Passing: WCBS Radio

Journeys into Hidden America

It’s not that I had listened much in recent years. I had long ago abandoned all-news radio for Public Radio, BBC, cable or C-Span.

Still, the news of the demise of WCBS was stunning.

It should not have been. We had repeatedly read and heard about the state of commercial radio, and how specifically podcasts had siphoned away dollars that once went for advertising on the radio. Moreover, we were well aware of the trend against local media –whether it is radio or print.

But to many of us WCBS represented something else. Interestingly it meant different things to different folks.

The station that became WCBS in the 1940’s was launched in September 1924 as WABC (then as part of the Atlantic Radio Network before it became the Columbia Broadcast System. Early on it was a CBS Radio network flagship for news, sports and music, including the likes of Robert Trout, Ted Heusing, Bing Crosby, and Kate Smith. It was where one heard the reports of London being bombed by Edward R. Morrow during World War II

On the AM side, WCBS was an all-news radio format that started in the 1960’s. New York was blessed with two all-news stations. In after years both were owned by the same owner (Audacy). Shutting down WCBS pulled the plug on a station with a history that stretched back to the 1940's CBS was a reminder of what network radio was like in its heyday before the advent of television (The remnants of that radio network presence endured into the 1960’s with the likes of Jack Sterling and Arthur Godfrey).

On the FM side, the memories of many of a certain age regard CBS-FM especially when it [played Oldies – it was the last remnant of an era of top 40 radio that dominated AM radio decades earlier. Its hosts over the years included many of the DJ’s originally from AM radio in New York – names like Cousin Brucie, Harry Harrison, Ron Ingraham.

The loss of WBS also represents another loss for democracy. It seems local news has been priced out of business – be it in newspapers or radio. The slashing of services for the sake of profits and threatened access to local news – we all are diminished by its absence as no reasonable option serves as an adequate replacement.

Finally, Newsradio 88 was my Dad’s station. In a way its loss makes me again relive the loss of home – now some 27 years ago. Online comments confirm that others have experienced this feeling as well – reliving the years that WCBS was there as a soundtrack for our lives.

Clearly WCBS 880 was about more than the news headlines, “traffic & weather on the eights” and sports. And, I am sorry that this fact was “lost” on those who made this “business decision”.

Life goes on. We will all find ways of moving on – though we are all diminished by the loss of WCBS and especially about why it had to happen in this way.

And make no mistake, it is a very real loss to those who listened and to those who felt WCBS to be an important part of the New York scene and beyond. As importantly, even to those who never listened or even heard of WCBS it loss as it is for us all. WCBS’s departure is yet another blow against those who feel that an informed public essential to our democracy (especially how news and those gathering and reporting the news are vital in our efforts to make a more perfect union). WCBS’s demise must be considered within the context of other news sources (especially newspapers) that have been closed or so decimated. Their loss is our loss – what we do not know has created a void – a void being exploited by those who all too frequently do so selfishly and with not the best of intentions.

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BTW, there was a wonderful retrospective of CBS Radio in New York that was run over the last weekend “WCBS through the Years”. It is well worth a listen - a way to remember and recall what once was and what was been lost:

And finally, check out this WCBS Newsradio 88 Appreciation Site: https://donswaim.com/wcbsnewsradio88.html

Images: WCBS Newsradio Appreciation Site