Media’s Westwood One has announced that popular Country music countdown show, “American Country Countdown,” will say a fond farewell to Country superstar and show host, Kix Brooks, after an impressive 18-year run as the syndicated Country countdown show’s host. 

Beginning the weekend of January 4-5, 2025, Country radio personality Ryan Fox will kick off a new year and a new generation of Country’s best music as the host of “American Country Countdown with Ryan Fox.” Kix Brooks’ final show will air the weekend of December 28-29, 2024.

Ryan Fox

Ryan Fox is currently On-Air Host, Mornings, at Dallas Country station KPLX 99.5 The Wolf. “American Country Countdown with Ryan Fox” will feature the fast-breaking new superstars like Jelly Roll, Morgan Wallen, Kane Brown, and Lainey Wilson. The destination weekend Country countdown show is heard on over 300 station affiliates across the U.S.

Every weekend, “American Country Countdown with Ryan Fox” will deliver the top Country hits, exclusive interviews, and backstage stories from the world of Country music.

With over 20 years of experience in Country radio, Ryan has become a familiar voice through his work on major market stations in Los Angeles and Dallas. His ability to always find the humor in every situation, his authenticity, and his undeniable passion for country music, combined with a storyteller’s gifts, have earned him a loyal following and the respect of the industry.

Ryan Fox said: “To be given the opportunity to take the reins on one of the longest running, most successful, Country countdown shows in the world and sit in the same chair as Hall of Famers like the legendary Kix Brooks and the late, great Bob Kingsley, is a tremendous honor. This is a terrific era for Country music, and I cannot wait to count down the biggest Country hits from coast to coast!”

“Weekend countdowns are still a favorite choice of listeners,” remarked Brian Philips, Chief Content Officer for Cumulus Media. “The modern Country music landscape shifts so quickly that our fans will devour this fast-paced new take on a proven, long-running show. Ryan Fox is down-to-earth and faithful to the music, but also has a gift for gentle irreverence and a sense of the absurd. He’s that talented friend we all welcome in our lives.”

To get “American Country Countdown with Ryan Fox” for your station, contact Neal Weiner, VP, Affiliate Sales, Westwood One, at nweiner@westwoodone.com or at 206.335.5259.

NBC-TV Gets Macy's Exclusive Rights

Millions of Americans will spend Thursday morning watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, a majestic mix of balloons, floats, high school and college marching bands and big stars.

A tradition that started a century ago, the parade remains one of the few spectacles that still draws a big audience to broadcast television, with nearly 30 million people tuning in last year. 

Airing it is about to get a lot more expensive, reports The Wall Street Journal. 

NBC, which has had the broadcast rights since 1953, is trying to hammer down a new deal with Macy’s to keep the event on the network and its Peacock streaming service for the next decade, according to people familiar with the talks.

Under the terms being discussed, a new deal would kick in next year with an average annual fee of more than $60 million, up from around $20 million in the current contract, the people said.

The price increase is indicative of the value of live programming to media companies as viewers flee traditional television for streaming services. Certain events—from football games to awards shows—still draw people to old-school TV. Last month, Disney paid a roughly 20% premium to lure the Grammy Awards away from CBS, people with knowledge of the matter said. 

The Thanksgiving Day parade is a slice of Americana—cartoon characters and commerce marching hand-in-hand from Central Park in New York City to Macy’s flagship store in Herald Square. The event celebrates both the spirit of the holiday and the Christmas shopping season that commences after the last piece of pumpkin pie has been devoured.

Last year, NBC took in $52 million in advertising for the parade, with the average commercial costing $865,000, according to Guideline, an advertising research and data firm. This year, the average price per spot is almost $900,000.

The cost of production, which NBC outsources, has increased from under $4 million a few years ago to close to $7 million for this year’s broadcast. A factor in the increase is higher celebrity appearance fees, which often run six figures.

The rising rights fees and growing production costs will likely reduce the profits the parade generates for NBC. Still, the event is too important as a lead-in to the rest of NBC’s Thanksgiving lineup to risk losing.

MediaCo Shares Jump With Repayment of $7.3M Promissory Note

MediaCo Holding Inc. announced today that it has fully repaid in cash the $7.3 million convertible promissory note held by Emmis Communications Corporation. In connection with the satisfaction of the Note, the representatives of Emmis on MediaCo’s Board of Directors have resigned from the Board, effective immediately.

This repayment reflects MediaCo’s focus on strengthening its balance sheet. “We are pleased to take this step forward,” said Albert Rodriguez, interim Chief Executive Officer and President of MediaCo. “This eliminates our only near-term maturity and positions us to continue our expanding mission to reach diverse audiences and drive growth for the future.”

MediaCo was formed through the recent merger between two iconic New York radio stations, WBLS and WQHT Hot97 and the Estrella Media network. The combination enjoys ownership/management over significant broadcasting assets including:

Two FM radio stations and a low power TV station in New York; a full power TV station and a cluster of four FM radio stations in Los Angeles; a low power TV station in Chicago; a cluster of three FM radio stations in Dallas; a full power TV station in Houston and cluster of three FM stations in Houston; a full power TV station in Denver; and a full power TV station in Miami.

MediaCo also enjoys significant content assets, namely the Estrella Television Network with titles such as Tengo Talento Mucho Talento and Rica Famosa Latina with over 20,000 hours of original library and 24/7 Spanish-language news with distribution on broadcast, pay television and multiple FAST channels. In radio, the Company owns iconic R&B station WBLS and the ‘Home of Hip-Hop” Hot97 and in Spanish language, Que Buena led by talent such as Funkmaster Flex and Don Cheto, respectively. The company also owns multiple studio assets, has a long heritage of successfully hosting music festivals and concerts, and operates its own network sales office.

Supreme Court Wants DOJ Views On Cox Legal Battle With Music Labels

The U.S. Supreme Court asked the Justice Department on Monday to weigh in on whether the justices should review a copyright dispute between Cox Communications and a group of music labels following a judicial decision that threw out a $1 billion jury verdict against the internet service provider over alleged piracy of music by Cox customers.

Reuters reports the justices are considering taking up appeals from both sides of different aspects of a lower court's ruling. The labels - including Sony Music Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group appealed an aspect of the lower court's decision that would result in a new trial to determine the amount of damages Cox must pay. Cox appealed the lower court's decision that it is still liable for copyright infringement by the users of its internet service.

More than 50 labels joined together to sue Cox in 2018. Their appeal to the Supreme Court sought to reinstate the $1 billion award.

The labels accused Cox of doing too little to stop its users from illegally downloading pirated copies of their music through peer-to-peer protocols like BitTorrent. They said Cox failed to address thousands of copyright infringement notices from the labels, to cut off access for repeat infringers and to take reasonable measures to deter piracy of the music.

Major labels have brought similar lawsuits against other internet service providers including Charter Communications, Frontier Communications and Astound Broadband.

A jury in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia decided in 2019 that Cox owed $1 billion in damages for violations by its internet service users of more than 10,000 music copyrights. The Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in February that the award could not stand, reversing part of the infringement verdict and remanding the case for a new trial on damages.

Phoenix Radio: Gunner Jackson Exiting Country KMLE-FM

Gunner Jackson is stepping down from his morning show position at Audacy Country 107.9 KMLE in Phoenix, AZ, after five years. 

Jackson and his co-host Cheyenne Davis joined KMLE in December 2019 from Townsquare Media Country “92.9 The Bull” KDBL in Yakima, WA, where they hosted mornings and Jackson served as Brand Manager. Jackson has had a diverse career, including stints as a morning show producer for “Kiss 106.1” KBKS in Seattle, PD/Morning Host at Country “Kissin 97.7” KYSN in Wenatchee, WA, and “Kick 104” KIQK in Rapid City, SD, as well as on-air roles at CHR “Power 99.1” KUJ-FM in Kennewick, WA.

In a heartfelt message on the station’s social media pages, Gunner shared his gratitude for the memories and relationships he’s built with listeners in The Valley. He expressed his appreciation for the support his family received during his daughter Taytem's battle with cancer and mentioned that he is now focusing on what’s best for his family and his future in the industry he loves.

Nashville Radio: Dave Myers Succeeds Darlas Rai At WSM-FM

Darlas Rai

Darlas Rai, the night host for “95.5 Nash Icon” WSM-FM in Nashville, has announced her semi-retirement. 

Rai has been a prominent voice on Nashville's airwaves, hosting a local evening show and a national night show for Cumulus and Westwood One’s “Nash Icon” brand since 2014. She previously hosted middays for eight years on sister station Country 103.3 WKDF and has also worked in Las Vegas and Portland during her career.

In a Facebook message , Rai expressed her excitement about entering semi-retirement, which means she will be working from her home studio and no longer commuting. She thanked her co-workers and listeners for the memories and support over the years. Rai also mentioned that she will have updates soon on where she can be heard next and is available for voice tracking from her home studio.

Weekend host Dave Myers has been named to fill the opening at WSM-FM.

Nielsen: FOX, Disney Topped Multiplatform Viewing In October

FOX took full advantage of its multiplatform TV footprint and ability to engage viewers across linear networks in October, leading it to earn an 8.4% share of total TV in Nielsen’s October Media Distributor Gauge—a company best for FOX since these distributor-based calculations began in November 2023. It was also the second straight month that FOX notched the largest monthly increase among all reported media distributors, with overall viewing up 16% in October (+1.1 pts.).

October’s TV landscape featured a wide range of compelling events that drew large audiences across broadcast and cable channels, leading multiplatform media distributors like FOX to thrive on the strength of diverse content offerings. On top of last month’s 69% bump in viewing, FOX broadcast affiliates were up another 16% in October, driven by sporting events including NFL and college football, MLB playoffs and World Series Games 1 and 2. From a cable network perspective, election-related coverage boosted FOX News Channel to a 12% viewing increase in October, and FS1 shot up over 260%, due primarily to its MLB NLCS games. FOX also benefited from a 2.5% lift in Tubi viewing.

Media Distributor Gauge_Oct_2024_v3

Disney also took advantage of its multiplatform capabilities and repeated as the top media company in October, adding 0.4 share points from September to notch 11.7% of overall TV. Disney was buoyed by a 7% increase in viewing to ABC broadcast affiliates as a result of NFL and college football, as well as the consistent performance of ABC World News Tonight. Meanwhile, an 8% bump in viewership to ESPN, driven by both football and baseball, was the largest gain among Disney’s cable networks.

Among the 14 companies reported in the Media Distributor Gauge, 9 of them exhibited monthly shifts of +/- 0.1 share point or less in October. An exception, however, was The Roku Channel, which tallied the second largest monthly increase among distributors with a 12% gain over September to lift the FAST service to a platform-best 1.8% share of TV.

The measurement month of October 2024 included four weeks: 09/30/2024 through 10/27/2024. Nielsen measurement weeks run Monday through Sunday.

Twin Cities Radio: Audacy Looking To Move WCCO's Transmitter Site

Audaucy's hertiage News/Talk  WCCO 830 AM is  proposing to relocate it current transmitter from its historic site in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, to an auxiliary site along Bunker Lake Blvd. in Ramsey, about four miles northwest of the current location. 

The station has been broadcasting from Coon Rapids since 1925, and its iconic vertical radiator antenna, built in 1939, has been in continuous service.

The new site will continue to operate at 50 kW during the day, but at night, the power will be reduced to 45 kW. This move is part of Audacy's broader strategy to transfer assets (sell lands) and reduce debt.

This is the WCCO AM 830 transmitter. It’s a 50,000-watt clear channel station transmitting on 830 kHz from the Twin Cities. WCCO radio is celebrating 100 years on the air this year. 👍🏻 It’s a fixture in broadcast history here in the Midwest. 1/4 | #HamRadio pic.twitter.com/7Zex5mnQVC

— Matt — KØLWC (@K0LWC) September 25, 2024

The new auxiliary antenna will be 419 feet tall, compared to the 639-foot antenna at the Coon Rapids site.

Audacy is relocating its clear-channel AM stations in Chicago, 670 WSCR(AM) and 780 WBBM(AM), to a new site. The company has also listed the Bloomingdale, Illinois, transmitter site for sale. It's anticipated that the Coon Rapids site will be sold as well.

Bluesky Needs More Servers Due To Soaring Growth

Bluesky has "blown past" its user growth projections so much that it's racing to get more servers to keep the site running smoothly, the social media platform's chief operating officer has said.

Rose Wang told Business Insider that the influx of new users at Bluesky over the past two weeks was "quite unexpected" and that the company's 20-person team has been in "firefighting mode."

The social media network has surpassed 21 million users, up from 13 million in October, as X users have left in droves and flocked to the platform.

But that level of scaling has come with some growing pains. Bluesky experienced an outage earlier this month, which the company said was due to an external internet provider.

To preempt further growth, it has expedited additional server capacity at its data centers.

"We have grown by a million users every day for the last eight days, which has blown past our projections, and so we were going to get new servers next year, but we had to fast forward that," Wang said.

The US election appears to have triggered a migration of X users to Bluesky, which has been praised because of its similarity to the "old Twitter." More than 280,000 people closed their X accounts on Election Day, data from Similarweb shows.

Radio History: Nov 26

➦In 1912...CBS newsman & commentator Eric Sevareid was born in Velva, ND (Died at age 79 from stomach cancer  – July 9, 1992). He was one of a group of elite war correspondents who were hired by CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow and nicknamed "Murrow's Boys". Sevareid was the first to report the Fall of Paris when the city was captured by the Germans during World War II.

Eric Sevareid

Traveling into Burma during the war, his aircraft was shot down, and he was rescued from behind enemy lines by a search and rescue team that had been established for that purpose. He was the last journalist to interview Adlai Stevenson II before his death.

He followed in Murrow's footsteps as a commentator on the CBS Evening News for 12 years, for which he was recognized with Emmy and Peabody Awards.

At the age of 18, Sevareid entered journalism as a reporter for the Minneapolis Journal, while a student at the University of Minnesota in political science. He continued his studies abroad, first in London and later in Paris at the Sorbonne, where he also worked as an editor for United Press. He then became city editor of the Paris Herald Tribune. He left that post to join CBS as a foreign correspondent, based in Paris; he broadcast the fall of Paris, and followed the French government from there to Bordeaux and then Vichy, before leaving France for London and finally Washington.

Bill Baldwin

➦In 1913...actor/announcer Bill Baldwin was born in Pueblo Colorado. He became the radio and television voice of hundreds of products, and was a war correspondent for the NBC Blue network in WWII.   He served as national president of the American Federation of Radio & TV Artists (AFTRA) in the early 70’s. As an actor he appeared in a number of TV series, including ‘Hawaii Five-O,’ ‘Ironside,’ ‘The Beverly Hillbillies,’ and ‘Marcus Welby, M.D.’  He succumbed to cancer Nov. 17 1982, nine days short of his 69th birthday.

➦In 1933...singer Robert Goulet was born Stanley Applebaum  in Lawrence, Mass,  but within months his family moved to Northern Alberta.

He worked as disk jockey on Edmonton’s CKUA for two years and was a semi-finalist on CBC TV’s “Pick the Stars” in 1952.  He spent a summer at Vancouver’s Theatre Under the Stars.  In 1955 he became a regular on CBC TV’s Cross Canada Hit Parade. He was awarded a Grammy as the best new artist of 1962.  His best-selling album was the million-selling 1964 release “My Love Forgive Me,” which reached No. 5.

Goulet died awaiting a lung transplant Oct. 30 2007 at age 73.

➦In 1945...the daily radio program, “Bride and Groom”, debuted on the NBC Blue network. It is estimated that 1,000 newly-wed couples were interviewed on the program before it left the airwaves in 1950.

➦In 1962…At EMI's Abbey Road studios in London, the Beatles recorded "Please Please Me" and "Ask Me Why."

Joe Rogan: CNN, MSNBC Are Delusional

Joe Rogan lambasted “delusional” left-wing media Thursday for thrusting its bias forward at the cost of its readers’ trust — which is resulting in a “hemorrhaging” of subscribers.

“I was just reading something about CNN’s ratings and MSNBC’s ratings post-election — they’ve crashed,” the “Joe Rogan Experience” host told guests Jimmy Corsetti and Dan Richards of “Debunking the Past”

“All these left-wing kooks on YouTube are hemorrhaging subscribers. Where people go, ‘You guys are out of touch, you’re not accurate, you’re delusional,'” Rogan continued.

“And people are speaking with their subscriptions and they’re speaking with their purchasing of the Washington Post and their purchasing of the New York Times.”

🇺🇸JOE ROGAN: THESE LEFT WING KOOKS ARE HEMORRHAGING SUBSCRIBERS

“I was just reading something about CNN's ratings and MSNBC's ratings post election.

They've crashed.

All these left wing kooks on YouTube are hemorrhaging subscribers, where people go, you guys are out of… pic.twitter.com/50RS9kzs0i

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) November 22, 2024

The NY Post reports the conversation kicked off when Rogan, 57, brought up Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos’ divisive October opinion piece, “The hard truth: Americans don’t trust the news media” — in which the billionaire Amazon founder declined to continue the newspaper’s legacy of endorsing a candidate for presi

The Washington Post planned to endorse Kamala Harris before Bezos stepped in, claiming political endorsements “create a perception of bias.”

The move cost the newspaper thousands of subscribers, but Rogan theorized it would have lost much more if it stuck to its progressive endorsement.

“Essentially saying that you have to take divergent viewpoints, you have to take a bunch of different perspectives, we can’t just be this left-wing echo chamber, and it’s the reason why the business is faltering,” he noted.

The New York Times is suffering from the same left-leaning affliction, Rogan argued, pointing to a recent fact-check the newspaper published earlier this week on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s claim that a popular breakfast cereal contains several artificial ingredients in the United States that are not used in other countries.