An era soon to end: CBS Radio News (1927-2026)

 CBS owners Paramount-Skydance claim that they needed to terminate the radio news department because of how today's society receives their news via live streams and social media.

When CBS Radio News signs off on Friday, an era will end, and not entirely for the reasons that they claim. One commenter online suggested that some of the current radio staff, including veteran journalists Steve Kathan, Vicki Barker, Debra Rodriguez, Wendy Gillette, and others, could move to streaming. CBS gave former WCW announcer Christopher Cruise a new lease on life, and he likely could move into retirement.

Locally, WROW, a CBS affiliate forever, will simply go directly to local news updates from WRGB between 5-8 am, starting May 26. Currently, the station will run a short news brief from CBS for about a minute or so before going to local news. That they get the local news from WRGB reminds that WROW no longer has a news department of their own, and hasn't in years.

On Mother's Day, CBS Sunday Morning ran a feature piece on their radio cousins. Intro by Jane Pauley. Mo Rocca is the reporter.

You know who to blame, really. Even though CBS Radio News is non-partisan in its coverage, the decision is not entirely on Bari Weiss, or new owner Larry Ellison. It comes because president Trump, who doesn't comprehend the distinction between constructive & destructive criticism, doesn't want to hear any dissenting voices on the air.

WROW dropped CBS' World News Roundup a couple of years ago in order to streamline their morning news. What will happen when there's a breaking story after May 22, and CBS can't cover it on radio? I guess we'll have to wait & find out.

But, trust me on this. After Trump leaves office, Ellison may be forced to reconsider this ill-advised decision, and he should.