Industry News

TALKERS News Notes

MIW Announces Digital Sales Mentorship Program. Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio, Inc announces the second annual Digital Sales Mentorship Program designed to accelerate the growth and professional development of women in digital radio sales. It provides one exceptional female seller or manager with personalized, hands-on mentorship from an accomplished industry leader. The selected mentee will receive monthly one-on-one coaching from an experienced mentor, access to digital subject-matter experts, and targeted guidance across key areas of digital revenue strategy. Find out more and apply here.

WABC Presents Future of NYC Presser. Red Apple Media’s WABC, New York is presenting a live press conference at 11:00 am ET on the future of New York City under Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. It’s being hosted by WABC’s Dominic Carter with panelists including Red Apple CEO John Catsimatidis, former Governor David Paterson, political activist Fernando Mateo, and Kathryn Wylde president of the Partnership for NYC.

Industry News

WABC’s John Catsimatidis Mulls Moving to Florida

As New York City businesspeople prepare for Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to assume control of the city, some are saying they will re-locate their businesses from New York City for fear of how Mamdani policies will affect their bottom line. Red Apple Media and WABC owner John Catsimatidis is one of those. He is featured in a piece in Forbes in which he says, “I think a lotimg of businesspeople are reducing their exposure to New York City.” He tells Forbes he’s looking for “friendly states.” “The key word is a commonsense place to do business in.” Catsimatidis, whose business interests include Gristedes supermarkets and a controlling share of D’Agostino stores, was irked by Mamdani’s promise of opening “cheap city-run grocery stores” in each of the boroughs. Catsimatidis tells Forbes, “‘We don’t have any profit margins,’ he says, explaining that his stores have been losing money for ‘at least two years.’ He blames the state of the city: ‘Shoplifting is up to an all-time high. A lot of stuff is being closed up, which means that it’s not easy for people to shop, so sales are down.’” Catsimatidis does not talk about his radio businesses in the article but given how much effort he’s put into covering local New York news and his hiring local talk hosts and journalists, it’s hard to imagine him running the radio stations from another state such as Florida. Read the Forbes story here.

Industry Views

TALKERS EXCLUSIVE: Talk-Show-Host-Turned-City-Councilor Frank Morano Shares Insider’s View of WABC and the Intense NYC Mayoral Race

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As November 4 approaches, the 2025 New York City mayoral race and talk radio powerhouse WABC are entangled in a political drama worthy of several books and a movie, not to mention big time radio ratings! Key players include Curtis SliwaJohn CatsimatidisAndrew CuomoSid Rosenberg, and of course, Zohran Mamdani.

Bringing it all to life is former WABC rising talk show star Frank Morano, who is this week’s guest on “Up Close Far Out” hosted by Michael Harrison on the TALKERS MEDIA YouTube Channel.

Morano recently walked away from his “The Other Side of Midnight” show to compete in and win a special election for the seat vacated by a retiring city councilor from his home district #51 on the South Shore of Staten Island. Morano is now running for reelection to his own full term in the NYC election. Harrison predicts that his political future is bright.

In this candid conversation, Morano focuses on the mayoral election, personalities, and struggles in what Harrison describes as “improvisational theater set at the intersection of politics and talk radio.”  Morano also discusses how talk radio prepared him for his new political mission.

To connect to the conversation between Frank Morano and Michael Harrison, please click here.   

Industry News

Report: Curtis Sliwa Angrily Quits WABC

According to the New York Post, WABC talk radio host Curtis Sliwa – currently a Republican candidate for mayor of New York City – fumed on the station’s morning show with Sid Rosenberg that he will never be seen in the studios of WABC again after station owner Johnimg Catsimatidis and others urged him to exit the mayoral race to give former Governor Andrew Cuomo a better chance of beating Democrat Zohran Mamdani. During his on-air conversation with Rosenberg, Sliwa “accused colleagues of betraying him” and he told Rosenberg WABC is “giving preferable treatment” to Cuomo. Catsimatidis later told the Post, “Regardless of all the news going around, I’ve always said great things about Curtis Sliwa, about how well he knows the city. But in a places like New York City where 70% of New York City are Democrats, the real Democrat is Andrew Cuomo, not Zohran Mamdani and Democrats should vote for Cuomo. Catsimatidis added, “I’ve never asked that he leave the race but recommended that a lot of other people have said he should.” Sliwa said on the air that he’s had to hire private security due to threats against him and his wife. “If anything happens to me or anything happens to my wife, because of this frenzy that I hear constantly coming from some of your colleagues there at WABC, it’s on you guys and you gals. My life is on the line here.” Sliwa’s radio show is currently off the air due to his active political campaign.  Read the Post story here.