Reflections as CBS News Radio Signs Off After 99 Years
The shutdown ends a nearly century-old public-service news model as ratings fall and corporate consolidation reshapes U.S. radio, analysts said.
- When CBS Radio News goes silent on May 22, 2026, Americans will lose access to news programming they have tuned into from their living rooms, kitchens and cars for nearly a century.
- In 1934, the Communications Act mandated broadcasters serve 'public interest, convenience and necessity,' prompting founder William S. Paley to appoint Edward R. Murrow to lead news programming.
- After President Bill Clinton signed the 1996 Telecommunication Act, industry lobbying dismantled ownership caps, allowing large corporations to acquire far more stations while weakening public interest obligations tied to broadcast licensing.
- In 2025, the Federal Communications Commission under President Donald Trump approved the merger of Paramount Global with Skydance Media, but only after Paramount settled a $16 million lawsuit Trump had filed.
- The story of CBS's fall mirrors a parallel decline in American media's commitment to public interest standards, a shift The Literary Digest predicted would occur as early as March 22, 1924.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Reflections as CBS News Radio signs off after 99 years
WWJ's Christina McDaniel spoke with Former CBS News Radio Vice President and General Manager Craig Swagler about CBS News Radio's legacy and history as it closes its doors after nearly a century. (Photo Credit: Christophe Badouet/Getty Images).
The Conversation
As goes CBS Radio News, so goes the idea that news media should serve the public interest
Former CBS President William S. Paley, left, who once called broadcasting 'an instrument of American democracy,' speaks on his radio network in 1934. Bettmann/Getty ImagesWhen CBS Radio News goes silent on May 22, 2026, Americans will lose access to news programming they’ve tuned into from their living rooms, kitchens and cars for nearly a century. The once-bipartisan idea that the nation’s media should exist to serve democracy continues to fade…
WCLU to switch from CBS to ABC News Radio
STAFF REPORT Glasgow News 1 WCLU listeners will hear a new source for national and international news this weekend, moving from CBS News Radio to a new affiliation with ABC News Radio as CBS winds down its radio news division. The change follows CBS’s decision earlier this year to shut down its long-running radio news service, which has supplied top-of-the-hour updates and special reports to radio stations across the country for nearly a century…
✰PREMIUM As goes CBS Radio News, so goes the idea that news media should serve the public interest
The once-bipartisan idea that the nation’s media should exist to serve democracy continues to fade with it, too. The post ✰PREMIUM As goes CBS Radio News, so goes the idea that news media should serve the public interest appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 58% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
