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Walter Sterling Replaces Lionel as Host of ‘The Other Side of Midnight’ on 77 WABC

Lionel began hosting the daypart last June following the exit of Frank Morano.

By: BNM Staff

Date:

After less than a year, Lionel has departed The Other Side of Midnight on 77 WABC. He’s being replaced by Walter Sterling.

Lionel began hosting the daypart last June following the exit of Frank Morano. Morano departed to run for a seat on the New York City Council representing Staten Island, which he ultimately won. Morano hosted the show for nearly five years before leaving.

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Lionel hosted the program as normal on Friday evening. However, Walter Sterling helmed the first two shows of the week. The show’s branding has reflected the change, as has the 77 WABC lineup on its website and podcast platforms.

Sterling is not a stranger to the show or the 77 WABC audience. In recent weeks, he has been hosting Another Side of Midnight, the weekend version of the show previously anchored by Lionel.

Red Apple Audio Networks distributes both overnight versions of the show as nationally syndicated offerings. The Other Side of Midnight airs weekdays live from 1-5 AM ET, while Another Side of Midnight airs live from 2-5 AM ET on weekends.

With the addition of The Other Side of Midnight to his duties, it appears as if Walter Sterling will still host Sterling Every Damn Night from 10 PM-1 AM on 1210 WPHT in Philadelphia.

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79 COMMENTS

    • 04/15/26
      Hi Marcie,
      I really miss Lionel. He was smart, witty and funny. Walter Sterling is too serious and kind of dull. I’ll give him a chance but Lionel was much, much more enjoyable.
      All the best,
      Lisa K.

      • I prefer Mr. Sterling over lionel.
        Listeners (me) could not understand the speech of Lionel. Very annoying. He sounded like he had
        a cold and was sick. Tough to listen to.

      • I agree as well. I love listening to Lionel. He has the sharpest and quickest wit on all of radio. You can not help yourself gaining a larger vocabulary by listening to him. I enjoy Sterling also and wish him success.

    • Me and my wife love Lionel. He is brilliantly witty and informative.
      PLEASE BRING HIM BACK!!
      We are listening from Ontario Canada 🇨🇦.
      Walter has cured my insomnia.

    • Who was the bozo incapable of recognizing how puny Walter Sterling’s talent remains as exemplary, in lieu of that of the shock jock, Lionel (Michael LeBron). Agree do I not indiscriminately with Lionel’s political thought, such as his record of touting the race-baiting, hustler extortionist, Candace Owens, with her British aristocrat hubby-pooh, holed up in the land of Dixie, as remotely resembling anything as other than an egregiously disingenuous liar for clicks, whilst does that not diminish the dynamic of Lionel’s breathtaking intellect; whereas, Sterling, by contrast, his ho hum experience as a content ‘executive’ advocating for lesbian rights withstanding, is a miserable bore. Can I no longer bear to listen. Boo hoo. Lionel also far surpassed the perspective of that clown, Curtis Silwa, and his scheming wife, Lady Macbeth, with whom I share a love of animal rights — this dirty dealing pair who lent their greedy maws to the ruination of our city, to which in collusion, they willingly capitulated.

      Wake up over there at cherished WABC radio. The American people can ill-afford to be asleep at the wheel when is there a fascist putsch apace seeking, under global Marxism, to steal our economic future in denying our assertion of self-determination, juxtaposed against trouncing American democratic, liberty-loving sovereignty. The Stalinist, Deathocratic, Tammany Hall criminal enterprise under Islamo-Nazi, Benito Hussein Obama and his convicted international currency manipulator cohort, ex-kapo, George Tzuris (Soros), laundering tax-free all its pilfered billions through his $29 billion dollar offshore, Carribean banking conglomerate; Hussein, who for an illegitimate twelve years, in order to whet his already razor-sharp beak in fulfilling an unslaked appetite to continue implementing treasonous kickback schemes, underwrote the Aryan, mullah-driven theocracy of the People’s ‘Republic’ of Iran’s hegemonic putsch for supremacy over the Persian Gulf oil-rich states of Semitic pan-Araby, specifically through manufacturing with enriched uranium, twelve nuclear warheads, for which they also possess the capacity to launch, hitting every European capital, in additional to Lady Liberty in the St. George’s Bay at the tumultuous confluence of the Hudson and East Rivers of New York City — all the while that this bloodcurdling regime purveyed its ‘pay for slay’ policies that dropped a cool $20,000 dollars on each malcontent who either maimed and/or killed an Israeli, or Jew, amongst a bevy of terrorist proxies, being Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houtis, and Al Shabaab, for starters, as the greatest state sponsor of terrorism on the face of the earth. ▪︎

    • I like Walter Sterling’s voice but voice alone does not make it. Lionel was a master of the overnight format and he will be sorely missed.

  2. Lionel is the very best you’ve got !
    Sterling is a distant second best !
    Giving Sterling more air time than Lionel is not a good decision !

    If you want to make a change in your lineup. get rid of Dominic Carter.
    He is twelve years old and neither that intelligent, engaging nor endearing.
    He’s just a big fat black guy with major issues. He has a low frustration
    threshold and is quick to anger.
    When did he stop beating his wife ?

    • you really needed to insult Dominick? to make your point? maybe Lionel got tire of speaking to the same ten ass holes every night?

    • What I like about mr. Carter is that he is pro Trump.
      What i dislike about Mr. Carter is that he is too combative with callers.
      Carter is always interrupting callers telling them to “make your point” not giving
      them enough time to make their point.

  3. Seriously??? There is No One who
    Can compare to Lionel. From now on I’ll get a full nights sleep. It was worth the lack
    Of shut eye listening to Lionel, however, good night until he returns during the midnight hours or happily in the am as during the OJ trial. That’s how long I have been an admirer and student of his BRILLIANCE

  4. I really miss Lionel. Sterling is also not my cup of tea. Where can I find Lionel on the radio now?

    • I agree I would follow and listen to frank dom or Lionel over the new guy if this is a rebranding its failing but Lionel and frank vs the new guy if he was a cereal he’d be flavorless soggy wheat no sugar lol Lionel and frank both seem to legit care whereas this new guy is bland and generic and seems detached in comparison

  5. Bring back Lionel! I’m sure Mr Sterling is a nice man….but he’s sooooo boring!

    Mr Cats…what are you thinking!

  6. Sterling is so soooothing it puts me to sleep. Lionel was someone I actually wanted to listen to. He was uniquely entertaining and interesting. Looking for another show to have on while I work now.

  7. I can’t believe Lionel is gone. He was a treasure. Funny as hell. I also missed a lot of sleep because I loved listening to him. Whose idea was it for him to leave. I hate falling in love with a host and then he’s gone.

  8. UNACCEPTABLE!

    Listening to the wit and intelligence of Lionel throughout the night helped justify my insomnia. The new host is a complete bore.

    Very disappointed with this change.

    • I’ve been listening to Lionel for over 25 years. he’s brilliant he always made me think and he had an amazing vocabulary and he was one of a kind.

  12. I am so sorry to bear witness to this horrible turn of events, with Walter Sterling replacing Lionel. I looked forward to listening to Lionel and his callers, and when I couldn’t catch them early during time slot I would replay on Iheart radio later in the morning.

    Breaks my heart, will miss his format.

    I hope everyone continues to follow him on Lionel.news.

    Hopefully he will turn up somewhere else where he will be appreciated.

  13. sterling is dull and boring.
    TJ was better than him.
    II guess Lionel was too bright for the listeners.

  14. I got mad at Lionel when he got on his Erika Kirk kick, but still loved the guy. His whole show was captivating. He could talk about any topic under the sun and has the quickest wit I know. Anyone who inspires me to give up precious sleep is amazing.

    The new Sterling is the most boring voice to ever plague the airwaves. Snore away.

    Please bring Lionel back !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  15. I wa so happy to have found Lionel again on the overnight show. Walter Sterling is a nice man, but not interesting. Please bring back Lionel, there’s nobody like him, he’s priceless, and you’ve made a huge programming error in replacing him. (I’ll be going elsewhere now).
    In general,I like much of wabc programming, but this was completely wrong, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  16. I hope it was lionel’s choice to leave.. but I doubt it. If not, cats don,t always land on their feet.
    poor Sterling is like listening to oatmeal dry.
    Sorry, Mr. Cats .. keep looking .. or offer Lipnel more money.

  17. Walter Sterling is not engaging. He admits that he doesn’t like people, and he says he’s anti-social. He doesn’t even take calls at WPHT! If you call WPHT the screener will put you on hold, but the call will be dropped at some point (hung up on). Why string along a listener like that? Seriously, Sterling is the most deceptive radio hosts I’ve ever encountered. And that guest host Casey Bartholemew is a self-centered ass!

  18. Walter M. Sterling.

    No bueno!

    He seems to be a dictatorial type. A former NBC EVP.?
    Mr. C ; what are you doing?

    The program should be called “The Other Side of Midnight; this is what I want you to do.Listen to me dictate to you how a radio caller should act and in turn I will demonstrate what a perfect radio host, like me, responds in kind.

    Please lose this windbag. His voice alone could open a pharaohs crypt.

    Dan S.long time listener. What will I do M-F 1am-5am?

    • Hilarious! Agree with everything you’ve said. Lionel is a one-of-a-kind gem…how Walter Sterling is supposed to follow the brilliance Lionel brought to the airwaves is beyond comprehension. As others have said, Lionel is one of the VERY few I was willing to sacrifice my already scarce sleep for…until I can find Lionel again, I guess I’ve got some ZZZZZzzzs to catch. (All the best to you, Lionel…I hope you return to your dedicated fans real soon! – Pat from Paterson)

  19. I’m very disappointed with WABC s decision to replace Lionel and TJ McCormack with Walter Sterling. I find Walter to be superficial and really boring. He also makes some really stupid comments like “everybody in Greenwich has a pool”. Not sure who makes these decisions but I won’t listen to the other side of midnight moving forward which might be better for my sleep

  20. WABC IS BECOMING A BORE YOU HAVE THAT WINDBAG ROSENBERG WHO TELL YOU EVERYONE IS HIS BEST FRIEND and BRAGS ABOUT HIS WIFE & KIDS THEN KILMEADE WHO STINKS ! THEN AT MIDNIGHT YOU HAVE THAT LOUDMOUTH WHO THINKS HE’S IMPORTANT ( YOUR NOT YOUR JUST LOUD NOW STERLING WHO SUCKS BIG TIME YOU REALLY KNOW HOW TO KILL A GREAT RADIO STATION! THAT OWNER IS HORRIBLE TOO I THINK HE HAS DEMENTIA !

  21. Very disappointed. Really enjoyed his show. As previously stated above, at least I’ll get a better night’s sleep.

  22. Whether you agreed with him or not, Lionel was always engaging – rarely a dull moment. The opposite is true of Sterling. He is the ultimate cure for insomnia.

    WABC is being run as the owners’ vanity project

  23. I will no longer be tuning in to the program. Sterling’s position on WTC and other issues is looney bin ca ca.

  24. It seems as if everybody is in agreement regarding Sterling as a host. He thinks he’s a legend of some kind. Yeah, in his own mind. He was an executive back in the day, but he really has no experience or talent or business host a radio show. He claims he guided New Jersey 101.5 to greatness, but I have no idea what his definition of “greatness” is. That station came close to shutting down once because a couple of his demented hosts slandered Sally Starr, characterizing her as a lesbian and making up lies about her. It’s a miracle that they dodged a bullet there. anyway, it wasn’t John C @WABC who hired him, it was probably the program director. that guy is a real piece of work.

  25. I echo everyone’s sentiments. I am sad that Lionel is gone, but happy to sleep and not feel compelled to turn the radio on. If low ratings are your intention with this switch, I believe you will achieve your goal.

  26. Sterling rambling on about Katy Perry and Taylor swift seriously?! Who cares about them. He is boring, I agree with everyone. Lionel maybe was to over the target with the Ai stuff and the globalist agenda. He was very rude to me when I called his show, muting me and not letting me make my point. He likes to make callers look dumb. I won’t call again. Also if he isn’t rude to people he hijacks the call and doesn’t let people talk. Still I enjoyed the info and issues I really care about that he talked about.

  27. Sterling is dull and boring. This decision may also end totally listening to the station. Bring on 710 WOR I guess.

  28. Bring back Lionel! Despite having to wake up each morning at 7am, I forced myself to stay up to listen to Lionel. He was witty, entertaining, addicting — he made you think…he made you smarter. It was also a nice touch when he had his wife on Wednesdays discussing something so important. This guy Sterling — he’s a complete bore! I actually fell asleep listening to him when I had the radio on to keep me up. Cats – I respect your business acumen. However, you need to get Lionel back ASAP! I’m not sure if there was a contract dispute or what have you — but a change is needed. (By the way, I have NEVER commented on a radio program before — that’s how upset I am about this programming move.)

  30. I go back with Lionel to the OJ Trial. He was the Best overnight host WABC has ever had. I will follow him on Lionel.news. Not a good decision Mr. Cats. Lionel is One Of A Kind.

  31. I wasn’t a big Lionel fan, though I wish him all the best in his future endeavors. I really dreaded Wednesday mornings when he brought his wife on because quite frankly, she was boring to tears, despite the good work she is doing. I only listened to avoid the gloom-and-doom medical talk on the station 60 KHz down, and I’d usually switch over to George Noory and Coast to Coast AM.

    My hope was that Dominic Carter would be held over for a second hour and The Other Side of Midnight would be reduced by an hour. I also hoped that the rift with Curtis Sliwa could be bridged and we’d once again have Curtis back on WABC, but now that he’s on the other station it appears that is not in the cards.

    I thought Walter Sterling was pretty good this morning and will continue giving him a try.

  32. I was extremely disappointed that Lionel will only be on over the weekend. He is smart, funny and so very entertaining. The new host is boring, corny and just plain bland. It’s a huge mistake to change the direction in programming for whatever reason they have decided. I will no longer listen during the week.

    • …i miss him too, but Coast to Coast is way past its due date….George doesn’t have a clue what his woke crew is doing…ex navy guy on top of it.

  34. Frank was the 2nd best to Curtis. Curtis for ten hours a weekend was CANT MISS radio.
    Lionel and Walter are OK. Walter > Lionel IMO

  36. the same loonies call dominic so i gave up on him at 3pm and 12am.
    sterling and kilmead i change the channel.
    Sid is Super Ego TO THE mAX! it is all about ratings.
    coast 2 coast over night. only thing they have the same also usual callers. NEW CALLERS
    770 takes the same callers every night! the not fun station, the self help station.

  37. Lionel is doing the 2 to 5 AM slot on “Another Side of Midnight” each Saturday and Sunday morning. He’s hinting that a change is coming, so standby for the news.

  38. Lionel is a unique broadcaster whose polymathic wit and eloquence distinguish him from any soporific replacement, however experienced and agreeable. He speaks intelligently and joyfully about the law, the hard sciences, psychology, philosophy, politics, popular culture, and the English language. For me, the only good thing about his absence during the weekdays is that I’ll be getting more sleep.

  39. I hope a change is coming, and Lionel returns. The big question still remains “why the change in the first place?” What happened to cause things to go south for Lionel? One thing I noticed is when Lionel takes a call and the caller seems to be going in the direction of “we miss you on weeknights”, etc., Lionel moves them along quicker with the actual reason they called. It sounds cumbersome, and you can tell that Lionel is not comfortable talking about his “situation”. Definitely some animosity and hurt feelings there. It’s peculiar that the subject of Lionel’s “demotion” is taboo, when “airing it out” would really make compelling radio. There shouldn’t be any taboos. As an example, Bob Grant considered everything fair game. Nothing ties a listener closer to a station than being able to share in a hosts inner thoughts. Building an inpenatrable wall and giving us the “silent treatment” is a turn off. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

    • Me, too! I’m so disgusted with that Walter Sterling !! He is a big “snooze fest” ! So boring!😴 I also miss TJ on the weekends

  40. Not impressed by Sterling. I thought Lionel was on vacation. This is so disappointing. Who cares about Sterling being upset over the price a dealer charged him to replace his car’s spark plugs. If it was so easy he should have done it himself. I’ll be looking for Lionel on the airwaves!

    • I’m surprised so many liked Lionel. I found him nasty, nasty, NASTY and too loud and offensive for the hours he was working. I would change the channel on my radio dial whenever his show began. Would rather listen to callers rant about the METS on WFAN than listen to Lionel His ratings could not have been good.

      • You just didn’t “get” Lionel. The man is a genius. If you didn’t like him, why did you listen?

  41. Sterling is constantly playing obvious AI renditions of radio ads touting himself… pretends he is being clever by using them…and then acts completely oblivious to the fact that everyone knows it is AI…in other words a fraudulent presentation…typical sophomoric behavior…and, not good radio…

  42. TJ was an exciting and fascinating host!! How could they let him go ? He had a true calling to the overnight job,where skill and personality should reign! So ,so sad about his departure !! Please bring him back !🙏

  43. I believe that Sterling (Sabo) will be short-lived on WABC. Calls from the audience was the life and breath of the WABC overnight show. Most of the calls have disappeared! He asks for them, but very few, if any, are taken. Does he think we are stupid? Please, WABC, wake up and admit that you’ve made a terrible programming decision! Don ‘t screw your loyal listeners and allow this ‘abortion’ to continue. John C., you owe us big time! We made WABC number one, and it is obvious that we are unhapppy! There was not ONE comment in this chat room that was in favor of Sterling. That must tell you something.

  45. I miss Lionel he was interesting on many subjects. Mr Sterling is not my cup of tea, he might be a good broadcaster but not as good as Lionel. Why don’t Barrettmedia listen to the listeners, aren’t we the ones that give them the most ratings. They do it for the advertising, but when we stop listening ratings drop.
    Bring Lionel back,

  46. Lionel is an intelligent lawyer —— he talks too darn fast —- his microphone should be updated — sounds like he is in the basement of his house instead of radio station in NYC. I have listened to them ALL over fifty years. It’s not so easy to keep talking & that’s why people calling gives them more to talk about.

  47. Please do something ,John ! We are the loyal listeners! This Walter Sabo Is “the pits” ! You can do much better than this !

  48. Frank Morano was very interesting and related well to the audience and callers.
    He would bring up a subject and the phones would ring and ring and ring with callers who had strong opinions, but were educated and nice. Weeks, or months later, the subjects that Frank brought up were all over the news.
    He was ahead of everything. I miss him and wonder how he dealing with the other members of avery Woke City Council, when he is so smart and open.
    I miss Frank and hope he and his family are well.

  49. Along with so many things in life the IDIOTS at WABC get rid of a genious and bring in a DUD!!! Well done the brilliant programmers at the station your jobs are secure with a bland boring no talent host ( don’t know his name!) Lionel ( sue me!!) one of the “ great radio voices) let go!!!! Who are the ‘IDIOTS” who figured that out? You don’t care you get your cheque for now but over thirty overnite workers hear have turned the newbie off!!!

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