The Writers Guild of America East mourned the closure of CBS News Radio on Friday, arguing the decision to end the nearly century-old radio service represented a “reckless and shortsighted decision” by Paramount CEO David Ellison and CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss.
The union said the end of CBS News Radio, which will shut down Friday night, “erodes a vital news source for listeners of more than 700-affiliated stations across the country” and will leave 26 WGAE members without a job. The radio service has been unionized with WGAE since 1954.
“Ellison and Weiss at the helm of CBS News has led to a further erosion in the integrity of the free press,” the union wrote. “We are troubled that this trend will continue if Paramount-Skydance is able to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery and acquire CNN.”
A CBS News spokesperson did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Weiss announced the end of CBS News Radio in March as part of CBS News’ decision to lay off 6% of its staff. At the time, she and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski told staffers the cuts were “necessary” due to shifting radio programming strategies and “challenging economic realities.”
The radio network began in 1927 and was the last of the original three radio networks in operation following the closures of NBC Radio Network and the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1999. CBS News Radio‘s newscast, “World News Roundup,” is the longest-running radio newscast in the U.S., and the radio network is where CBS staple Edward R. Murrow delivered his reports on World War II.
“We honor and celebrate the amazing journalists and media workers who made CBS News Radio a pillar of journalism,” the WGAE ended its Friday statement. “Good night, and good luck.”
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