The "bong" is gone. If you lived anywhere near the Tri-State area over the last half-century, that sound—the rhythmic CBS network chime—was basically the heartbeat of your morning. You heard it while brewing coffee, while sitting in soul-crushing traffic on the Long Island Expressway, or while frantically trying to figure out if the subways were actually running. But on August 26, 2024, the heartbeat stopped.
WCBS 880 AM NY radio didn’t just change; it vanished.
Honestly, the way it went down felt like a gut punch to anyone who values local journalism. One day you’re getting "traffic and weather together on the eights," and the next, the station is rebranded as WHSQ-AM, a relay for ESPN New York. It’s weird. It’s quiet. And for a lot of us, it feels like New York just got a little less like New York.
The Sudden Silence of WCBS 880 AM NY Radio
It happened fast. Audacy, the company that owned the station, dropped the bombshell in mid-August 2024. They announced they’d be leasing the 880 AM signal to Good Karma Brands. The plan? Turn the legendary newsroom into a sports talk outlet.
Why? Money, mostly.
Audacy also owns 1010 WINS, the other iconic New York news station. In the cold world of corporate spreadsheets, having two "all-news" stations in the same market was seen as "redundant." Chris Oliviero, the market president for Audacy, pointed to "headwinds facing local journalism." That’s corporate-speak for "the internet is killing us and we can't sell enough ads to pay 23 journalists' salaries."
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The final broadcast was a tear-jerker. Wayne Cabot, a man whose voice is basically etched into the DNA of the city, anchored the final hours. He didn’t go out with a whimper. He talked about "news deserts" and how the country is diminished when local newsrooms close. Then, at 11:59 PM on August 25, he signed off. A minute of silence followed. Then, the sports took over.
Why This Station Was Different From the Rest
You might think, it’s just a radio station, get a podcast. But WCBS 880 AM NY radio was a utility.
It wasn't just about the headlines. It was about the specialized talent. Take Tom Kaminski. For over 30 years, that man sat in a helicopter—often in weather that would make a seagull think twice—giving us the "real" traffic. He wasn't a computer algorithm. He could see the fender bender at the mouth of the Holland Tunnel before Google Maps even knew it happened.
Then there was Craig Allen, the chief meteorologist. When a nor'easter was bearing down on the coast, Craig was the guy you trusted to tell you if you actually needed to shovel or if it was just going to be slush.
A Legacy of Giants
The station started back in 1924 as WAHG. It became WCBS in 1946. But the "All-News" era began in August 1967. It’s actually a wild story—the station was supposed to flip to all-news on August 28, but a small plane crashed into their transmitter tower on High Island the day before. They had to scramble just to get on the air.
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Over the decades, the roster of talent was a "Who's Who" of broadcasting:
- Charles Osgood: The man with the bowtie and the poetic delivery.
- Lou Adler: A pillar of the early news format.
- Pat Summerall: Before he was the voice of the NFL, he was the Sports Director here.
- Wayne Cabot and Paul Murnane: The duo that kept us sane during the morning commute for years.
The "1010 WINS vs. 880" Rivalry
If you’re from the city, you had a "side." It was like Mets vs. Yankees. 1010 WINS was fast. "You give us 22 minutes, we'll give you the world." It was frantic, high-energy, and perfect for a quick hit.
WCBS 880 AM NY radio was the "long-form" cousin. They took a breath. They did deep-dive reports. They had the "Eye on New York" segments. It was the station you listened to when you wanted to understand why something was happening, not just that it happened.
When Audacy bought both, the rivalry became internal. But when WINS got a simulcast on 92.3 FM in 2022, the writing was on the wall. FM signals are clearer, more "modern." By moving WINS to FM and keeping 880 on the AM dial, Audacy basically picked their favorite child.
The Reality of the AM Radio Crisis
Look, 880's death isn't just a New York story. It’s a national one.
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Electric vehicles are being built without AM radios because the motors interfere with the signal. Advertisers are terrified of "controversy," so they're pulling away from news and sticking to "safe" stuff like music or sports. Plus, let's be real: most people under 40 don't even know how to turn a radio dial.
But here’s the problem with that logic: During 9/11, when the cell towers were jammed and the internet was a crawl, people turned to 880. During Sandy, when the power was out and the water was rising, 880 was the only thing coming through the battery-powered portables. You can’t "push notify" your way through a blackout.
What’s Left for the Listeners?
So, where do you go now? If you need that fix of New York news, 1010 WINS (on 1010 AM or 92.3 FM) is the last man standing in the commercial all-news space. They’ve absorbed some of the 880 energy, but it’s not the same.
The New York Mets, interestingly, stayed on 880 AM. Even though the news is gone, the games still broadcast on the signal because Audacy kept the rights. It’s a weird ghost of the old station—you tune in for a ballgame and expect to hear the news at the bottom of the hour, but instead, you get sports betting ads and national ESPN chatter.
Actionable Ways to Keep Local News Alive
If the loss of WCBS 880 AM NY radio bothered you, don't just complain on social media. The "news desert" Wayne Cabot warned about is real. Here is what you can actually do to stay informed:
- Support WINS but don't rely solely on it. Diversity of voice is gone on the AM dial, so look toward non-profit outlets like WNYC (93.9 FM) for deep-dive local reporting.
- Check out the archives. Sites like "WCBS on the Air" (run by Don Swaim) have incredible audio clips of the legends who made the station great. It’s a masterclass in how to speak to a city.
- Invest in a digital subscription. Local newspapers like the Daily News or the Post are struggling just as hard as the radio guys. If you don't pay for news, eventually there won't be anyone left to report it.
- Watch the Mets on the app. If you still want to hear the familiar 880 signal, the Audacy app streams the games and some local clips, though the "all-news" 24/7 stream is officially a relic of the past.
The loss of WCBS 880 AM NY radio is a reminder that nothing—not even a 50,000-watt clear-channel giant—is permanent. It was a good run, 880. Thanks for keeping us company in the dark.