CBS Radio Ends After 99 Years, Upending News Jobs and Habits

CBS News revealed Friday that its radio service will cease operations on May 22, eliminating all jobs on the radio team and affecting more than 60 employees. Bari Weiss, CBS News editor-in-chief, and President Tom Cibrowski stated the move stems from "challenging economic realities" as audiences shift to digital platforms. Weiss told staff that despite efforts to sustain the service, industry changes made it impossible.

The service began in September 1927 as the foundation for the entire CBS network, launching the career of William S. Paley. Edward R. Murrow delivered iconic rooftop reports from London during World War II, keeping Americans glued to their radios for updates on Nazi bombings. Broadcasters like Douglas Edwards and Christopher Glenn became familiar voices, with the service reaching an estimated 700 stations nationwide through top-of-the-hour news roundups.

CBS News cut programs like "Weekend Roundup" and "World News Roundup Late Edition" late last year in an attempt to preserve the service amid declining listenership. The company pointed to a broader move toward podcasts and online audio as eroding radio's role. Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers, described the shutdown as "a loss for the country and for the industry," highlighting how CBS Radio's objective coverage set a standard for decades.

More than 60 people, representing about 6 percent of CBS News staff, face job losses from the layoffs announced Friday. Dan Rather, a longtime CBS anchor who succeeded Walter Cronkite in 1981, called it "another piece of America that is gone," reflecting on his own experiences filing reports a dozen times a day during the civil rights era. Harrison noted that CBS Radio's extensive resources and high trust factor made it a major force in news delivery.

With the shutdown, stations across the U.S. will lose access to CBS's news roundups, pushing audiences toward alternative sources like podcasts for daily updates. Rather emphasized that radio once shared equal importance with television, as seen in his role relaying news of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. This shift means fewer traditional broadcast options, potentially altering how millions access reliable audio news and leaving a gap in objective reporting.