WCBS 880 pulls from all-news program after 57 years: ‘Huge loss for NYC’

WCBS 880 Radio will send its final broadcast at midnight — after 57 years of delivering breaking news on crime, political events and subway delays to New Yorkers, many of whom now rely on apps.

“Marla [Diamond] and Sean [Adams] tell compelling stories in less time than most people spend ordering their coffee,” reflected former 880 Newsradio reporter Peter Haskell in an X post on Saturday. “Tom [Kaminski] has been quiet and descriptive, reporting on countless major stories from the helicopter, including 9/11.

“Whenever I covered someone or something, I wanted to do justice to the story. To show it in a way that people can relate to and care about. When it’s done well, that’s the magic of radio,” Haskell said.

Kaminski spent nearly 36 years at the station reporting traffic delays from an iconic news helicopter — and not without the occasional Bruce Springsteen reference from thousands of feet in the air.

“All I can say is thank you,” Kaminski said in a statement. “It has been a privilege to try to get you from point A to point B as quickly as possible. I have never taken that responsibility lightly, I have never taken that privilege for granted, and I am grateful for every minute we have spent together.”

The station will relaunch as WHSQ-AM ESPN New York on August 26 – leaving 1010 WINS as the New York market’s remaining all-news format station. Both WCBS and WINS are owned by Audacy.

ESPN will broadcast New York Mets games on WHSQ.

David Seifman, former mayor’s bureau chief for The Post, said WCBS 880 was a driving force in covering the mayor and city council.

That coverage included 880 reporter Rich Lamb’s weekly radio show “Ask the Mayor,” which began under former Mayor Rudy Giuiani and continued through Mike Bloomberg’s tenure.

“Rich Lamb was a key player,” Seifman said.

Lamb told The Post that when the station’s former chief political reporter, Steve Flanders, suggested he audition for a job there, “I thought it was a funny idea.

“But it worked and I left 43 years later,” Lamb said in an email.

“[I] did evenings for 12 years, covered murders, fires, plane crashes, newspaper strikes, subway strikes, police and fire funerals, court cases, budget crises, and of course Nathan’s hot dog eating contests, but actually ate Gray’s Papaya Dogs at Night,” Lamb. ridiculed.

“I’ve met con artists, comedians, brilliant scientists, PR geniuses, authors, bodega owners, restaurateurs, presidents, politicians, ordinary New Yorkers and other saints. I froze in winter stations, baked on summer subway platforms, had rain on my back and was held at gunpoint once,” he recalls.

“I mourn the passing of this greatest of all news radio stations, for those who have lost their jobs in journalism, but also for the American public, which is facing a critical time of judgment that depends on the fair distribution of accurate information that WCBS has always struggled with. to offer.”

The station held a three-hour special Thursday praising his influence on countless listeners in New York and beyond.

“Growing up on Long Island, I couldn’t read the newspaper because I’m legally blind, and television hadn’t embraced the news like it does today,” former New York Gov. David Paterson said in retrospect. .

“I just thought the coverage was wider,” Paterson said, noting that he heard the news of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. from the station.

“[It was] great moments, where my first understanding of it came from listening to this station. I’m so sorry it’s going away.”

During its announcement, Audacy cited the “headwinds facing local journalism across the country” as the reason for the station’s closure. More than 20 staff members were laid off as a result, the Writers Guild of America East told The New York Times.

Seifman said that before the major media cuts, there would be reporters from six different radio stations attending City Hall press conferences.

“They were part of the culture,” he said.

Not so much now.

The announcement of the station’s closure came days after WNYC’s newsroom announced an 8% staff reduction — all part of a larger landscape of local newspaper consolidation and newsroom downsizing across the US.

In a statement, the Writers Guild of America East — which represents WCBS journalists — denounced the closing of WCBS 880 as “another example of consolidation by a large media conglomerate that ultimately deprives the public of critical local news with diverse perspectives.” .

“Audacy’s decision is all the more outrageous given that this is a critical election year,” the department added.

“This is a tremendous loss for New York City and the news industry in general.”