77 WABC hosts Curtis Sliwa, Frank Morano, and Anthony Weiner are off the air as they run for office in the Big Apple. Station owner John Catsimatidis said the hosts forced his hand.
The three 77 WABC hosts are all entering primary races across New York. Sliwa, a Republican, is vying for the party’s nomination in the upcoming Mayoral race, which will take place in November. He earned the nomination in 2021 before losing the election to Eric Adams (D).
Meanwhile, both Anthony Weiner — a Democrat who previously served on City Council, as well as in the U.S. House of Representatives — and Frank Morano, a Republican, are entering the race for City Council.
The three hosts have been removed from their timeslots on the Red Apple Media station to avoid any potential issues with the equal time laws requiring the station to allow their political opponents the same access to the radio airwaves.
During an appearance with the station’s morning show host Sid Rosenberg, John Catsimatidis said the hosts knew that the repercussions of running for office was being pulled off the air, so listeners can’t be upset with station management for taking further action.
Additionally, he said some of the hosts were pulled earlier than expected due to their conduct associated with the races.
“I love them all, but they crossed the line,” Catsimatidis said. “It wasn’t us. It wasn’t WABC that did it. They decided to run. Then everybody was running their mouths, trying to get away with as much as they can get away with.”
Currently, Curtis Sliwa hosts on 77 WABC weekdays from 12-1 PM. Morano hosts the nationally syndicated The Other Side of Midnight, while Weiner hosts a pair of weekend programs for the news/talk station. Both Morano and Sliwa’s shows are nationally syndicated through the company’s Red Apple Audio Networks arm. They continue to host the programs for affiliates, but the shows are not heard on terrestrial, over-the-air radio in New York for the time being.
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