The Writers Guild of America East has shared a statement voicing its displeasure with Audacy as the company ends WCBS Newsradio 880.
The union which represents the employees — 23 of which were laid off by Audacy after it agreed to lease the 880 AM signal to Good Karma Brands for ESPN New York — released a statement sharing its anger with the decision.
“The Writers Guild of America East is devastated that Audacy, the second largest radio company in America, today announced that they are shutting down WCBS Newsradio 880, a trusted news source for New Yorkers since 1924,” the union wrote. “There were 23 WGA East members laid off by Audacy, and we expect the Company to comply with the applicable provisions in our collective bargaining agreement, including guaranteed severance.”
It continued by criticizing the timing of the decision, pointing toward the 2024 election as reason for why Audacy made a hasty decision.
“The closure of WCBS Newsradio 880 is another example of consolidation by a major media conglomerate, which ultimately deprives the public of critical local news stories with different perspectives,” the Writers Guild added. “Audacy’s decision is even more egregious given that this is a critical election year. This is a giant loss for New York City and the news industry at large.”
WCBS will cease operations on Monday, August 26th after nearly 60 years of its all-news format. ESPN New York will change the call letters to WHSQ and begin utilizing the signal that same day. Meanwhile, Audacy will continue to feature an all-news station with 1010 WINS, which has also been available on 92.3 FM since October 2022.
