As CBS Radio Shutters, Its Union Signs Off With Fiery Anti-Ellison Memo
It’s the end of an era in American radio as CBS News Radio signs off on Friday following a near century of broadcasting — and the union that has long represented its journalists isn’t going quietly.
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski announced in March that the onetime home Edward R. Murrow, Dan Rather and Robert Trout would be closing its doors due to “a shift in radio station programming strategies, coupled with challenging economic realities.”
That isn’t sitting well with the Writers Guild of America East, which bargains on behalf of 26 of its news writers, desk associates and assignment editors. The union has represented CBS News employees since 1954.
“David Ellison and Bari Weiss broke its trust with its employees and its audience in a single reckless and shortsighted decision,” the union said in a statement on Friday. “This closure erodes a vital news source for listeners of more than 700-affiliated stations across the country and 26 WGAE members with decades of experience and dedication to journalism will be out of work.”
The restructuring of CBS News arrived after Skydance Media closed a merger with Paramount Global, which owns the division, in the summer of 2025. New Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison picked Weiss, the former New York Times opinion writer who later launched The Free Press, to helm CBS News.
Weiss has shaken up the news division, presiding over layoffs, reshaping CBS Evening News around new anchor Tony Dokoupil and reworking its digital strategy. And now, with Paramount Skydance attempting to close another merger, this time with Warner Bros. Discovery, WBD-owned CNN is also in the company’s sights.
The WGA East tied the closure of CBS News Radio to its opposition of Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, which is still awaiting regulatory approval.
“Ellison and Weiss at the helm of CBS News has led to a further erosion in the integrity of the free press. We are troubled that this trend will continue if Paramount-Skydance is able to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery and acquire CNN,” said the WGA East. “We encourage members to sign the #BlockTheMerger petition that has over 5,000 signatures.”
The union said it will also hold CBS accountable for abiding by its collective bargaining agreement and will call for the company to offer “fair severance to all impacted employees.”
The fiery message concluded with a nod to an iconic sign-off from Murrow that later became the title of a George Clooney-directed 2005 movie (subsequently adapted into a Broadway play) about the journalist. “We honor and celebrate the amazing journalists and media workers who made CBS News Radio a pillar of journalism,” the union said. “Good night, and good luck.”
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