By Isabella Simonetti and Joe Flint
CBS News is ending its radio service as part of broader layoffs while Editor in Chief Bari Weiss looks to reshape the storied network.
All positions on the CBS News Radio team are being eliminated and the service will end on May 22, according to an email that Weiss and CBS News President Tom Cibrowski sent to staff on Friday and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
"A shift in radio station programming strategies, coupled with challenging economic realities, has made it impossible to continue the service," the email said. "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."
CBS Radio rose to prominence in the early days of World War II when legendary newscaster Edward R. Murrow provided live coverage from London rooftops during Germany's bombing raids. Many of CBS's most well-known newscasters, including Walter Cronkite and Eric Sevareid, who reported on the fall of Paris in 1940 live to Americans started on radio.
Although CBS had sold its radio stations in 2017, the CBS Radio News unit still produced and syndicated content for seven hundred stations around the country. The "World News Roundup" from CBS Radio is the longest-running newscast in the country.
Weiss and Cibrowski made the announcement following an earlier email about broader layoffs at the network. The layoffs will impact about 6% of staff, according to a person familiar with the matter.
"It's no secret that the news business is changing radically, and that we need to change along with it," Weiss and Cibrowski said. "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."
On a call with staff Friday morning, Weiss said the changes have "absolutely nothing to do with the quality of your work and the way that you have poured your heart and soul into this organization," according to a recording of the remarks reviewed by the Journal.
Weiss has sought to overhaul CBS News, promising sweeping changes to programming and digital strategy. She took over in October after CBS parent Paramount bought her news and opinion site the Free Press, and she reports directly to Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison.
Write to Isabella Simonetti at isabella.simonetti@wsj.com and Joe Flint at Joe.Flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 20, 2026 12:38 ET (16:38 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
