CBS News is shutting down its flagship radio network – once home to legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow – as part of its ongoing downsizing operation since the network was taken over by a billionaire ally of President Donald Trump.
Editor-in-chief and known MAGA ally Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski announced Friday morning the network would be laying off dozens of employees, about 6 percent of its workforce, and shutting down CBS Radio, which provides news programming to about 700 affiliated stations around the country. The changes are effective May 22, reported the Hollywood Reporter.
“While this was a necessary decision, it was not an easy one,” Weiss and Cibrowski wrote to CBS Radio staff. “A shift in radio station programming strategies, coupled with challenging economic realities, has made it impossible to continue the service. We are sharing this announcement now to fulfill our commitments to our radio partners and affiliates, which require advance notice of the service’s conclusion.”
The radio network launched in 1928 and its World News Roundup is the longest-running news broadcast in the U.S. It hit the chopping block in the second round of cuts since Trump ally David Ellison took control of parent company last summer, and these latest layoffs reflect the decision making of Weiss, whom he personally installed to lead that division despite having no background in TV news.
“It’s no secret that the news business is changing radically, and that we need to change along with it.” Weiss and Cibrowski wrote to employees. “New audiences are burgeoning in new places, and we are pressing forward with ambitious plans to grow and invest so that we can be there for them. That means some parts of our newsroom must get smaller to make room for the things we must build to remain competitive.”
“But these are very hard choices and today is a difficult day,” they added.
Some of the network’s biggest stars, including Anderson Cooper, have left CBS News since Weiss took charge in protest of the MAGA-friendly direction she’s leading the network, especially its flagship “60 Minutes” program and CBS “Evening News,” which has seen its viewership fall below 4 million.
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