CBS News to end nearly 100-year radio service, citing economic and programming shifts
Key Takeaways
- CBS News will shut its long-running radio service on 22 May, affecting more than 700 affiliate stations and around 60 staff (roughly 6% of the workforce).
- Leadership cites "a shift in radio station programming strategies" and economic pressures; memo said "While this was a necessary decision, it was not an easy one."
- The move comes amid broader management changes after a takeover that, it has been reported, involved regulatory approval and settlement payments.
- The cuts may reduce local audio news coverage and could affect reporting on immigration topics, including a previously pulled 60 Minutes segment about deportations.
- Affiliates, employees and listeners in communities that rely on radio news are likely to feel the immediate human impact.
What happened
CBS News announced it will end its radio service on 22 May, a product that has lasted nearly a century and reaches more than 700 affiliate stations. Editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski told staff in a memo that employees would be notified that day if their roles were affected; US media report the layoffs could touch more than 60 people, about 6% of the CBS News workforce. "While this was a necessary decision, it was not an easy one," Weiss and Cibrowski wrote, adding that "Parts of our newsroom must get smaller to make room for the things we must build to remain competitive."
Leadership, strategy and context
The shutdown comes as CBS News undergoes management and editorial shifts after a takeover of parent companies that, it has been reported, involved regulatory scrutiny and a $16m settlement related to a separate suit. David Ellison — identified in coverage as the son of tech billionaire Larry Ellison — now has influence over Paramount and CBS as part of a merger with his studio, Skydance, and hired Bari Weiss last October to lead news operations. Weiss has publicly criticized broadcast media partisanship and has signalled a push to "modernise" coverage and reallocate resources to digital platforms; the network has said it will invest where new audiences are growing.
Impact on immigration reporting and communities
The cuts have implications for local news coverage and for national reporting on immigration issues. It has been reported that Weiss previously pulled a 60 Minutes segment about the Trump administration's deportations of Venezuelan men to a detention centre in El Salvador — a decision that drew criticism because broadcast journalists often play a watchdog role on deportation and asylum policies. For immigrant communities and legal advocates, fewer radio reporters and reduced affiliate programming can mean less exposure for on-the-ground stories about deportations, asylum processing, and detention conditions; that can affect public awareness, legal advocacy and pressure on policymakers.
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