Longtime WCBS 880 morning anchor Wayne Cabot used to have his alarm set for 2:30 AM. Now? The alarm remains unset after Audacy New York shuttered the venerable news station in a deal with crosstown rival Good Karma Brands that sees ESPN New York now airing on the signal.
On midnight, August 26th, WCBS signed off for the final time, and Cabot — who had been at the station since 1988 — was the last voice heard on the station as it made its last gasp before giving way to the sports talk station.
During his nearly 15-minute farewell, Cabot paid tribute to the many famous names that came before him on the WCBS 880 airwaves. He also gave credit to the hundreds of behind-the-scenes producers, directors, and news writers who helped make the station a staple in the Big Apple.
It would be easy to think that being tasked with being the final voice heard on a heritage signal would be an overwhelming, intimidating, and monumental task. But Wayne Cabot nearly took the exact opposite approach.
“On the day that they made the announcement, Ben Mevorach, the boss, said that he’d like me to be the last voice, that it would be only fitting and proper,” said Cabot. “And I thought that was tremendously flattering and an honor. And then I kind of forgot about it, to tell you the truth, because then we were focused on this three-hour send-off and various things to close it out.
“It wasn’t until a couple of days before, right before the Thursday sign-off, show that Chris Oliviero, the big boss, said, ‘Hey, we’re really happy you’re doing the Sunday midnight sign-off.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, I forgot about that.'”
Wayne Cabot added that he was given free rein to send the station into the ether however he’d like, whether it was 60 minutes or 60 seconds. Additionally, he was told he could come to the Audacy New York studios on the final evening or record something ahead of time.
He chose the latter.
“I decided the smart thing would be to record it, because I didn’t think I’d be able to get through it live,” he admitted. “And in fact, when I put it down on tape the first time, I had a difficult time at the end. I got a little bit choked up. But I didn’t want to end it with me being all weepy and dramatic, so I made sure I got it right.”
Cabot added that, in his view, a heartfelt, off-the-cuff approach was a more fitting tribute than a pre-scripted eulogy for the brand.
“I really wasn’t sure how to frame it, what to say, what not to say, so I decided to just vamp onto my software and hear how it came out and not write anything,” he shared. “So I did that, and then cleaned it up a little bit and tried to speak from the heart.”
The original version of the sign-off lasted a half hour, before it was shortened to the final 15 minutes of WCBS 880’s existence. He said the fact that he was forced to shorten it was the right decision, but by doing so meant he left some people that deserved to be mentioned. “That pained me,” he stated.
In the station’s waning moments, Wayne Cabot relayed a story that WCBS 880 was the radio station that got him interested in a radio career. He shared that Christmas gift from his father — a clock radio that beamed the time on the ceiling — made him fall in love with the station and the medium, ultimately leading him to a nearly 40-year career at the station.
Many observers on social media shared that Cabot’s comments were incredibly poignant and were, frankly, a radio masterclass.
“A lot of people connected with that,” he shared.
Cabot freely admitted that the entire situation was a bittersweet one, but the sweet, in his view, outweighed the bitter. “The outpouring has been way beyond what I imagined. If I imagined X, this has been times 100, easily,” he shared, noting that he’s heard positive messages via social media, phone calls, message boards, and even through the “snail mail.”
Obviously, Wayne Cabot has plenty of time to decide what he wants to do next. After the station’s demise, he has time to be selective with his next professional endeavors, noting that he’ll only continue to work as long as the opportunity interests and excites him.
For many, Wayne Cabot was a friend every morning, a trusted voice bringing New Yorkers, and the surrounding area, the news and information they needed most. For others, he’ll be remembered for his legendary sign-off of the venerable brand.
And, despite his admitted almost laissez-faire approach to the station’s sign-off, he’s happy, overall, with how it turned out.
“It really was appropriate. And it just kind of came together, I think. Don’t give me too much credit. I think there was a lot of a lot of magic in the air that just put that together and made it sound as satisfying and fulfilling as it did to a lot of people,” Cabot concluded.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
