CBS News Radio Crackles to a Close - The New York Times

Skip to contentSkip to site indexMedia|An Aural Companion for Decades, CBS News Radio Crackles to a Closehttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/21/business/media/cbs-news-radio-appraisal.htmlShare full article88The pioneering CBS journalists Edward R. Murrow, left, and William Shirer delivered riveting reports from Europe during World War II.Credit...Everett Collection/AlamyAn Aural Companion for Decades, CBS News Radio Crackles to a CloseA stalwart of the mass media century, the longstanding network that launched the careers of journalists like Edward R. Murrow will air its final broadcast in May.The pioneering CBS journalists Edward R. Murrow, left, and William Shirer delivered riveting reports from Europe during World War II.Credit...Everett Collection/AlamySupported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTListen · 6:56 min Share full article88By Michael M. Grynbaum and Benjamin MullinPublished March 21, 2026Updated March 22, 2026It transported Americans onto the rooftops of London in the Blitz and into the bleak embers of concentration camps in liberated Nazi Germany, an aural atlas to world events thousands of miles away.In more recent years, it transmitted eyewitness dispatches from world capitals to hundreds of local stations in rural and sparsely populated parts of the country.CBS News Radio was a pioneer and stalwart of the mass media century, the proving ground of star journalists like Edward R. Murrow, with a distinctive five-tone chime that became synonymous with breaking news — long before the rise of 24-hour cable and the internet.Now, its venerable airwaves are crackling to a close. Paramount Skydance, the parent company of CBS, announced on Friday that the radio news network would sign off, after 99 years, near the end of May.The decision, part of a round of layoffs at CBS News, was not exactly surprising.ImageReporters running election night coverage at CBS Radio Studio One in New York City in 1936.Credit...CBS, via Getty ImagesThe inexorable rise of podcasts, and the expansion into audio journalism by formerly print-only news outlets like The New York Times, has chipped away at traditional radio’s presence in public life. NBC licensed its news radio brand to iHeartMedia in 2016. That same year, the CBS Corporation moved to end its radio ownership business, announcing plans to sell 117 stations that once reached 70 million people a week. CBS News Radio itself had been whittled down to a handful of correspondents in recent years and is unprofitable, a person familiar with the company said.Still, a Nielsen study found that radio today reaches 93 percent of American adults, particularly commuters who drive to and from work. And CBS said its radio network was providing reporting and short news segments to about 700 subscriber affiliates around the country, including major metro stations like 1010 WINS in New York. Those stations that wish to continue carrying national news reporting will need to look elsewhere.In a staff memo on Friday, Bari Weiss, the editor in chief of CBS News, and Tom Cibrowski, the president, observed that the radio network had “served as the foundation for everything we have built since 1927.” But because of “a shift in radio station programming strategies” and “challenging economic realities,” the company concluded that it was “impossible to continue the service.”Lowell Bergman, a prominent former “60 Minutes” producer now working on a documentary about the regulation of mass media, said in an interview that CBS News Radio represented a century-old pact that broadcasters made with the government to provide responsible journalism free of charge when radio was still an emerging technology.Its imminent demise, he said, “is just one more step in the direction of abandoning a 100-year-old tradition.”When it made its Jazz Age debut, in September 1927, CBS’s radio news report joined a crowded market of broadcasters seeking dominance over a powerful new communications medium. Millions tuned in to programs that eventually carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous “fireside chats” to the nation.ImagePresident Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his first “fireside chat” on March 12, 1933, from Washington.Credit...Associated PressIt was Edward R. Murrow — “the right man in the right place in the right era,” as David Halberstam described him — and his CBS dispatches from Europe in the 1930s and 1940s that transformed the network into a leader in broadcast news.Murrow’s accounting of Hitler’s rise, and then the first bombs hitting London in the Blitz, riveted Americans at a time when technology was making the world smaller and more connected.(Later, Murrow relayed his harrowing visit to the Buchenwald concentration camp in April 1945. “It will not be pleasant listening,” he told CBS listeners. “If you are at lunch, or if you have no appetite to hear what Germans have done, now is a good time to switch off the radio.”)In 1938, Scribner’s magazine declared that Murrow “has more influence upon America’s reaction to foreign news than a shipful of newspapermen,” noting that he “beats newspapers by hours” and “reaches millions who otherwise have to depend on provincial newspapers for their foreign news.” It was among the first times that a single broadcaster could outstrip legions of print reporters and reach millions and millions of listeners all at once.ImageMurrow’s accounts of the German bombing of London in the Blitz during World War II transfixed Americans.Credit...Associated PressThe rise of television hampered radio’s dominance, and CBS’s radio network, like its peers at ABC and NBC, began a long decline in audience and attention. Nowadays, it’s TV news that is in trouble, fending off a surge of popular, lower-budget rivals and influencers who convey information on streaming platforms and social media.Ms. Weiss has said she is seeking to modernize a news division that has yet to adapt to the habits of modern viewers. Like other newsroom leaders, she is also facing budget pressures. Since CBS was purchased last year by David Ellison, a billionaire technology heir, the news division has conducted two rounds of layoffs, and the vestigial radio network was seen within the industry as low-hanging fruit.Defenders, however, argue that its end was not inevitable. Harvey Nagler, CBS’s top radio news executive for nearly two decades, said in an interview that ending CBS News Radio was “a blow to objective journalism because you’re losing another voice.” Mr. Nagler, who left his role in 2017, said CBS’s decision would benefit ABC, whose radio network is now the country’s largest, with nearly 1,500 affiliates. He added that CBS News Radio provided invaluable marketing for the news division’s brand.“We are living in a media revolution, and CBS News Radio is unfortunately the latest casualty of that revolution,” Peter Maer, who retired from CBS News Radio in 2015 after serving as its White House correspondent, said in an interview.ImageCBS Radio’s Charles Murphy, right, broadcast from the second expedition to Antarctica helmed by Adm. Richard Byrd, left, in 1933.Credit...CBS, via Getty Images“We know that, especially the younger demographic, is listening to podcasts and looking at TikTok and Instagram and so many other choices,” Mr. Maer said. But when people drive to work in the morning, he added, they “want their fill of the news at the top of the hour.”Dan Rather, the former “CBS Evening News” anchor, wrote on Facebook on Friday that “the end of CBS News Radio breaks my heart.” He recalled listening to its broadcasts from his childhood home in Texas and feeling inspired to pursue a career in journalism.Concluding his elegy, Mr. Rather noted his gratitude that many of the original CBS radio broadcasts, the ones that had mesmerized him as a child, were preserved for future generations to hear.“They are available on YouTube,” he wrote.ImageCBS Radio Theatre in New York City in 1939.Credit...Associated PressErik Wemple contributed reporting.From the comments88Benjamin MullinMedia reporterThe whole time I was working on this story, I couldn’t stop thinking about this tribute written by my former colleague Roy Peter Clark at The Poynter Institute. The whole delightful thing is worth reading, but here’s a little taste:“Osgood was his middle name,His real last name was Wood.How much news could a newshound chuckWith a handle like Chuck Wood?He was born in New York CityWhen Depression life suffused,But he spent the war in BaltimoreAnd heard Murrow on the news.”https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2016/a-salute-to-charles-osgood-the-bard-of-broadcast-news/EEugene O NeillNew JerseyI admit that I love radio. I fell in love with radio broadcasts in the 1960s, first with sports and news, and I have been addicted since. The news that CBS News Radio was being eliminated came as no surprise, though, and since listeners and revenue have departed, the network was living on its outstanding legacy and mostly nostalgia. Still, it stings much the same way the slow disappearance of printed newspapers does.AAngPennsylvaniaI know this comment will seem trite, but one of my first memories is of listening to the CBS news driving home from a relative’s home after a long Sunday dinner. The ride was from Northern New Jersey to Southern Connecticut and as a child, it seemed like a very long ride.That AM crackle. The news I couldn’t really understand. It kept my father engaged for the ride home, and yes, lulled me to sleep. It’s sad to see it go. So long.Read 88 commentsMichael M. Grynbaum writes about the intersection of media, politics and culture. He has been a media correspondent at The Times since 2016.Benjamin Mullin reports for The Times on the major companies behind news and entertainment. Contact him securely on Signal at +1 530-961-3223 or at benjamin.mullin@nytimes.com.A version of this article appears in print on  , Section B, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: New Media Swallows Up CBS Radio. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | SubscribeSee more on: CBS NewsRead 88 commentsShare full article88Related ContentAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTSite IndexSite Information Navigation© 2026 The New York Times CompanyNYTCoContact UsAccessibilityWork with usAdvertiseT Brand StudioPrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyTerms of ServiceTerms of SaleSite MapCanadaInternationalHelpSubscriptionsManage Privacy Preferences

CBS News Radio’s cessation of broadcasts after 99 years represents a significant, if somewhat predictable, development within the evolving landscape of mass media consumption. Michael M. Grynbaum and Benjamin Mullin detail the network’s history, highlighting its crucial role as a training ground for journalistic talent, most notably Edward R. Murrow, and its enduring contribution to American news dissemination, particularly during the World War II era. The chronicle emphasizes the network’s distinctive five-tone chime, a recognizable signal of breaking news that predated the dominance of 24-hour news cycles and the internet. The narrative correctly identifies the primary drivers of its decline – the rise of podcasts and the expansion of audio journalism by larger media entities like The New York Times – coupled with the broader shift in audience attention towards digital platforms.

The piece meticulously traces the network’s evolution from a pioneering broadcast service to an unprofitable enterprise, reflecting broader economic pressures within the CBS News division. The decision by Paramount Skydance, the parent company, to discontinue CBS News Radio aligns with a series of layoffs and restructuring initiatives within CBS News, illustrating a strategic realignment driven by shifting market dynamics and financial considerations. The report’s inclusion of data related to radio reach—93% of American adults still listening—provides a crucial counterpoint to the narrative of obsolescence, emphasizing the continued relevance of radio, particularly for commuters. The mention of 700 affiliate stations further demonstrates the network’s established infrastructure and existing audience base, even as it navigated challenges regarding profitability and listener engagement.

Furthermore, the article effectively contextualizes CBS News Radio within the broader history of broadcasting, referencing its debut in 1927 during the Jazz Age and its association with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's “fireside chats,” showcasing its early role in shaping national discourse. The significance of Edward R. Murrow’s reporting from Europe is prominently featured, underscoring his impact on the network's reputation and demonstrating his ability to capture global events and relay them to American audiences with immediacy. The inclusion of Murrow’s personal reflections regarding his reporting from Buchenwald adds a layer of human experience to the historical account, illustrating the profound responsibility inherent in broadcasting news during times of conflict.

The narrative acknowledges the broader media revolution occurring within the industry, encompassing the rise of digital audio formats and the increasing competition from diverse platforms like podcasts and social media. The reference to Harvey Nagler, CBS’s top radio news executive for nearly two decades, provides insights into the internal dynamics of the network and the rationale behind its eventual demise. The story also incorporates opinions from voices such as Lowell Bergman, a former “60 Minutes” producer, and Peter Maer, a retired CBS Radio correspondent, offering diverse perspectives on the network’s legacy and the challenges it faced. The inclusion of Roy Peter Clark’s poignant tribute further elevates the piece, recognizing the network’s impact on the field of journalism. The inclusion of the final comments by the readers shows a great deal of emotional connection to the story.