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2019—
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News and Recollections 2015-2018
News and Recollections 2012-2014
News and Recollections 2009-2011
News and Recollections 2008
News and Recollections 2007
News and Recollections 2006
News and Recollections 2005
News, recollections, and comments from Newsradio88
staffers, ex-staffers, listeners, fans.
To contribute please email: Don Swaim
CHARLES OSGOOD, 1933-2024
Excerpt from Bob Gibson's Touching Remembrance
When I hear the name Charles Osgood, my first reaction is to smile or reflect on some of the silliness that was part of the last time we were together. Time with Charlie was ALWAYS time well spent and it could be informative even if the two of us were busy telling 'war stories.' Charles was always light on his feet when it came to talking to people or hearing a story.
I never called him this but Charlie was most definitely a wordsmith! CBS decades ago referred to him as "The poet laureate of CBS News." They never had one before and I doubt there will ever be another for good reason! Sometimes a serious story on his "Osgood File" broadcasts on CBS Radio would become humorous by virtue of his whimsical, rhyming verse.
Charles Osgood's resume includes the expanse of a half-century at CBS with the first four years at the company's flagship radio station, WCBS, as the morning news co-anchor and the other 46 years as a CBS News Correspondent, with the aforementioned, "Osgood File," the anchor of the "CBS Sunday Night News" on television, where his visibility would increase and nobody could ever forget his 22 years as the friendly face of the award-winning, "Sunday Morning" broadcast which won several Emmys during the course of his tenure.And somewhere along the way, Charlie also handled the news updates on "CBS This Morning."
Charles Osgood (r) and Don Swaim (l) compare notes
Osgood posing with the Marconi Award to WCBS as the
Legendary Radio Station of the Year. 2017.
Osgood's first WCBS broadcast can be heard in the Audio link below.
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RICHARD LORENZO
A mainstay of the informal "CBS Board," Lorenzo died on Oct. 30, 2023. He was 78 and lived in New Providence, New Jersey.
The "CBS Board" was a gathering of past and present CBS and other network and broadcast luminaries, along with friends and guests, which met twice a year until kayoed by the Covid pandemic.
Richard
was born in Newark, attended St. Benedict's Prep, and majored in English at Seaton Hall University. He studied programming and on-the-air training at the Columbia School of Broadcasting.
His radio career began at KUDL in Sacramento, WDAF in Kansas City, and WWYZ, Waterbury, Connecticut, where he was Operations/Program Director. This led him to WCBS-FM as Music Director and to ABC News Radio as General Manager.
Richard's love for rock 'n' roll resulted in his curating Facebook's "Relic Rack Memories," which Richard described as about: "...Rock n Roll...ElvisÉR & BÉRockabilly...sounds of the city...Broadway...Beatlemania...Folk RockÉMonterey, Woodstock and Altamont...bubble gum rock...soft rock...soul...disco..."
He was working on a book about his life in popular music at the time of his death.
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WAYNE CABOT: 35 YEARS!
 Congratulations to WCBS morning drive anchor Wayne Cabot, who celebrated thirty-five years on the job in June 2023. A radio buff since childhood, Wayne put in his dues at small broadcast markets to large before signing with Newsradio 88, where he's been a fixture ever since. Talk of his retiring anytime soon is mere hearsay.
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PRIZE WINNER: WCBS
The Press Club of Long Island 2023 Awards:
WCBS Newsradio 880 takes home 1st place: Best Radio News Station, Best Breaking News-Blizzard of 2022, and Sophia Hall Best Radio Reporter of the Year. Craig Allen and Sophia accepted the awards.
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CBS “BOARD CHAIRMAN” BOB LEEDER
A former CBS Radio executive, Bob died in Melbourne, Florida, at the age of 83. In 1993, jokingly calling themselves “The CBS Board,” a group of current and former CBS employees began semi-annual luncheon reunion meetings in New Jersey. Bob became defacto head of this informal group.
by Bob Gibson
Though retired for more than 20 years, Bob was a good friend of mine whom I first met about 35 years ago when plans were being made for our twice-annual broadcasters' luncheons. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Leeder graduated from Amherst College in 1961. When he came to the New York metropolitan area in the early 60s, Bob served at a northern New Jersey radio station where he worked with another future management talent at CBS, Mike Ludlum. Mike and Bob hosted a morning news program called "Nothing but News" or "NBN." Later, Bob became News Director at WPAT Radio and two years later was named program director.
By 1976, an opportunity arose for Bob in the Station Relations Department at CBS Radio. He found himself talking with affiliated stations by phone and was frequently on the road visiting CBS outlets across the country. He retired from CBS in 2001.
Leeder also traveled overseas as a consultant to owners of radio stations in Bosnia-Herzogovena, educating them on the finer points of the industry. Seven or eight years ago he decided to leave the New York area and moved with his wife Esther to Melbourne.
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YOU CAN CALL CBS TV A LOT OF THINGS!
but as far as its parent corporation is concerned it's not CBS
Read HERE
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 Phil at a "CBS Board" reunion in Teaneck, NJ |
PHIL CECCHINI
Retired CBS audio technician Phil Cecchini died on December 20, 2021, of colon cancer at the age of 84. One of our best friends and a great tech, Phil wrote a wonderful story for the WCBS Appreciation Site about his early days on strike at CBS -- and observed that headquarters at Black Rock sported different colored ashtrays for every floor. Read:
HERE
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DAVID HOLMLUND Dec. 7, 1937-Oct. 2, 2021
Long-time news producer/writer Dave Holmlund, a mainstay at WCBS for 35 years, died in New Jersey of complications from Parkinson's disease. Before joining CBS Dave was news director and anchor at WRAN-AM in Dover, New Jersey. He earned a masters in Radio-TV from Syracuse University.
The undated photo above shows Dave in a festive WCBS newsroom surrounded by early computers.
His full obituary can be read:
HERE
TRIBUTES TO DAVE
Ken Evseroff
one of the classiest guys ever!!
Rich Lamb
Dave was always the calm, experienced voice in the midst of a big news event. He was a class act, seasoned by experience, and equipped with an extraordinarily fine judgement what the WCBS newsroom should be doing, or not doing next. He was kind, humble, gentle, and a favorite of any colleague privileged to work with him. Please rest in piece friend.
Peter Cane
RIP Dave - a calm and unflappable presence on the desk and just a nice guy.
Tom Kaminski
Honored to work with him, one of the smartest, steadiest producers to ever sit behind that desk on the 16th floor.
Tim Scheld
Wow. So sorry to hear this news. Dave was a solid newsman whose calm demeanor was an example for the entire crew. He was a total pro and terrific human being. Our thoughts to his family and friends
Mayer Fertig
So sorry to hear this. Dave was a wonderfully nice person to work with. Condolences to his family.
Lisa Fantino
So sorry to hear this. I LOVED working wknds with Dave. He was always calm in the worst storms. And I think he'd get a good laugh that there's a paper bra hanging over his head in the newsroom. How things have changed, eh guys!
Michael Kahn
Dave was there on my first day. Pat Parson, who I'd grown up listening to, was doing 10a-2p, and I brought in the noon showÑwhich he immediately tossed in the trash. I must have had some stunned look on my face returning to the newsroom, but Dave told me not to worry, that Pat did that to everyone, and to forget about it. That was 1989 and I never forgot Dave's kindness to the new guy. May his memory be a blessing.
Paul Farry
I am so sorry to hear this. Dave was such a pro and a great teacher for this young DA turned news writer.
Bill Schweizer
Sorry to hear this! Dave was a solid journalist/writer. He was also a true gentleman. He was certainly an all-time star at WCBS!
John Leisher
I'm sad to learn that another person from my WCBS family has passed. I always liked working with Dave. To do a good job on the air, an anchor needs to believe in and trust his producer. I always knew that Dave had my back and our relationship was one I will treasure until we are reunited. In the meantime, Dave Rest In Peace and may God bless your family.
Fred Fishkin
Dave was such a wonderful colleague. A great person and great professional. I am so sorry to hear it.
Steven Reed
What a wonderful life well lived ! Condolences to Dave's family and our WCBS family. Dave was a steady guiding light in the newsroom and a gentle soul. He also had a cool sense of humor. I'll never forget Dave on the desk when famed atheist existentialist Jean Paul Sartre died. After reading the wire service copy, Dave looked up and said with a matter of fact inflection, "well, now he knows."" Rest in Heavenly Peace Dave.
Todd Glickman
Dave was so kind to me on my first weekend at WCBS in 1979 and our friendship continued on, even after he retired. A true professional and a very kind man. May his memory be for an eternal blessing.
Barry G Siegfried
I am so sad to learn of Dave's passing. One of the many things that occurred during the winter holidays year after year like clockwork for the longest time was that we would receive a greeting card from Dave & Mary. He was a fiercely loyal WCBS employee for 35 years and an absolute joy to work with as a writer and producer.
If I remember correctly, Dave started working at WCBS the same year that I did, in 1975 shortly after I started. I remember working with Dave for the first time in "tape ops". Not only did we know some of the same people who had worked at WRAN, but I found him to be kind, analytical, talented and trustworthy. We immediately became friends and our friendship lasted for the entire 35 years he worked at WCBS.
I have missed Dave's presence in the newsroom since the day he retired in 2010, which was just prior to WCBS's move from the CBS Broadcast Center to Hudson Street. May he Rest In Peace and my sincerest condolences to Mary and the rest of his family.
Gary Maurer
this is awful news. what a a sweet man & a joy to work with. my thoughts are with dave's family.
Wayne Cabot
Another of the many greats who made us all better journalists through his steady hand and solid judgment. Plus, a super sweet guy.
Matthew Schwartz
Dave was so kind to me when I was right out of college in 1976 and working at WCBS as a lowly desk assistant. RIP.
Lon Braithwaite
My condolences, Don. I remember Dave.
Peter Haskell
So sorry to hear. Dave was a gentleman.
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NAME CHANGE FOR WCBS OWNER
listen HERE
RICH LAMB
RETIRES AFTER 43 YEARS AT 880
Legendary WCBS Newsradio 880 reporter Rich Lamb retired on February 26, 2021, after 50 years in the radio news business, 43 years with WCBS. Lamb started his broadcasting career in Michigan in 1970, working as an anchor and reporter at WEXL in Royal Oak, WNIC in Dearborn, and at WOMC in Detroit. In 1974, he landed at New York City's WXLO, and in December 1977, he was hired by WCBS News and Program Director Lou Adler. The rest is (almost) history.
Rich Lamb was one of the best street reporters ever in NYC. I was so lucky to manage 88 with the best on air staff in the tristate.
Rich set the standard by which all reporters should emulate
He will be missed. --Robert Hyland, former vice-president, general manager, WCBS, 1979-80
ED INGLES 1932-2020
When legendary sportscaster Ed Ingles died at the age of 87 on March 6, 2020, he left behind a legion of friends and admirers. Ed's career as sports director at WCBS spanned twenty-four years.
In 1970, about a year after he began at WCBS, Ed was interviewed by Dick Pyatt on the municipal station WNYC: Listen HERE
WCBS anchor Wayne Cabot caught up with Ed, who was professional-in-residence at Hofstra University radio station WRHU in 2010:
Listen HERE
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GORDON BARNES 1931-2019
Meterologist Fredrick Gordon Barnes died on December 17, 2019, in Texas. He was 87. Gordon was WCBS Newsradio 88's first weathercaster. He went on to work with Walter Cronkite and was part of the CBS Apollo Mission television team before becoming a fixture at WUSA-TV in Washington.
Here is audio from the WCBS Appreciation Site of Gordon's first Newsradio 88 broadcast in the 5:00 am hour with anchorman Steve Porter on August 28, 1967, the very first hour of the all-news operation, which was actually heard on WCBS-FM because a plane crash had destroyed the AM transmitter tower.
Listen HERE
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PETER BIANCO 1941-2020
Sadly, a fixture in the WCBS newsroom for nearly forty years before his retirement in 2010 died at the age of 78 on February 13, 2020, on Long Island. PETER BIANCO was a newswriter at WCBS as well as the station's WGA shop steward. Pete launched his broadcast career as a page at ABC in the spring of 1964. He was newswriter at WPAT, Paterson, and at ABC Radio before joining Newsradio 88.
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JERRY LEVIN
Jerry, a former WCBS producer, died in Birmingham, Alabama, on February 6, 2020, of what appeared to be a brain abscess coupled with kidney failure. Jerry was one of the first producers when WCBS went all-news. Subsequently, he worked as news director at stations in Birmingham and Houston before becoming Beriut, Lebanon, bureau chief for CNN, a period when he was kidnapped by Hezbollah gunmen and held captive for eleven months before escaping. The experience led to a film starring David Dukes as Jerry and Marlo Thomas as his wife Sis.
Jeremy Isadore Levin was born in Detroit, Michigan, on March 20, 1932. In 2009 he and Sis were recognized by the Dali Lama as "Unsung Heroes of Compassion."
The posting about Jerry below is from an earlier entry on this site.
FORMER NEWSRADIO 88 PRODUCER JERRY LEVIN FINDS SOLACE IN OPERA AND FAITH | |
Fidelio is Beethoven's only opera, the story of a faithful wife who rescues her husband from a political prison. "Fidelio is my story," said Jerry Levin, ex-WCBS, in 1985 shortly after his miraculous escape from Muslim extremist hostage-takers in Lebanon. Almost an opera story, Jerry's wife, Sis, crisscrossed the Mideast seeking her husband's release. The drama was made into a TV movie, Held Hostage, with Marlo Thomas as Sis and David Dukes as Jerry.
Jerry says he treasures an article about him in the September 1985 issue of Opera News titled "To Freedom," in which Jerry compares Sis to Beethoven's Leonore and himself to Florestan.
After graduating from Northwestern, Jerry joined WCBS as a producer in 1967, where his hyperkinetic newsroom style involved wielding a ruler like a riding crop.
Following stints in Birmingham and Houston, he went to CNN, where he became chief of the cable channel's Beirut Bureau, leading to his capture by Hezbollah gunmen.
In captivity and in isolation for eleven months, Jerry played opera games in his mind while experiencing a spiritual reawakening.
Sis Levin's book, Beirut Diary, describes Jerry's captivity and her efforts to gain his freedom.
Currently, Jerry lives in Birmingham, Alabama, where he and his wife are involved in educational efforts to achieve peace through non-violence. And Jerry has not lost his love for opera. (DS)
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MERVIN BLOCK WINS
NEW YORK PRESS CLUB AWARD
Block (left) receives the 2017 NYPC 2017 President's Award from Steve Scott
Block was cited for writing "the book on news writing." Such books of his as Writing Broadcast News have become staples in the industry. Merv has been a staff writer at WCBS, at CBS News where he wrote for Walter Cronkite, as well as stints at NBC and ABC.
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WCBS RADIO's RODRIGUEZ NOW
CBS NEWS RADIO MORNING DRIVE ANCHOR
photo by Steve Scott
Deborah Rodriguez anchored midday and afternoons for Newsradio 880, joining the station in 1992. She was also news director of WCBS-FM from 2008-2014. Rodriguez's hourly newscasts can be heard on CBS News Radio affiliates Mon-Fri starting at 5am. Her broadcast career includes positions at Mix 105, WNSR, WGBB and WHVM. Congrats, Debbie.
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