To end Meet The Press Sunday, moderator Chuck Todd revealed he is departing the program after nearly a decade of piloting the show. 77 WABC host Sid Rosenberg believes Todd’s exit is part of a larger shift in American media.

During a conversation with Todd on Sid and Friends in the Morning Friday, Rosenberg said the days of a white male like Todd hosting a news program solo are over.

“Look, I don’t expect you to comment on this part, but I’m gonna say it because I’m number one for a reason,” Rosenberg said. “There was a long run — Tim Russert, David Gregory, Chuck Todd — that’s a lot of very smart, white men sitting behind the mic at Meet The Press. NBC and every station across this country is so caught up in diversity. That’s all they care about.

“Whenever you left — and as much as I liked Kristen, nice girl — the move to heart didn’t surprise me. It seems to me like the white male sitting behind the desk is over in America and I can’t stand that.”

Todd did not comment on Rosenberg’s stance.

AM 560 The Answer weekend host Mark Vargas has departed the station after a verbal altercation with the station’s weekday afternoon host Shaun Thompson.

During the Black and Right program last weekend, Thompson called host Verlon Galloway a “moron with the taffy apple head” and repeatedly called him an “idiot”, “moron”, and “stupid”.

“As a minority, I was shocked to hear Shaun Thompson, host of The Shaun Thompson Show, call into Black and Right Radio this past Saturday evening and spew despicable and racist rhetoric aimed at co-host Verlon Galloway – referring to him as a ‘moron with the taffy apple head,” Vargas said. 

“I cannot in good conscience continue hosting my radio show, sharing a microphone and a studio with an individual that’s so full of anger – and can say such terrible things. Therefore, I resign, effective immediately.”

Thompson and Galloway have defended their interaction, saying that they are very good friends.

In a Facebook video, Thompson admitted “it wasn’t a good look for us”, adding that the argument between him and Galloway should have been reserved “for our conversations at the cigar shop”. He noted that it “didn’t belong on the radio”.

Galloway has argued that he didn’t view the conduct from Thompson as racist.

“I cannot in good conscience sit back and let the scarlet ‘R-word’ be weighted around your neck,” Galloway said. “I just want to tell the people to stop it. Two guys can buck on air without the white guy being called a racist.”

The two discussed their friendship in the video.

“I could punch you in the face, and you could punch me in the face, and if grenade flew in, we’d jump on it,” Thompson said.

“Damn right,” Galloway agreed.

77 WABC owner John Catsimatidis has overseen an impressive rebirth of the venerable New York news/talk station. Now, he’d like to have the opportunity to do the same with CNN.

During an appearance on Sid and Friends in the Morning, Catsimatidis shared his interest in owning the network.

“It’s up to the investment bankers to come up with the numbers,” Catsimatidis said of a potential sale price. “We could always bring partners in, but I want to run the place. We are capable of putting down a substantial amount of money.”

He then shared his interest in being the CEO of the cable network and said his salary wouldn’t be an issue.

“I’d go run the place tomorrow morning, and all I’d want is $1 per year and a piece of the upside,” Catsimatidis said, arguing he’d be able to double CNN’s profits.

Despite being let go as the network’s CEO earlier this week, Catsimatidis argued that Chris Licht “at least tried to do the right thing” in his strategy to move the network to a more centrist position in the political landscape.

The 77 WABC owner argued that CNN “deserves” to be #1 in the ratings and that Ted Turner “created a wonderful network” that has fallen on hard times.