• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, August 12, 2024

When we think of news deserts, we tend to envision Midwestern towns without newspapers.  

But there are other news channels besides newspapers. One is radio. And urban areas can be just as bereft when news stations disappear.  

Take the biggest media market in the U.S.: New York City.  

Audacy has announced that 880 WCBS-AM will be dispensing with its all-news programming, effective August 26. That leaves its 1010 WINS-AM as the last 24/7 news station.  

The back story is that owner Audacy is turning management of 880 WCBS-AM to Good Karma Brands. The plan is to run ESPN and change the call letters to WHSQ-AM. Audacy will continue to own the frequency. 

That means its digital presence will also shift. And it is symptomatic about what is going on in the news busiess as a whole.  

“New York has always been proudly unique in supporting two all-news radio brands, but the news business has gone through significant changes,” says Chris Oliviero, New York market president at Audacy. The headwinds facing local journalism nationwide made it essential to strategically reimagine how we deliver the news for the most impact.” 

There’s no word on job loss in the newsroom.  

We can’t say that we personally listen to a lot of radio. But when we do, we want breaking news, and at critical moments we have frantically switched back and forth between 800 WCBS and 1010 WINS.  

Maybe this move makes sense from a corporate standpoint—why does the company need two news stations? But we are losing something important, as Oliviero seems to acknowledge. 

“WCBS 880 has been one of the most respected radio stations in history, with a legacy cemented by the hundreds of world-class journalists, on and off the air, who willed it into existence over the decades,” he says. “If it happened in New York or the world, you heard about it on WCBS 880." 

Oliviero adds, “Today, 1010 WINS@92.3FM, equally iconic, moves forward as New York’s only 24/7 all-news station with the best distribution platform, the largest audience and the most recognized brand in the industry. All-news is a pillar of Audacy and this decision, though difficult, fortifies that leadership position for generations to come.” 

 Well, we can always listen to NPR.