NEW YORK — It is being billed as “a new global audio news platform created to deliver fair, balanced, and real-time reporting to listeners across the United States and around the world,” and it comes from the company owned by the man who took a love to Radio after a successful turn as a New York supermarket chain owner.
Introducing the Worldwide News Network, courtesy of WABC Radio owner Red Apple Media. Spearheading the initiative is a voice familiar to a generation of “1010 WINS” listeners who recently participated in a Alliance for Women in Media Breakfast roundtable held concurrent to the 2026 NAB Show.
Lee Harris, the President of NewsBalancer who has also served as Director of Integrated Operations for NewsNation and spent more than three decades at iconic all-News WINS Radio in New York, has taken the title of VP of News for both WABC Radio and the fledgling Worldwide News Network.
Details regarding the launch of The Worldwide News Network are scant. A spokesperson told RBR+TVBR late Friday that it is positioned for a global audience, and content will be made available to any English-language radio stations regardless of locale. Distribution information is forthcoming, as are specifics with regard to top-of-the-hour newscasts, special reports and other content that The Worldwide News Network plans to distribute.
“The Worldwide News Network will be developed as a full-scale international audio news service distributed across broadcast radio, streaming channels, mobile apps, smart speakers, podcasts, affiliate platforms, and worldwide syndication partners,” the company shared in an announcement.
The Red Apple Media spokesperson also made it very clear that The Worldwide News Network’s launch plans have been in the works for several months and pre-date any announcements that CBS News Radio will be meeting its demise later in May, making the WABC parent’s news wholly unrelated to the pending loss of a significant provider of national and global news to radio stations across the U.S.
Red Apple Media owner and CEO John Catsimatidis, who owns the fabled Gristedes and D’Agostino supermarket chains in the City of New York and acquired WABC Radio in June 2019 in a $12.5 million transaction fueled by his desire to breathe new life into a moribund spoken word facility that suffered from lack of investment from its prior owner. Since then, WABC Radio added simulcast partners surrounding the Five Boroughs, and brought listening levels and ad dollars to heights not seen in a generation.
Commenting on the Worldwide News Network’s forthcoming launch, he said, “Today’s digital technology gives us the power to deliver the truth instantly, not just across America, but across Europe and around the globe. WABC Radio is already heard in all 50 states and in 178 countries through our multi-platform distribution. The Worldwide News Network is the natural next step in building a global destination for fair, balanced, no-nonsense news people can trust.”
The “fair and balanced” news is similar to the promise FOX News has made. Similarly, WABC Radio’s non news-related programming is unapologetically conservative in tone.
Chad Lopez, who serves as President of Red Apple Media and WABC Radio, commented on Harris’ hiring and Worldwide News Network by saying, “Audio news consumption is no longer confined by geography, signal strength, or time zone. Listeners want immediate access to credible reporting wherever they are, whenever news breaks. Lee is one of the most respected and accomplished news professionals in the business, and there is no one better equipped to help build this operation into a global audio news force.”
Harris added, “John Catsimatidis has never thought small, and this venture is no exception. The Worldwide News Network is an ambitious, forward-looking news platform designed for how people consume information today. I am thrilled to join Red Apple Media and WABC Radio at such a transformational moment and help build a news organization with both national strength and international reach.”
