CBS News Radio to shut down service after nearly 100 years, eliminating all staff positions

CBS News announced Friday morning that it will end its CBS News Radio service after nearly 100 years.

Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss and President Tom Cibrowski announced the cuts with two internal memos to the CBS News Team and roughly 700 affiliated stations, detailing that all positions would be eliminated on May 22.

“Unfortunately, this decision means that all positions within the CBS News Radio team are being eliminated,” Weiss and Cibrowski wrote in the memo. “We understand how difficult this news is for our staff and their colleagues, who have worked side by side with us to cover some of the most significant stories of our time.”

In the announcement, the network characterized the decision as “necessary,” although the decision was difficult to make, citing radio station programming strategies and “challenging economic realities” that have made it impossible to continue the service.

“The coming weeks will be difficult for the team members who have worked tirelessly at CBS News Radio,” the memo stated. “We are committed to supporting these valued colleagues with care and respect as we wind down operations. They have been critical to our success and remain treasured friends and professionals. We thank them deeply for their contributions.”

‘Sorry to see it go’: Dave Ross reflects on 27 years at CBS News Radio, the historic facility’s legacy

Dave Ross, a former KIRO Newsradio host and CBS News Radio commentator for 27 years, reflected on the network’s closure.

“I’m not shocked by anything anymore, so I guess I can’t say it was a gut punch for me,” Ross told “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “I freelanced for them for 27 years and filled in for Charles Osgood, my own commentary for them, so I guess it does have a special place in my career. It is, definitely, and certainly is, a legendary network from Edward R. Murrow on down.”

Ross provided some lesser-known details about the actual CBS News Radio facility, noting the iconic brick wall behind CBS mornings as one of the things that is hard to let go.

“It was a shoestring operation for a while. It was bought out by a company called Westwood One. I don’t pretend to understand all the corporate decisions that go into this. But 524, West 57th Street, where the studios were, was an old [milk processing plant], and that’s where the radio network was located, just downstairs from the TV network,” Ross said. “I thought it was the coolest thing for this super glitzy network to be located in an old brick dairy. Now that brick wall you see on CBS mornings, that’s not a set. That’s the actual back wall of the old dairy. And so, like a lot of things, I’m sorry to see it go.”

‘CBS built this universe’: KIRO Newsradio staff reacts to nearly 100-year legacy ending

In response to the CBS News announcement, the “Seattle’s Morning News” crew on KIRO Newsradio explained the gravity of the situation and reaffirmed that, as an affiliate of CBS News, KIRO Newsradio is not affected by the network’s shutdown.

“I have tears in my eyes. This is news radio, I mean, CBS built this universe, right?” KIRO traffic reporter Chris Sullivan said. “I haven’t taken losses in my family like I’m taking this right now. As a person who loves this industry, this is devastating.”

Co-host Charlie Harger acknowledged CBS News Radio’s prestigious legacy while lamenting the impact on staff.

“So many of us who have listened to CBS, it’s always kind of been the gold standard, and certainly a sign that we’re in an evolving industry,” Harger said. “You watch us on YouTube now, a lot of people do that. They’re listening on the app, and we continue to evolve. But it’s so disappointing to think of all our colleagues who have contributed so much to news gathering over the years. They’re going to be losing their jobs in the next few weeks.”

Decades-long CBS veteran on the network’s closure being a tragic loss for journalism

Herb Weisbaum, a former CBS correspondent who worked with the organization for decades, recalled his experiences working at the company and expressed his disappointment in the network’s decline under current ownership.

“I was a correspondent for three years, and used to walk into the building on West 57th, and when I saw the pictures of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite and all the others up on the wall. I got goosebumps every single time I walked in the building,” Weisbaum told “Seattle’s Morning News.” “It’s a tradition that shouldn’t have gone away. We need news more than ever before, and CBS News is a glorious institution that, unfortunately, a wrecking ball is being taken to by the current owners of the network. It’s really, really sad.”

Weisbaum spoke on the critical role journalism has in maintaining democracy and warned of the consequences of losing trusted news sources.

“I’ve always told people that with the changing landscape of news, when I grew up, there were three network newscasts. We all watched the thing. We were all on the same page. You can’t have a democracy when people don’t know what’s going on,” Weisbaum said. “You have to have a free press, and you have to have the press. You have to be out there covering stuff, and if you’re not covering it and the citizens aren’t informed, you can’t have a democracy. And that’s the really scary part to me.”

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