CBS Radio News Ends After Nearly 100 Years, Citing Economic Pressures

CBS announced Friday it will close its radio news division after almost a century of broadcasting, affecting 700 stations nationwide. The service, which launched the careers of legendary journalists like Edward R. Murrow, will end May 22 due to changing programming strategies and financial challenges.

NEW YORK — After nearly a century on the airwaves, CBS announced Friday it will permanently close its radio news division as part of company-wide job cuts, citing evolving station programming approaches and economic difficulties.

The radio service first launched in September 1927, serving as the foundation for what would become the entire CBS network and launching young William S. Paley’s media career. The division gained prominence through legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow’s wartime broadcasts from London during World War II.

Currently, CBS Radio News delivers content to approximately 700 stations nationwide, primarily recognized for its hourly news updates. Operations will cease on May 22, according to Friday’s announcement.

“While this was a necessary decision, it was not an easy one,” CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski wrote in a staff memo Friday.

Radio, alongside newspapers, dominated American news consumption from the 1920s through 1940s, with citizens tuning in for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chats” during the Great Depression. Television overtook radio’s prominence in the 1950s, and today’s audiences increasingly turn to digital platforms and podcasts rather than traditional radio programming.

The network’s website homepage did not immediately feature coverage of the closure announcement.

Weiss has demonstrated familiarity with CBS’s historical significance. Speaking to staff in January, just three months after assuming leadership, she referenced iconic anchor Walter Cronkite as representing outdated approaches and warned that maintaining current strategies would leave the network as “toast.”

During that address, Weiss revealed plans to bring on 18 new contributors and emphasized CBS News must pursue stories that will “surprise and provoke — including inside our own newsroom.”

Since joining CBS from her Free Press website without prior broadcast journalism experience, Weiss has generated significant attention and divided opinion within the industry. She delayed a “60 Minutes” segment examining President Donald Trump’s deportation policies for one month, prompting observers to question whether she’s steering the network toward more Trump-favorable coverage.