Those of you that are long-time readers of the blog, or know me well, are aware of my history with radio broadcasting.  I started out in 1968 as a teenage kid changing records and tapes, as well as keeping an eye on the transmitter, for a local radio station.

It was 1969 when I had the chance to work on the air at a small-10-watt public radio station (you could pick it up on your radio with a stiff wind that day).  My commercial radio career began in 1970 and stretched all the way to 1983, when I left the business to pursue a civil service career.

I did about everything one could do at a radio station at some point in my radio time, but focused on hosting talk shows and being a news reporter during most of my 15 years in radio.  Radio news was very important then, because it was often the first time you would learn of a news story, before the evening television news or the newspaper was printed.

One development in radio that began in the 1960s was the emergence of the “news-radio” concept, a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week constant supply of news.  One such station once promoted this – “Give us 20 minutes, we will give you the world.”

One of the first, and also one of the most respected all-news radio stations has been WCBS in New York City, 880 on the AM dial.  WCBS started the all-news format in 1967.  That concept is ending in 2024.

A changing radio business, with news at your fingertips on the Internet and your cell phone, has led to the demise of WCBS.  it was a sad day when the all-news format ended and long-time anchors and reporters signed-off for the last time.

WCBS will change its call letters and become an all-sports station.

This will once again put some very good journalists out on the street looking for work.  I wish them all well in their next pursuits.

It is not easy to adjust as technology and the business of broadcasting changes rapidly.  I am pleased that WBBM Radio, 780 AM, remains an all-news station in the City of Chicago.  But one wonders how long that will last.