CBS News to shutter CBS News Radio and lay off staff

CBS News is axing dozens of staffers and ending its 99-year-old CBS News Radio as Editor-In-Chief Bari Weiss continues to revamp the broadcast network.

Ms. Weiss and CBS News President Tom Cibrowski announced the cuts Friday morning via internal memos.

“Today, we informed our CBS News Radio team and approximately 700 affiliated stations that we will end the service on May 22, 2026,” they wrote in the memo, according to multiple reports. “Unfortunately, this decision means that all positions within the CBS News Radio team are being eliminated.”

The pair said they “understand how difficult this news is for our staff and their colleagues.

“While this was a necessary decision, it was not an easy one. A shift in radio station programming strategies, coupled with challenging economic realities, has made it impossible to continue the service.”

The Paramount Skydance network is reportedly cutting 6% of its staff of about 1,100.

SEE ALSO: CBS News shutters its storied radio news service after nearly a century, ending an era

The plans to announce the layoffs are expected imminently, a source told Business Insider.

Ms. Weiss foreshadowed the cuts weeks ago, telling CBS News employees at a January meeting to expect a “tsunami of technological change. I can’t stand up here and tell you that in a moment of incredible transformation that that’s not going to mean transformation of our workforce.”

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Network executives were giving staffers the “extraordinary chance” to take a one-time voluntary buyout ahead of anticipated layoffs, the New York Post reported.

When former “CBS This Morning” co-host Tony Dokoupil became the anchor of “CBS Evening News” in December, 11 employees took buyouts, according to multiple reports.

Ms. Weiss is expected to drive many of the cuts as she reshapes the newsroom to match her vision, offering more perspectives. Also, she has said she’s looking to transform the outlet into a digital-focused company and increase ratings.

“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. That means some parts of our newsroom must get smaller to make room for the things we must build to remain competitive,” the memo reads.

Ms. Weiss, a former New York Times editor who founded The Free Press, an outlet often seen as challenging mainstream media narratives, was hired by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison to overhaul CBS News.

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Paramount acquired The Free Press shortly after Ms. Weiss was named as CBS News’ top editor in October.

Her initiative has expanded CBS News in some ways, having brought on 19 new contributors in January.

“Our strategy until now has been to cling to the audience that remains on broadcast television. I’m here to tell you that if we stick to that strategy, we’re toast,” Ms. Weiss said in January.

Its most recent announcement followed an earlier layoff notice.

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“It’s no secret that the news business is changing radically, and that we need to change along with it,” Ms. Weiss and Mr. Cibrowski wrote in another memo.

CBS News is on a growing list of networks and outlets making sweeping layoffs.

In early February, The Washington Post announced massive layoffs to cut nearly 30% of its workforce following years of financial losses, shuttering the sports and books sections, reducing foreign bureaus and shrinking the Metro section.

CNN is anticipated to be affected by Paramount buying the cable channel’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

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Paramount laid off 2,000 employees in October.