CBS Radio News, historically known as the CBS Radio Network, provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by CBS Corporation; it is the last of the three original national U.S. radio networks (CBS, NBC and Mutual) still owned by its parent company.
CBS Radio News is one of the programming services distributed by Dial Global, which acquired the former Westwood One (formerly managed by CBS) in October 2011. It produces and distributes national news, talk, music and special event programs, in addition to local news, weather, video news and other information to radio and television stations as well as traffic reporting services.
Background
The network is the oldest unit of the CBS Corporation and traces its roots to CBS's predecessor, United Independent Broadcasters, founded in 1927 with 47 affiliates. The next year, Columbia Records invested in the radio network, which was named the Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System. Eventually, Columbia pulled its backing from the struggling web. William S. Paley bought a half-interest in what became the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1928 and became its president. (In 1938, CBS bought its former parent, Columbia Records.) For more about the network's history, see CBS.
Programming
Today, CBS Radio News is best known for its news and public affairs programming distributed to more than 500 affiliates, as well as owned-and-operated (O&O) flagship station WCBS in New York, and several other O&O's including KYW in Philadelphia, KNX in Los Angeles, KCBS in San Francisco, WBBM in Chicago, WBZ in Boston, WWJ in Detroit, KMOX in St. Louis, KRLD in Dallas and WCCO in Minneapolis.
Its offerings include the top-of-the-hour newscasts and the half-hour news updates. In addition to the over-the-air product, reports and actualities are made available to affiliates on its Newsfeeds, among the best-known products of the CBS Radio newsroom. Newsfeeds are subscribed heavily to by WCBS, KYW and other top outlets.
Among its on-air programs are the CBS News-on-the-Hour and the morning Osgood File features with Charles Osgood.
The network is home to the morning and evening editions of the CBS World News Roundup, U.S. broadcasting's oldest news series. Steve Kathan anchors the morning show, while Bill Whitney hosts the evening edition. The daily Roundup dates back to a special on March 13, 1938, covering Germany's annexation of Austria. Each Friday, the network also produces the CBS News Weekend Roundup, a look at the top stories of the week, hosted by Dan Raviv, with a commentary from Charles Grodin.
CBS Radio has an impressive list of reporters around the world including Peter Maer, Barry Bagnato, Mark Knoller, Bob Fuss, Cami McCormick and Lara Logan. Logan also reports for CBS Television, and many TV correspondents also appear on CBS Radio newscasts.
In 2009, CBS launched a long-form late night talk program hosted by Jon Grayson and the existing morning talk show hosted by Michael Smerconish on some of its owned-and-operated stations. CBS themselves handle the syndication of Grayson's show, while syndication for Smerconish's show to non-CBS stations has been outsourced to Dial Global (which at that time was not involved with the CBS Radio Network itself). Grayson's show, Overnight America, also entered national syndication via Dial Global on January 30, 2012; meanwhile, Smerconish discontinued the morning show in 2011.
CBS Radio reporters also contribute to Dial Global's hour-long broadcast America In the Morning, hosted by Jim Bohannon; because America In the Morning is broadcast on many stations not affiliated with CBS (in addition to several which are), references to CBS News are usually edited from the CBS correspondents' reports and closing bylines.
Three of CBS's television programs are currently simulcast on CBS Radio News; those are Face the Nation, 60 Minutes, and the first segment of the CBS Evening News (some stations, such as WBZ in Boston, air the entire Evening News). In addition, the Late Show with David Letterman Top Ten List is also broadcast by the network in a short-form-feature format.
Other public-affairs features include CBS Healthwatch with Dr. Emily Senay, Raising Our Kids (formerly suffixed with in the 90s during that decade) with WCBS morning anchor Pat Carroll, and What's in the News.
Historically, the sports coverage now produced by Dial Global was branded as CBS Radio Sports and, like the news features, associated with the CBS Radio Network; however, after CBS began managing Westwood One, the sports broadcasts would come under the Westwood One banner (with both identities used in the late 1990s), a practice that would continue even after CBS stopped managing Westwood One in 2007. (Westwood One was acquired by Dial Global in October 2011.) CBS has since announced plans to launch CBS Sports Radio in fall 2012 through a rival network, Cumulus Media Networks (the former ABC Radio, which had been stripped of its sports division in its 2007 sale).
During the overnight hours, CBSN carries a video simulcast of CBS Radio News's top-of-the-hour reports.
Music and the Spoken Word
While the network's World News Roundup is the longest-running news show on radio or TV in the U.S., the title of longest-running network radio show of any kind goes to another CBS Radio programâ€"Music and the Spoken Word, a half-hour of music and inspirational thought featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It began on July 15, 1929 and currently airs each Sunday morning at 11:30 Eastern Time. (The longest running radio show of any kind is the Grand Ole Opry, broadcast on WSM since November 28, 1925.)
CBS-owned affiliates (with market rank)
- WCBS 880 AM: New York, New York (#1)
- WINS 1010 AM: New York, New York**
- KNX 1070 AM: Los Angeles, California (#2)
- WBBM 780 AM: Chicago, Illinois (#3)
- KCBS 740 AM: San Francisco, California (#4)
- KRLD 1080 AM: Dallas, Texas (#5)
- KIKK 650 AM: Houston, Texas (#6)**
- KYW 1060: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (#8)**
- WPHT 1210: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- WBZ 1030: Boston, Massachusetts (#10)**
- WWJ 950: Detroit, Michigan (#11)
- WCCO 830: Minneapolis, Minnesota (#16)
- KMOX 1120: St. Louis, Missouri (#21)
- KDKA 1020: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (#25)**
- KXNT 840: Las Vegas, Nevada (#32)
- WTIC 1080: Hartford, Connecticut (#52)
- WNEW 99.1: Bowie, Maryland
(** Formerly owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting, which merged with CBS in 1995)
CBS News Radio provides overnight live news updates at the top of the hour to CBSN, CBS News's 24 hour streaming news channel.
References
External links
- CBS Radio News official website
