In a stunning move, CBS News is shutting down its radio division, bringing to an end one of its most recognizable sources of news reporting after nearly 100 years on air.
CBS News announced Friday it will stop offering its radio service to its 700 affiliate stations on May 22.
“While this was a necessary decision, it was not an easy one,” the company said in a memo obtained by The Times. “A shift in radio station programming strategies, coupled with challenging economic realities, has made it impossible to continue the service.”
The move marked the end of an era at CBS, which follows years of cutbacks at the network.
CBS sold its own radio stations in 2017, but continued to offer hourly network newscasts to affiliate stations, including “World News Roundup,” which has been on the air since 1938. Legendary CBS News journalist Edward R. Murrow — who would become a nationally recognized anchor covering the international battlefields of World War II and the domestic “Red Scare” of the McCarthy era — delivered his first report on the program.
“World News Roundup” rose to prominence during World War II, when Murrow and other CBS News correspondents delivered live reports from Europe.
Robert Trout led the broadcast when it was launched and is considered by historians to be the first news anchor. Douglas Edwards, another esteemed veteran of CBS News, was at the microphone for the program from 1966 to 1988 when it was called “The World Tonight.”
“World News Roundup” is currently heard on KNX in Los Angeles, which also carries the hourly CBS newscasts.
CBS News anchors Robert Trout and Douglas Edwards in 1956.
(CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images)
While CBS News Radio is no longer a significant revenue generator, the service did get the news division’s reporting and the voices of its correspondents into the ears of millions of listeners each week.
The news of the shutdown comes as dozens of CBS News employees learned Friday about their future at the struggling news division.
A morning email from CBS News President Tom Cibrowski and editor-in-chief Bari Weiss that was obtained by The Times said staff affected by a new round of job reductions will be notified by the end of the day. About 60 people or 6% of CBS News employees will be affected.
The cuts drew a harsh response from the Writers Guild of America, which is currently involved in negotiations for a new contract with CBS News.
“CBS News Radio is an institution, where generations of the finest journalists in the country spent their careers reporting the news and holding people in power to account,” the union said in a statement. “The decision to simply shutter CBS News Radio is indicative of Bari Weiss and (Paramount Chief Executive) David Ellison’s inept leadership.”
Among those on TV side hit by the layoffs were Elaine Quijano, a longtime correspondent and anchor who moderated the 2016 vice presidential debate between Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Mike Pence.
Omar Villafranca, a Dallas-based correspondent frequently seen on “CBS Evening News” was also let go, according to people familiar with decision.
CBS News cut two correspondents who specialized in covering climate change — Dave Malkoff, who is a veteran of local Los Angeles stations, and Dave Schechter, who served as national environmental correspondent.
A CBS News representative did not comment on specific individuals affected by the cuts.
Several reporters and producers in the network’s Washington bureau were also affected.
Hunter Woodall, a political reporter since 2023, posted a statement on X saying he was among the layoffs in the network’s Washington bureau.
The layoffs had been hinted at earlier this year by Weiss, the controversial news executive who said her business goal for the division is to expand its reach on digital platforms. Weiss and Cibrowski raised the same issue in their note informing employees of the cuts.
“It’s no secret that the news business is changing radically, and that we need to change along with it,” they wrote. “New audiences are burgeoning in new places and we are pressing forward with ambitious plans to grow and invest so that we can be there for them.”
CBS News has been dealing with a decline in revenue for its TV programs, as viewers have gravitated toward streaming platforms and social media.
The network’s daily programs “CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil” and “CBS Mornings,” both run well behind their competition in the ratings. “CBS Evening News” is now averaging under 4 million viewers a night, the level it was at before Weiss installed Dokoupli as anchor in January.
More consolidation is likely ahead at CBS News, which is expected to be under the same corporate ownership as CNN once parent company Paramount closes its $111-billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. The two divisions are likely to share news gathering costs, which could lead to the closure of bureaus and a reduction of personnel.
CBS News lost about 100 employees in October as part of a massive round of cuts enacted at Paramount after the company was acquired by Skydance Media.
Weiss had joined CBS News earlier that month and was not directly involved in the staff reductions. She is said to be more personally involved in the cuts occurring Friday.