EXCLUSIVE: Michael Harrison Talks to John Catsimatidis about WABC, New York Cancelling Rudy Giuliani’s Talk Show
Red Apple Media Group chief John Catsimatidis suspended Rudy Giuliani from his daily 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm talk show that’s been airing on WABC for several years. The New York Times, quotes Catsimatidis saying, “We’re not going to talk about fallacies of the November 2020 election. We warned him once. We warned him twice. And I get a text from him last night, and I get a text from him this morning that he refuses not to talk about it. So, he left me no option. I suspended him.” But there were more concerns on Catsimatidis’ part. Giuliani was found liable for
defaming two Georgia election workers, and they were accusing him of make new false accusations against them. The Times reports that in a memo from Catsimatidis to Giuliani he told Giuliani that they’ve been monitoring his show for comments about the election and that “radio operators had ‘worked diligently’ to excise content that might run afoul of defamation laws.” He also wrote, “You are once again stating that there was fraud. You may not do so on our airwaves.” Clearly, Catsimatidis was concerned about being involved in actionable language on Giuliani’s part. Giuliani spoke publicly over the weekend about being terminated and said he’s been 
talking about the 2020 election for three years and was never made aware that election talk was off limits. In The New York Times story Giuliani states that WABC’s policies on this topic are “a clear violation of free speech” to which TALKERS founder Michael Harrison comments, “As a lawyer, former attorney
general and former mayor, Giuliani should know better than to muddy the waters about ‘free speech’ by citing it and distorting it for his own defense in this manner. The letter of the law regarding the First Amendment protects the rights and responsibilities of Catsimatidis as the licensee and platform owner in this situation. And as far as the spirit of the law as indicated by the general term ‘free speech’ is concerned, the understanding between these two men as to what Giuliani can discuss on WABC is completely subjective and ultimately based on what the licensee determines at any given moment to be in the best interest of the platform, its listeners and most importantly, the truth.” Listen to Michael Harrison and John Catsimatidis discussing the situation this morning by clicking here.
forward by a Phoenix trial court judge. Harris and iHeartMedia appealed, arguing the case should be dismissed as Harris’ statements “were rhetorical hyperbole incapable of being proved false and protected by the First Amendment, and were therefore not actionable.” The State Supreme Court agreed unanimously. Justice William Montgomery wrote, “Under the First Amendment, apparently factual statements must be considered in light of the nature in which the speaker uttered them and the relationship of the statements to the overall context. Here, the nature of the words is colored by the context of an overtly political talk show.” But he also stated, “We do not suggest that the First Amendment provides categorical protection to anything that may be said on a political talk show,” adding a ruling from another case saying, “Candidates cannot make defamatory assertions they hope voters will believe, then, when sued for defamation, seek refuge in the defense that no one believes what politicians say.” 
