SOME OF THE LISTENER COMMENTS ABOUT THE DEATH OF WCBS
I apologize for not being able to answer them all personally -- DS
Sam Ward.
I have never lived very close to WCBS's wonderful 50,000 watt signal. I am living just outside Toronto Ontario in Canada now, but I was born outside Boston in what at the time was the town of Norwood Massachusetts which has become a city, and could hear WCBS 880 AM at night, and the same situation existed when I lived just outside Burlington Vermont. However, during my junior and senior years of high school, I was attending the Oak Hill School for the blind in Hartford Connecticut and there, I could hear WCBS for the first time both day and night.
In August of 1972, we moved to Columbus Ohio, and when the 1977 New York City black out took place, I tuned into WCBS. In 1978 I attended Ohio University in the southeastern Ohio town of Athens where I majored in radio broadcasting. I decided to create a production piece on how all of New York City's major radio stations covered the blackout, and I sent letters to most of the big apple's 50,000 watt radio stations plus WMCA. The only radio station to reply and actually send me a tape, was you guessed it, WCBS.
When that dreadful day of 9/11 happened, I'm pretty sure that the only New York City radio stations that were streaming their audio at the time were WBAI, and WNYC. I couldn't wait for the sun to set so I could tune into WCBS to listen to their coverage of that horrible dark day in American history. Of course, WINS was not an option at the time since they weren't yet streaming, and Toronto's local station CFRB is on the same frequency of 1010.
I think I discovered this website sometime around 2016. One item that I found extremely interesting was the last half hour of Jack Sterling's tenth anniversary show from November 6, 1958. I vaguely remember those "I like those tiny little tea leaves" commercials for Tedley Tea from when I was four years old. I have always wanted to collect as many airchecks from the 1950's as possible. If I'm not mistaken, Jim Lowe was a disc jockey at WCBS when he recorded his two hits, Close The Door in 1955, and The Green Door in 1956.
I found the inauguration of WCBS's all news format fascinating, but of course it had to be aired on WCBS FM because of the plane that hit the WNBC and the WCBS AM towers the day before. I found the blizzard coverage from February 12, 1975 most interesting along with the tornado coverage from 14 years ago yesterday, Douglas Edward's last CBS Radio Network newscast, the spoof promo about WCBS FM and AM simulcasting an oldies format voiced by Cousin Brucie, the Son of Sam coverage and much more. I have grabbed a lot of material from your WCBS AM Appreciation website. I am so glad that this website exists, especially now.
I absolutely LOVED the WCBS Through The Years documentary, and I can't believe some of the rare recordings that were used in this program. So many radio stations never want to look at the past. They simply want to look toward the future. The fact that WCBS could still locate that much material after all these years, and in such good shape is truly remarkable. I am so thrilled to have this historic look at WABC-WCBS in my own personal collection.
Catherine Hogan
I love your site! It is a treasure and a well-deserved tribute to one of the finest news organizations in the world.
Pat Alder
Just heard a recording of the last gasp of WCBS. Thank you Don for keeping the fame of newsradio burning.
John Danahy
I apologize for the length of this message of farewell. I only heard recently and wanted to get something in under the wire. Best wishes to all and May God Bless you all and keep everyone safe, healthy, and prosperous. Thank you ever so much. Go to:
Read
John Danahy's WCBS Retrospective: HERE
Ethan Harp to Wayne Cabot
You had the most difficult task in the 57 year history of the station, and you completed it with elegance and empathy. My wife was in tears in our living room after we listened live on a big old AM radio Sunday night/Monday Morning. No one, no one, no one, could have handled the bittersweet responsibility better. Not the trusted veteran voices who came before you. Not the rising talents in recent years for whom you've offered nothing but support. Not the outstanding peers of yours who made WCBS the gold standard across the east coast and beyond. The station's audience needed you at Newsradio 88's figurative bedside in those final moments and you were there to give comfort and remember the joy as much as anything else. No one could have been a better caretaker of broadcasting history changing in real-time than you were Sunday night. Thank you.
Robert Goodwin
I started listening to CBS in 1967. I would gauge my distance from NYC when traveling from the point I lost the signal and vice versa. My college roommate was the eminent Barry Siegfried. Over the years he would give me interesting tidbits about the station. Always interesting. Never gossipy. Barry was one of many behind the scenes men and women who made the station work. I was in San Diego when the station signed off. I missed your last broadcasts. This morning my radio dial was set to 880. Instead of hearing intelligent voices relating the events of the day, I heard gibberish from your replacement.. And I am a sports fan often switching between the FAN and CBS. ... I hope all of the hosts and behind the scenes staff find fulfilling careers. However, institutions are hard to replace and 880 has been a monument of a radio station leaving us listeners a legacy of excellent journalism..
Best of luck to all at 880.
Billy Cusack
First of all, I want to let you know that I enjoy your WCBS Newsradio 88 Appreciation Site very much. I recently re-connected with the site again after Audacy's awful decision to close WCBS. Thank you for all of the work you have put into it. Having grown up in New York listening to WCBS, this site brings me back "home", as I live in Florida now. It was always a pleasure to hear "Book Beat" on the radio, and I'm so glad that WCBS will live on through your website.
Fred Abatemarco
Don, Dunno if you remember me but I remember you quite well. I was desk assistant--and then CHIEF desk assistant, Newsradio 88 from 1971 to 1973. Phil Cecchini became my brother in law after I introduced him to Jeanne while we worked together. WCBS news radio launched my career in as a journalist which lasted for 40 some odd years and included Newsweek Magazine, and Editor In Chief at Popular Science Magazine, among other posts. What I learned from talent like you and Lou Adler and Dave Marash and so many many others, carried me forward for decades! I writer to you because of my complete disappointment--shared by Phil's widow, my sister Jeanne, by extension a member of the WCBS Newsradio family--about the commemorative farewell broadcast aired hursday, August, 22nd. Audacy clearly couldn't have cared less, it seemed. But so many of us--not only of the Newsradio family, but millions of listeners too!--cared, and still care. Perhaps there is something more fitting that can be organized to send the station off to the netherworld in a more fitting way.
Bill Bartholomew
A quick note to say "thank you" for compiling such a wonderful WCBS archival website. I'm a radio broadcaster, currently working at WPRO Providence, but someone who grew up - and continued on as - a daily WCBS listener. It was my professional goal to someday work at WCBS. I'm deeply saddened by this incredible loss to the region, radio and news ecosystem. Your website has been a delight to explore this afternoon as I process the departure of the greatest news radio station of all time.
John M. Socolow
wish I had taken the time to reach out to the station before it signed off for the last time, last night. I rarely stay up late, but yes, I was listening last night until the very end. I moved with my family from the Boston area to Chappaqua in December of 1968. I was miserable about it, because I loved living near Boston and did not want to move to New York. It was not easy doing so as a second grader in the middle of the school year (and being a Red Sox fan did not endear me to any of my classmates). As I look back on it, in some ways WCBS 880 "saved" me then, because it gave me something familiar that I knew I could go to, and even rely on, at a time when moving had turned my second grade world upside down. The sports reports then were especially music to my ears. I have listened to the station ever since. For the last 56 years, as long as I could get reception (in my car, or in the kitchen eating breakfast or dinner, or just getting ready for work) I honestly don't think a single day has gone by when I did not listen to 880 AM. Finding a way out of Manhattan in a taxi on 9/11, during big storms, and everything in between, 880 has been an inseparable part of my life which I already miss dearly. I tried listening to WINS this morning on my drive to work and it just is not the same. It's "news lite," almost dumbed down, and will never be an adequate substitute for 880. (I'm not taking cheap shots at WINS, but its objectively different from, and can't hold a candle to, 880.) I wish you and all of your colleagues. I wish you and all of your colleagues nothing but the best as you move forward. Thank you for providing such a priceless service and being a constant companion for almost my entire life.
Mike Muskopf
I worked for WCBS 2 for 41 years as a News photographer/Editor. I retired in 2023. I listened to the news of WCBS 880 demise with sadness. I guessed 880 would always be on the air. Sad. I listened to Wayne Cabo's sign off but just before that, he mentioned this website. Thanks. A lot of memories. I listened as a kid, as most people mentioned. My dad always had 'Jack Sterling' on in the mornings. And I remembered the transition to all news. A lost, to say the least. Anyway, thanks for saving these mementoes.
Carol Ripps
Dear Everyone at WCBS Newsradio 88. Thank you for 57 years as the best provider of news, information, "traffic and weather together", and for the many sounds of WCBS, your voices and the theme music. From the bottom of my heart, I wish all of you the very best of everything. I will miss you all.
Brent Taylor
Good morning Don. We are not acquainted, but I owe my own career in radio broadcasting to you and many of your WCBS colleagues. Listening from eastern Canada every night as a teenager I developed a keen interest in news and current events, as well as a burning desire to get into broadcasting. I did that, and from 1980 to 1985 I advanced through the on-air team to the mid-day shift at 50,000 Watt CFNB on 550 in New Brunswick. After broadcasting I went into business, print journalism, teaching, politics, and now I work for a federal government department. Throughout my adult life I have been a nightly listener to WCBS, and I was so saddened last night to hear Wayne Cabot's final messages, and then the silence. Like many WCBS enthusiasts, I recorded those last moments for posterity. In recent weeks I have spent time on your WCBS appreciation site and my only regret is that I didn't find it sooner. What a treasure. Thank you for your service to the industry, to WCBS, and to the listener community. We are blessed.
Albert Annunziata
Wayne Cabot, whose voice, quick wit, charm and consummate professionalism I have admired (and envied) for decades now, built-up to this wonderful radio station's finale with a roster of WCBS luminaries past, passed and present. I heard Cabot's exhortation for listeners (and viewers and readers) to continue demanding the very best in journalism. For every radio station or newspaper that dies, a real piece of our society, our freedom and knowledge, dies as well. After hearing Cabot's last sign-off, drawing on the legendary and courageous Edward R. Murrow's "Good Night and Good Luck", I feel an almost indescribable sadness. It is a special kind of grief and regret that comes from the somber realization that something decent and true and trustworthy and reliable...is no longer a part of my life. I have lost a dear friend, or in this case, a multitude of dear friends who helped keep this Mount Vernon, New York native informed, educated, inspired and yes, even entertained. All I can say now is THANK YOU ALL!!!!!
Loren Wasserman
I have had my clock radio (yes I still use one) tuned to 880 AM since I returned to New York in 1982 after college, marriage and my first job away from the city. Before that, it was always on in my parent's home and car radios in Queens, so it has been a part of my life forever, like so many New Yorkers. I am at a loss and having a panic attack not knowing what sounds, information, breaking news, traffic, weather, finance, and objective reporting I will wake up to every morning. Thank you everyone for all those years of enjoyment. You came into our homes like a doctor's house call, every day, with grace, intelligence, clarity, all delivered flawlessly and professionally and most importantly with a gentle good natured humor. I wish you all the best in your next jobs, retirement, or wherever life takes you. You will be missed more than you know, as I am sure you will miss your fans and listeners.
Lisset Marin
Thank you for starting this website. This last week has been very sad for me. Every time I listened to News Radio 88, my heart broke a little more just contemplating that I will no longer hear the familiar voices, jingles, call letters, music and names that make me feel safe and at home. As I heard countless times on the station this week, I too started listening to 88 as a child because of my father who would wake up before the sun came up to go to work. I ask that you please include the special broadcast that aired this week on your website along with Wayne Cabot's goodbye message. It will provide a lot of comfort, nostalgia and joy to the millions of radio listeners who are devastated by this loss. Thank you very kindly for reading my message. Best of luck with the website.
Bruce R. Levin
Thank you for putting this content together on your website! At this especially poignant time, it is especially comforting to known that this material is available thanks to you.
Dennis Powell
A view on the fate if 88 from a slightly different angle.
Thanks for keeping the memory alive. Read here:
View From Mudsock Heights
Larry Stoler
Thank you very much for one of the best tribute sites to a station that deserves everything you've written and posted about it over the years.Earlier today, a friend of mine told me how to be able to hear the entire special the station did about its upcoming demise.I listened to it and like everything else WCBS has given us over its 56+ year history as an all news radio station, it is excellent.I worked in the business (mostly off the air for several years beginning in 1988.It took me a long time to realize that it was listening to stations like WCBS-AM, 1010 WINS and others that influenced me and other people who read your site to go into the business.I realized a long time ago that one of the reasons i like the all news format is that the anchors don't comment on the stories they're covering.Unlike the 24 hour cable news channels that lean a certain way politically and try to get you to agree with them, all news radio is impartial and that's what news should be and how it should be covered.WCBS-AM personified quality, professionalism and the desire to do the best possible job when covering what was going on in the Tri State area and throughout the world.WCBS showed us that when done right, radio can be that good.There were many true professionals that worked there who will be out of work as the format changes on Monday.This is sad and shouldn't be taking place.Thank you to everyone who worked both on and off the air at one of the best all news radio stations in the country.I hope to hear those of you who choose to remain in the business somewhere else soon.
Rafael
Sad to see them go.
Mike Ducroiset
I have been listening today to the WCBS 880 Look Back hosted by Wayne Cabot and your name came up a number of times. Still can't believe it is going off the air :-(
It is times like this that I appreciate more and more what WCBS 880 AM and FM meant to the New York Metropolitan Area and to all of our individual lives. I wanted to sincerely thank you for all you do in maintaining the Appreciation Site.It means a great deal to know it exists and to view it from time to time.
Jay Ballard
I have been a loyal listener to the station for over 50 years, ever since I got a tour of the old Black Rock studios circa 1971 by Palmer Payne. The equipment and personnel were both the finest, and I became a loyal listener from then on.
A few years later, I found a career at 30 Rock down the street, but WCBS was always my constant companion. I recall the days when commercials were read by staff announcers, not news personnel. The same policy was in effect at NBC during hourly newscasts. Tim Sheld was right on today's retrospective-the WCBS logo meant INTEGRITY, much like the BBC's reputation throughout the world. No advocacy journalism here. The reporters could be trusted. And what on air talent-Jim Donnelly and Bob Vaughan (later with Brigette Quinn) ; Steve Flanders; Gary Maurer, Art Athens, Rita Sands, Pat Parson, Lamb (worked with his brother), Ben Farnsworth (ex WTAG), and on and on. Plus, the well produced segments from the Network, such as "Spectrum" and the "Osgood Files." The 9AM network news with Hughes Rudd always ended with an unusual ending. I am one of many who believe that the demise did not have to happen. Yes, ratings were lower than WINS, but WCBS had the superior signal. My eternal gratitude goies out to everyone involved at the station-technicians, writers, producers, etc who gave their very best for an outstanding air product. What a shame
Marshall W. Jaffe
I have been a listener since my childhood in the early '70s and, along with so many others, am mourning the station's fade to black. I recall a New York Times review of the all-news format on either its 10th or 20th anniversary—so, in the '70s or '60s--that compared it to a "utility" like electricity or water. A fair amount of searching has not turned it up. Would you happen to have a record of it?
Don Atwell
Thank you for putting this great site together.
I would listen as a kid in a pre-Disney central Florida and WCBS NY allowed me the chance to dream about what my life might be like. Eventually, I too spent some time in Black Rock, (music, lol).
It's a small world when real people find a way to connect. It could be planned, or by chance, fate, or the calling of 50,000 watts from a seemingly faraway place.
The term "The last of the Morrows Boys" is so true and I was struck hard by all the things that really means. It's sad that people who do not know what that means, will never know these days.
More than anything, the entire staff of WCBS has been a touch stone for excellence throughout the station's history. I guess I took it for granted that I would always have my amazing radio friends, and that they would always be there every morning, every car trip, every horrible storm, and, as it turned out, 911.
I thank all of you so much and I am grateful beyond explanation. I'm certain all of you will find new broadcasting homes, and I hope they are "Top Shelf", like you guys.
If, somehow, I wind up with Musk / Bezos money, I am buying a station and hiring all of you.