Early Monday morning, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had died at the age of 88. That sent the news/talk radio and all-news radio worlds into overdrive.
“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” said His Eminence Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church said in a statement announcing the death of the pope one day after Easter Sunday.
Pope Francis was a record-setting pope, becoming the first man from Latin America to serve in the role, the first Jesuit pope, and the first to take the name of St. Francis of Assisi.
Despite the breaking news happening in the middle of the night on the East Coast, many news/talk and all-news radio stations hit the air and social media to cover the situation.
New York is tied for the largest percentage of its residents identifying as Catholic, according to data from the Public Religion Research Institute. In the Big Apple, the news broke on 77 WABC during The Other Side of Midnight. The station brought on News Director Noam Laden to share the news. He admitted the news was “one of these ones where I’m double and triple checking to make sure it’s accurate.” Laden added, however, that the news of the pope’s death wasn’t completely shocking as he had been hospitalized for several weeks earlier this year.
Elsewhere, 1010 WINS featured breaking news coverage, including an address by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, early Monday morning. Juliet Papa, a reporter for 1010 WINS, was at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the city to cover the comments.
In Los Angeles, KNX News reporter Jon Baird reported from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown LA at a 7 AM mass. The Archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose Gomez, will lead a mass commemorating the pope at 12:10 PM.
Similarly to 1010 WINS, other news/talk stations shared statements from local Catholic officials about the passing of Pope Francis.
Some news/talk radio hosts — like 610 WIOD midday host Manny Munoz — connected with local experts on the Catholic Church to discuss the legacy of Pope Francis.
Other outlets, like KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia, contextualized the death of the 266th leader of the Catholic Church by noting his attachment to their cities. Pope Francis visited Philadelphia in 2015 for two days, marking the first time a sitting pope had visited the area since 1979.
WTOP reporter Nick Iannelli shared a similar experience, noting that Pope Francis visited the nation’s capital on the same trip in 2015. He showcased photos from that event, which he called “rather shocking” to see the Pope walk through the door so closely to those assembled.
National news radio outlets featured special programming Monday morning. ABC News Radio broadcast a report anchored by Alex Stone, including reporting from Terry Moran, about the news of the death of Pope Francis, his legacy, and what will transpire in the coming days relating to his funeral and finding a replacement in the next conclave.
The network’s Start Here podcast, hosted by Brad Mielke, provided additional coverage and context in a special edition of the program.
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