Lead
On March 20, 2026, CBS News announced it will shut down CBS News Radio and lay off more than 60 employees as part of a newsroom restructuring led by editor in chief Bari Weiss. The closure, set for May 22, 2026, ends a service that traces its origins to 1927 and which carried Edward R. Murrow’s World War II broadcasts. Management said the move responds to changing audience habits and financial pressures, while internal figures show the radio unit earned $67,000 in revenue in February. The cuts represent roughly 6 percent of the broader news division and affect journalists and production staff across multiple programs.
Key Takeaways
- More than 60 employees are slated to be laid off; the figure represents about 6% of CBS News’s news division.
- CBS News Radio will cease operations on May 22, 2026, ending a service founded in 1927 that rose to prominence with Edward R. Murrow.
- Internal figures cited by sources show the radio division generated $67,000 in revenue in February 2026.
- Bari Weiss, who became CBS News editor in chief in October 2025, announced the cuts during a newsroom call on March 20, 2026.
- Tom Cibrowski, president of CBS News, described the radio service as foundational but said continuing it was “impossible,” according to an internal memo.
- The closure is attributed to a long-term decline in radio news audiences and competition from podcasts and digital audio platforms.
- The network is owned by David Ellison, identified in reporting as a technology heir and the company’s principal owner.
Background
CBS News Radio traces its lineage to the late 1920s and became nationally prominent in the 1930s and 1940s, notably when Edward R. Murrow broadcast his wartime reports from London. For decades the division produced hourly newscasts and distributed reports to affiliate stations across the United States, supplying local and national outlets with reporting and audio resources. Over time the model relied on a mix of affiliate fees, advertising and corporate support; those revenue streams have contracted in recent years as audiences shifted to on-demand audio and digital platforms.
The broadcast environment changed markedly in the 2010s and 2020s: podcasting, streaming audio and social platforms captured attention that once went to live radio news. Many legacy radio newsrooms shrank or repurposed staff to focus on digital audio and podcast production. Within CBS News, leaders reviewed options to preserve the radio service but concluded the economics and audience metrics did not justify continuation. The decision comes amid broader cost-cutting at legacy news organizations as they reallocate resources toward digital growth areas.
Main Event
On March 20, 2026, Bari Weiss informed staff in a conference call that the newsroom would undergo reductions that include closing the radio division. According to recordings and internal memos cited by personnel, Weiss framed the move as a strategic reallocation: some parts of the newsroom must shrink to make room for new initiatives deemed essential to future competitiveness. Network leadership provided a timeline: operations will wind down with the last service date scheduled for May 22, 2026.
Tom Cibrowski, president of CBS News, circulated a memo acknowledging the historic role of CBS News Radio and describing the shutdown as a difficult but necessary step. Cibrowski wrote that CBS News Radio “served as the foundation for everything we have built since 1927” but that it had become impossible to continue the service. Internal sources told reporters the cuts will affect several dozen journalists and crew members across multiple shows and production units.
Management said it examined alternatives to closure, including scaled-back operations or converting resources into digital audio products, but concluded those options were insufficient to sustain the service. The company cited sharply reduced listener numbers for live radio news and competition from podcasts and streaming for the decline in revenue and reach. Staff and affiliate stations were notified ahead of the public announcement; some employees requested anonymity when sharing details about internal discussions.
Analysis & Implications
The decision to close CBS News Radio reflects structural shifts in audio consumption. Live, scheduled radio newscasts have lost ground to on-demand formats that let listeners choose when to hear reporting. For a legacy radio service with fixed distribution and staffing models, adapting to asynchronous production and monetization presents operational and financial challenges. The $67,000 revenue figure for February 2026, cited by internal sources, underscores how narrow the commercial base has become relative to fixed costs.
For affiliates that relied on CBS News Radio feeds, the closure will force programming adjustments. Many local stations that lack the resources to produce national audio news will need to seek replacements, whether from other wire broadcasters, independent audio providers, or syndicated podcasts. This shift could raise costs for smaller stations or degrade the availability of consistent, professionally produced national audio newscasts in some markets.
The loss also carries symbolic weight: CBS News Radio served as an institutional archive of broadcast journalism techniques and produced on-air talent who later moved into television and digital platforms. Shuttering the unit risks dispersing institutional knowledge and archives unless the network funds preservation or transfer projects. On the labor side, impacted staff face layoffs in a tight job market for audio journalists, although some skills may be transferable to podcasting and digital audio roles.
Strategically, the move signals where CBS News leadership plans to invest: personnel and capital are being redirected toward digital growth areas. For competitors and partners in the audio space, the closure may create opportunities to expand distribution or acquire talent and archives. Regulators are unlikely to treat the shutdown as a competition matter, but the change will be a notable data point in broader industry analyses of legacy media transformation.
Comparison & Data
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Founding year | 1927 |
| Closure announced | March 20, 2026 |
| Planned final day | May 22, 2026 |
| February 2026 revenue (internal figure) | $67,000 |
| Employees affected | More than 60 (~6% of news division) |
The table highlights discrete facts cited by company memos and reporting. The revenue number for February 2026 is an internal statistic reported to journalists; it helps explain the financial pressure behind the decision but does not on its own capture profit-and-loss across the broader news division. The employee count and percentage indicate the scale of the reduction relative to the whole newsroom, and the dates show the short timeline between announcement and planned cessation of service.
Reactions & Quotes
“Certain parts of this newsroom need to get smaller in order for us to make room for the things that we need to build to remain competitive in the future.”
Bari Weiss, CBS News editor in chief
Weiss made the remark during a newsroom-wide call referenced in internal recordings. Management presented the change as a forward-looking reallocation meant to prioritize digital initiatives, though staff questioned how displaced employees would be supported and where the promised investments would be directed.
“CBS News Radio served as the foundation for everything we have built since 1927.”
Tom Cibrowski, president of CBS News
Cibrowski used this language in an internal memo acknowledging the historical role of the radio service while also characterizing its continuation as untenable. His memo, circulated to staff and cited in reporting, framed the closure as a regrettable but necessary business decision.
Unconfirmed
- The precise final headcount of layoffs and the list of specific roles to be cut remain subject to internal HR confirmations and may change as separation processes proceed.
- Details on any planned reassignments, severance packages or retraining programs for affected employees have not been fully disclosed publicly.
- Whether CBS will preserve, license or transfer the radio archive and historical recordings has not been confirmed by the company.
Bottom Line
The closure of CBS News Radio marks the end of a near-century-old broadcast service and illustrates how legacy audio news models are being rebalanced in favor of digital-first strategies. Financial pressures—illustrated by a reported $67,000 in February revenue for the unit—and shifting listener behavior were central to leadership’s rationale for the shutdown. For affiliates and employees, the immediate consequences include programming disruptions and job losses; for the industry, the move underscores the accelerating shift from scheduled radio to on-demand audio formats.
Watch in the coming weeks for details on how CBS will handle affiliates’ needs, whether staff receive support or placement assistance, and how archival audio will be preserved or redistributed. The decision will likely influence how other legacy broadcasters weigh the costs and cultural value of maintaining linear audio news services amid digital transformation.