CBS News Radio Closed

[Mark Roberts]

If it's true that CBS News Radio only brought in $67,000 in ad revenue in January, I would find it difficult to make a business case for its continuation.

Hang on a sec. CBS News Radio only brought in $67K in January?

The source for that figure was a New York Times article. See post #127: CBS News Radio Closed

(1) January's known to be the worst billing month in the typical year, what were the numbers and year-over-year comparisons for Nov and Dec?

I don't think there's much seasonality in network spot sales, especially any more. The point about comparisons is fair, but comparable figures month-to-month and year-to-year haven't been publicized.

Not saying the market for national news radio time sales hasn't been cratering. But this entire saga sounds suspiciously hopeless. Just as with Colbert, I'd like to see some more independent journalism before pushing the Believe-Me-On-Faith button.

Post-Colbert, anything CBS does that would appear to affect its journalistic capabilities is viewed with suspicion, rightly or wrongly.

 

[KilowattKat]

Excellent analysis of the closing of CBS Radio.

I agee, just finished reading it. This really is a big step in turning a news organization from one of fact based hard news journalism, to one of slanted opinion and viewpoint.

After May 23, I am absolutely done with CBS, in any shape or form. Good riddance.

 

[TheBigA]

Also written by an actual human...

NorthEast Radio Watch 3/23 & 3/30/2026: Two More Seismic Shifts

In this week’s issue… TEGNA deal consolidates Hartford, Scranton, Buffalo stations - CBS to close radio newsroom - Buffalo's Snyder

www.fybush.com

“History,” of course, isn’t something that seems to mean much to the new owners of the network, as David Ellison’s Skydance and editor-in-chief Bari Weiss upend so many of the traditions of the network news operation in their attempt to reinvent the operation.

Hats off to you for your great work. Reading your article reminds me of when I was in DC and attended a radio industry meeting at the old CBS bureau on M street (the one that was demolished and replaced by the current building). I walked in, took the elevator to the radio network floor, and was transported back in time. There were reel to reel machines there! The old console style Ampex models. I couldn't believe it. That led to me and my fellow radio people calling that office "the museum." My take on CBS radio network people was they were very provincial. They did things a certain way that was rooted in their history. That didn't extend to the owned & operated radio stations that I worked with.

 

[Mark Roberts]

We are also only talking about 1 hour and 36 minutes of content being produced daily. (24 x 4 minutes). If they really wanted to stay in business, charge monthly fees to affiliates.

Let's go alllllll the way back to post #12 for a cautionary tale:

A station I'm familiar with dropped ABC news last month because they wanted to start charging $700 a month along with running extra network spots.

CBS News Radio Closed

Just announced: https://deadline.com/2026/03/cbs-news-radio-to-shut-down-1236761393/ The company had just signed a distribution agreement with Audacy's Infinity Networks in October.

radiodiscussions.com

 

[KilowattKat]

Let's go alllllll the way back to post #12 for a cautionary tale:

CBS News Radio Closed

Just announced: https://deadline.com/2026/03/cbs-news-radio-to-shut-down-1236761393/ The company had just signed a distribution agreement with Audacy's Infinity Networks in October.

radiodiscussions.com

I missed that post. Wow, $700 A MONTH plus required spots. If this is accurate, how is ABC radio managing to hang on to their affiliates? I don't want to say this is inaccurate, but would like some proof of this.

 

[Mark Roberts]

My take on CBS radio network people was they were very provincial. They did things a certain way that was rooted in their history. That didn't extend to the owned & operated radio stations that I worked with.

A former CBS News correspondent was the chairman of the broadcast news department at the University of Missouri when I was a student there. He also taught the entry-level broadcast news course, and had a significant hand in shaping news coverage both at the NPR station and at the TV station (an NBC affiliate). Through his connections, our radio station had access to CBS newscalls. We had to dial up KMOX for those, and the audio quality wasn't the greatest thanks to having GTE as a local telco, but we could use them. He also placed students who he felt fit in with a CBS template (in style, temperament, etc.) into internships and, in some cases, permanent jobs. While they were good people, they tended to be upper-middle-class types. Those of us from more modest backgrounds had more difficulty with that form of gatekeeping.

The reason for pointing this out is that corporate cultures tend to be self-perpetuating and self-selecting, and that was certainly true of CBS.

 

[TheBigA]

If this is accurate, how is ABC radio managing to hang on to their affiliates? I don't want to say this inaccurate, but would like some proof of this.

They offer a lot more than TOH network news. They offer digital content for websites and prep services for music stations.

I posted links to all of their offerings earlier in this thread.

 

[fybush]

I had the privilege this morning of spending a little time at the Broadcast Center. The good people there in radio are pretty sanguine about the whole thing, and also very appreciative of all the kind words they're getting from the industry.

I stand by my analysis in yesterday's column, overall, with some amplification on my point that I think it was a misunderstanding on the part of the new management to look at the radio revenue numbers in a vacuum.

One thing I hadn't realized until today is that within the last few years, the previous management at CBS News integrated a lot of what had previously been separate fiefdoms.

There's now a big news hub that integrates the radio news staff with Evening News and the 24/7 digital service and other staff that had been scattered in different parts of the building. It's the first time in the entire history of CBS that the radio news studio is just steps from the TV anchor desk.

In the hands of people who actually understand and care about the medium, the radio news operation should have and could have been thought of as a promotional and marketing tool for the whole of CBS News rather than just a standalone expense. But that requires a depth of vision that the Bari Weiss team lacks.

 

[KilowattKat]

They offer a lot more than TOH network news. They offer digital content for websites and prep services for music stations.

I posted links to all of their offerings earlier in this thread.

Then these are additional (optional) services. If an affiliate only wanted an hourly newscast, is it barter only?

 

[TheBigA]

It's the first time in the entire history of CBS that the radio news studio is just steps from the TV anchor desk.

The last time I was in that building, they were on complete opposite sides. TV was off the lobby, and you walked about a mile to radio news.

the radio news operation should have and could have been thought of as a promotional and marketing tool for the whole of CBS News rather than just a standalone expense.

That's true at the other networks, and why NBC still leases use of the NBC Radio brand to iHeart.

Then these are additional (optional) services. If an affiliate only wanted an hourly newscast, is it barter only?

I don't know. I imagine it's all negotiable.

 

[fybush]

The last time I was in that building, they were on complete opposite sides. TV was off the lobby, and you walked about a mile to radio news

The old radio newsroom (which was Cronkite's TV news fishbowl in the 60s) is still sitting empty off to the right from the lobby. Whatever plans there were to reuse that space never got executed, and with the building supposedly on the block to be sold, who knows if anything will be done with it?

As you know, it's a rather bizarre building - very narrow corridors and almost a submarine feeling in a lot of the tech spaces. It couldn't be built under today's ADA rules or fire codes.

 

[fybush]

The last time I was in that building, they were on complete opposite sides. TV was off the lobby, and you walked about a mile to radio news

The old radio newsroom (which was Cronkite's TV news fishbowl in the 60s) is still sitting empty off to the right from the lobby. Whatever plans there were to reuse that space never got executed, and with the building supposedly on the block to be sold, who knows if anything will be done with it?

As you know, it's a rather bizarre building - very narrow corridors and almost a submarine feeling in a lot of the tech spaces. It couldn't be built under today's ADA rules or fire codes.

 

[KilowattKat]

I listened to a TOH CBS newscast on WJEJ half hour ago, and the O' Reilly Auto Parts sponsorship of the newscast, which had been in place for years, is now gone.

 

[TheBigA]

As you know, it's a rather bizarre building - very narrow corridors and almost a submarine feeling in a lot of the tech spaces.

Exactly. There were pictures in the corridors of what it looked like when it was a dairy. Quite a place. The last time I saw Andy Rooney was in the commissary. That day, he was wearing a trenchcoat and looked a lot like Howard Beale.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

Here is one back when CBS News Radio and the former WCBS 880 were at Black Rock in 2000.

 

[Weiserguy]

Here is one back when CBS News Radio and the former WCBS 880 were at Black Rock in 2000.

CBS Radio News wasn't at Black Rock in 2000. (I don't think it was ever there, but cannot say with certainty. I think it was always on West 57th.)

What was at Black Rock with News 880 was WCBS-FM, AM was on the 16th floor, and FM on 17. I had a friend on the air staff in those days and spent more than a few memorable evenings there.

In 2000, AM moved over to the Broadcast Center, while FM ended up in studio space that (IIRC) had previously belonged to Lite FM in the Viacom Building (1515 Broadway in Times Square). Later in the decade all the CBS-owned stations (what's now Audacy) were consolidated at Hudson Square.

 

[TheBigA]

CBS Radio News wasn't at Black Rock in 2000. (I don't think it was ever there, but cannot say with certainty. I think it was always on West 57th.)

"Always" is a long time. For many years CBS News Radio was in Grand Central Station. The studios for the radio network and eventually TV were there until they moved to the broadcast center in the early 60s.

 

[Weiserguy]

"Always" is a long time. For many years CBS News Radio was in Grand Central Station. The studios for the radio network and eventually TV were there until they moved to the broadcast center in the early 60s.

You're right, and I realized the mistake of my wording as soon as I saw your comment. I meant to write that radio news had been at West 57th since CBS moved into Black Rock in the 1960s. Before then CBS News leased space in Grand Central. (If you've seem Goodbye and Good Luck, either the original or the George Clooney limited run Broadway remake a year or two ago, you might remember that fact.) And even before that, the embryonic CBS news team was probably at 485 Madison. Maybe you know if that was its original home? (I only go back as far as Truman.)

 

[TheBigA]

Maybe you know if that was its original home? (I only go back as far as Truman.)

The books I've read make it sound like Madison Avenue was just for corporate offices. Paley liked the address because it was near all the ad agencies. I think the early news studios were on a nearby sidestreet.

 

[fybush]

The books I've read make it sound like Madison Avenue was just for corporate offices. Paley liked the address because it was near all the ad agencies. I think the early news studios were on a nearby sidestreet.

I need to do a little more digging, but I'm pretty sure the studios at Grand Central were strictly for TV in the years before the move to West 57th.

The actual newsroom was next door in the Graybar Building and there are lots of stories in the various memoirs about the mad dashes with scripts and talent from Graybar over to Grand Central to make air.

As for radio, there were definitely studios at 485 Madison, and I am nearly certain that's where the network radio news operation started in the thirties and lived until the move to the Broadcast Center in '64.