Red Apple Media Owner John Catsimatidis had a message for broadcast news outlets as New York City’s 77WABC was honored with the 2025 Distinguished Service Award by the Fair Media Council at the 2025 Folio Awards luncheon last week.
Citing Americans’ desire for balanced journalism, Catsimatidis stated, “92% of the American people believed what Walter Cronkite said, and I think news has to get back to that situation, and that’s what we’re doing at WABC.”
A 2024 Katz Media survey, conducted among US voters, asked respondents to rank their trust in radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, and social media. Radio led all categories, with 80% of voters rating it as trustworthy or very trustworthy, 5 points ahead of newspapers, 13 points ahead of magazines, and 23 points ahead of television. Social media trailed far behind, with only a quarter of respondents finding it trustworthy.
Trust levels varied by political affiliation. Democrats expressed the highest overall trust in traditional media, particularly newspapers. Republicans were far more skeptical of mainstream outlets but still gave AM/FM radio a high rating (78%), alongside Independents (80%), making radio the only platform trusted by a majority of every group.
The Distinguished Service Award celebrates a century of WABC’s contributions to broadcasting and the station’s current role as a leading voice in the national news/talk space. The Fair Media Council describes the Folio Awards as the “Gold Standard” of media recognition, evaluated through a rigorous judging process.
Since purchasing the heritage signal in 2019, Catsimatidis has prioritized local news expansion, added new voices to the programming lineup, and advocated for AM radio’s role in public safety.
