CBS News announced the termination of its radio broadcasting service this May, concluding nearly a century of audio news dissemination. The decision forms part of a broader restructuring initiative that will eliminate approximately 6% of the workforce, impacting over 60 employees. More than 700 affiliate stations nationwide will be affected when the service ceases operations on May 22.
Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss and President Tom Cibrowski disclosed the difficult choice in an internal communication Friday, acknowledging that economic pressures and evolving radio programming strategies rendered continuation unsustainable. “While this was a necessary decision, it was not an easy one,” they stated, emphasizing that certain newsroom divisions must contract to enable strategic growth areas.
The move occurs amidst significant corporate transformation following David Ellison’s acquisition of Paramount Global last year. The technology scion, whose father Larry Ellison maintains close ties with former President Trump, initiated substantial content modernization efforts at CBS News. Ellison appointed Weiss—a former New York Times opinion writer and vocal critic of partisan media bias—to lead editorial reforms last October.
Weiss’s tenure has already witnessed notable developments, including the departure of high-profile journalists like Anderson Cooper and controversial editorial decisions. In December, she withdrew a 60 Minutes segment about Trump-era deportations to El Salvador, asserting the reporting insufficiently advanced the story. Simultaneously, she has spearheaded digital expansion plans, announcing new contributor hires and restructured online news coverage in January.
The organization maintains its content-sharing partnership with BBC News, which remains editorially independent despite the collaboration. Leadership characterizes these changes as essential adaptations to industry evolution, noting that “new audiences are burgeoning in new places” requiring strategic investment shifts.