For years, my father and I have
shared the same interest in one particular radio station for all of our
listening needs— WCBS News Radio 880.
When he and I commute to New York City for work, we would tune to this
station for complete and accurate information on the traffic to and from the
city and what is going on in the world as it relates to New York. We have always relied on the WCBS AM’s comprehensive
news coverage that it has provided for the two of us. Other stations like 1010 WINS and WWOR News Talk Radio 710
fail to provide us with the information that we need and deliver it our desired
way. When I was assigned to do a
station profile on any station that I wished, this paper gave me the chance to
prepare for an opportunity to learn more about and inquire a possible
internship with my favorite radio station.
On March 15, 2012,
I had the distinct pleasure of conducting an interview with Tim Scheld,
Director of News and Programming at WCBS 880 AM Radio in New York, New
York. We sat in his office and
conversed about WCBS AM and all other flagship stations of Columbia
Broadcasting Systems and how it operates and allocates jobs amongst their
employees. Mr. Scheld also exposed
me to the work environment and atmosphere of WCBS AM, where everyone broadcasts
and where the entire behind-the-scenes work is done. Here, I will be going into detail the history and ownership
and operations of WCBS 880 AM Radio.
WCBS
AM is a clear channel, flagship station of the CBS Radio Network that broadcast
under the 880 kilohertz frequency and online and on their CBS New York Mobile
Application. They distribute their
content with Dial Global, a radio syndication company that bought the rights
from Westwood One to broadcast all CBS Radio broadcasts back in October of
2011. WCBS AM is a News Radio
format, reporting on only news, traffic, weather, and sports. Unlike other AM radio stations in the
New York area, this station do not follow a news-talk format, where the anchors
and other broadcasters on air discuss topical news and other information
through conversation and offer their opinions on what is being discussed at the
time of the broadcast.
WCBS
AM is a “for-profit” commercial radio station, opposite of National Public
Radio and college radio stations. They
utilize commercial advertising and contracts with different clients, like the
New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, to make money for CBS Network. As long as they broadcast their
clients’ and advertisers’ programs and commercials, they will make money. CBS Network is responsible for paying
the salaries, controlling station budget for operations, and the other expenses
of WCBS AM.
The
station started broadcasting in 1924 under the call letters WAHG at 920
kilohertz (kHz) in Brooklyn, New York.
Led by Alfred H. Gerbe, WAHG was one of the first commercial radio
stations to broadcast events from remote locations like thoroughbred horse
races at local horse racing tracks and at yachting events in the Hudson River. In 1927, Gerbe changed the station’s
call sign from WAHG to WABC to coincide with the abbreviation of his Atlantic
Broadcasting Company, not to be confused with the American Broadcasting Company,
and relocated operations to West 57th Street in New York City. At the time, he owned a chain of radio
stations in the New York metropolitan area.
When the Federal
Radio Commission issued General Order 40 in 1928, Gerbe’s WABC station was
moved to a new frequency of 970 kHz. General
Order 40 provided for a reallocation of the commercial broadcast radio
spectrum. The goal of the FRC at
this time was to eliminate and reduce broadcast interference, provide better
airwaves access to smaller cities, and to remove low-funded and bankrupt
stations from the airwaves. Some
clear channel stations, like the Atlantic Broadcasting Company, were partnered with
one or more low-powered stations in locations remote from the principal
station. Under this Order, WAHG became a part-time affiliate
of the Columbia Broadcasting System, and worked together to promote CBS
programming on the 970 kHz frequency.
Later in 1928, as
CBS grew, CBS President William S. Paley bought the WABC station from Gerbe for
$410,000. The transaction helped
CBS increase their presence in New York and Gerbe establish his manufacturing
company, A.H. Gerbe and Co. Inc., which operated in Richmond Hill, New York and
Manhattan from 1928 to his death in 1935.
After CBS purchased the station, they moved its frequency to 860 kHz and
increased its power from 5,000 watts to 50,000 watts. They also relocated the station that year to the CBS Headquarters
on Madison Avenue and changed the format to music and entertainment. In 1941, Paley increased their
frequency to 880 kHz, where it stands today, and in 1946, changed the station’s
call letters to WCBS to differentiate the CBS-owned radio station from the American
Broadcasting Company, which began operations in 1943.
In the 1950s and
1960s, WCBS was low in the ratings.
Its music format with limited talk programming could not compete with
stations like WNEW that dominated in the format in New York City. On August 28, 1967, WCBS changed its format
from music and entertainment to News
Radio. The station would
broadcast news radio during the morning and evening rush hours and other forms
of talk radio during the day. As a
result, their ratings grew, especially in the suburban areas because of its
strong broadcast signal patters outside of New York City. Listeners were intrigued by their
traffic reports and news coverage, as well as their 30-minute cycle formats
that allowed WCBS to broadcast longer interviews and go more in depth with their
news stories. Today, the station
continues to apply this format.
Today, WCBS AM is
an all-digital radio station, one of the first in the United States. They broadcast at 345 Hudson Street in
New York and share offices with the other flagship stations of CBS located in
New York: WCBS FM 101.1, 92.3 NOW WXRK FM, 1010 WINS AM, Fresh 102.7 FM, and
660 AM WFAN. Their broadcast transmitter is located on High Island in the
Bronx, New York. According to Tim
Scheld, Director of News and Programming at WCBS AM, all flagship stations
operating at the same location is a “model in the industry for all programming,
sales, finance, and trafficking in the radio industry.” The flagship stations of CBS share one
engineering department in their New York offices and also work with the other
CBS radio stations across the country to find new ways to make their radio
broadcasts work more efficiently.
CBS Networks are
now present on the Internet and on smart phones as mobile applications. As the Internet continues to dominate all
mediums, WCBS AM continues to work to increase its presence on the web. The station will also continue to
accommodate those who favor the traditional on-air broadcasts. WCBS AM utilizes the radio technologies
that are very common in the radio industry, relying on a solid connection provided
by COMREX Access Units, Digital Subscriber Line (or DSL), 4G connection, and a
hard phone line. They depend on a
hard line connection because they have no true reliance on anything WIFI or
wireless if in the event some kind of interference disrupts their signal. These technologies help them with their
on-air broadcasts, as well as their online stream.
COMREX is a
specific brand of remote broadcasting equipment that allows on-the-field
reporters to broadcast news and other information from locations outside of
their station. With COMREX, WCBS
AM takes advantage of their IP Codecs models, studio quality audio and video devices
used over wired and wireless IP circuits.
DSL provides Internet access by transmitting digital data over the wires
of a local telephone network. WCBS
AM uses DSL with their COMREX equipment to broadcast events. The fourth generation of cellular
mobile communication standards, or 4G, provides ultra-broadband Internet access
to laptops with USB wireless modems and mobile devices. Four-G has become synonymous in the
radio industry, because it provides a more-solid radio connection and a clearer
broadcast, unlike 3G, which is soon becoming obsolete.
The most well
known client of WCBS-AM is the New York Yankees. Since 2002, the New York Yankees have broadcasted the live
games, as well as the pre games and the post games, on this station. Back in April of 2010, Arbitron
reported that the Yankees had the greatest listenership on the radio for
baseball, about 413,000 per game in their home market. These numbers have been very consistent
since. Currently, the Yankees and
WCBS-AM are trying to renew their contracts to broadcast games beyond 2012;
however, stations like ESPN-1050 and WFAN are placing bids on the rights to
broadcast Yankees games. Companies
like WB Mason and Continental Airlines pay an exorbitant amount of money to
advertise during Yankees games, which has generated a lot of revenue for WCBS
AM.
One of the things
that intrigues me about WCBS AM is their news broadcasting. Unlike most stations, WCBS AM
broadcasts everything live. Nothing
is prerecorded. The only known
instance where a prerecorded show is played on WCBS AM is on the online and
Mobile App streams when the New York Yankees games are being broadcasted. Currently, Major League Baseball owns
the rights to broadcast all audio and television broadcasts of all professional
baseball games. It is illegal for
a station to play a MLB game on their online streams without the express
written consent of the League. The
benefit of the live broadcasts is that it is a showpiece for clients and
advertisers to buy airtime.
Knowing that no shows or old newscasts get rebroadcasted on the air demonstrates
how more frequently listeners will tune in to the station and therefore be more
exposed to commercial advertisements, as well as Public Service Announcements.
Currently, WCBS AM
has 14 on-air personalities at the station and correspondents and reporters
stationed in various parts of New York City and the rest of the Tri-State
Area. The on-air personalities
report on specific news and information and also appear at different times of
the day and week. Below are these
on-air personalities and their specialties:
· -Alex Silverman: Weekend Afternoon Anchor and
Reporter
· -Deborah Rodriguez: News Reporter
· -John Leisher: Anchor, Producer, and Writer of
“Radio Business News”
· -John Metaxas: Local and National Political
Coverage and Law Reporter
· -Michael Schoen: International, Government, Local
Courts, and Politics News
· -Michael Wallace: Financial Reporter and Anchor
· -Pat Carroll: Morning Anchor, specializes in
traffic and news.
· -Pat Farnack: Midday Anchor, host of “WCBS
Health& Wellbeing Report”
· -Paul Murnace: On-the-field reporter
· -Steve Scott: Afternoon News Anchor
· -Steve Knight: Evening News Anchor
· -Tony Guida: On-the-field reporter
· -Vickie Allen: Overnight broadcaster, General
Assignment Reporter
· -Wayne Cabot: Anchor and Reporter
The WCBS AM correspondents are
located in various spots in the Tri-State area like the New York City Federal
Courthouse, City Hall, and government buildings in Long Island and
Connecticut. Their offices consist
of a desk and a phone. Their jobs
are to monitor the events that occur at these locations and to report to WCBS
AM when a story of significant importance occurs.
The
decision making process of WCBS AM is not centralized. No one person makes all of the
decisions for everybody. Everyone
contributes to the station with his or her knowledge and abilities. When it comes to dayparting, dividing
the broadcast day into different parts, the Producer on duty will ultimately
make the decision on what content will be going on the air and when. The Producer at the time, however, will
be assisted with the rest of the WCBS AM staff to determine the severity of a
story, based on the order in which the stories will be presented and whether or
not the story is appropriate to broadcast around the given air time.
WCBS AM has two
major competitors when it comes to delivering the news. They are 1010 WINS and WWOR News Talk
Radio 710.
WINS is an
internal ratings battle, because both WINS and WCBS AM are both flagship
stations of CBS. They differ in
terms of cycle format. While WCBS
cycles every 30 minutes, WINS cycles ever 20 minutes. This smaller cycle prevents WINS from
going more in depth with their local and international news and their traffic
reports. WINS does get good
listenership for when people want news delivered to them in a quick and concise
manner.
WWOR News Talk
Radio 710 AM is an indirect competitor of WCBS AM in terms of format. WWOR, owned by Buckley Broadcasting,
broadcasts at 50,000 watts and has radiation patterns that differ from WCBS AM
based on how they adjust the signal’s frequency levels during the day. The station’s engineering department
strengthen the frequency when listenership is at its highest, such as during both
rush hours, and decrease it when listenership is at its lowest, such as
overnight. Even though WCBS is
strengthened by their brand name, WWOR is the only New York- Metro area station
to retain the same call sign since the its establishment back in 1922, making
it more identifiable to New York City commuters and residents.
To compete with
these stations, the staff of WCBS AM found ways to differentiate themselves
from their competitors. First, as mentioned before, they reset the news every
30 minutes. They will only
interrupt a broadcast if something of significant importance happens in New
York. They did this when the World
Trade Center was under attack on September 11, 2001, and when an US Airways
plane crashed in the Hudson River back on January 15, 2009. Second, WCBS AM goes more in depth with
their news coverage, providing more context to the events occurring and have
occurred. They will provide as
much detail as possible to let their listeners get a better understanding of
the event. Finally, the anchors
and reporters pay close attention to audience relationships. WCBS AM employs anchors that can
connect to the listeners with how they deliver the news. They have a calm and clear vocal
delivery, not a rushed and mild-toned approach.
WCBS
AM appeals to a specific demographic— New York City commuters and residents. Their largest rate of listenership is
during the morning and evening rush hours, where advertisers predominately broadcast
their commercials. According to
reports by Arbitron, WCBS AM has the best ratings amongst its competitors in
the suburban areas of New York City because of its broadcasting patterns to
those regions. Commuters to and
from New York rely on their accurate and up-to-the-minute traffic reports to
see how their commute back and forth to work will be and what to expect when
they reach the city. The listeners
of WCBS AM do not want to hear someone’s opinions about a particular
incident. They want the facts
right away with as much detail about it as possible.
During my
interview with Tim Scheld, we discussed the strengths of WCBS AM that
contribute to the stability and growth of the station and the CBS brand and the
weaknesses that the station is still trying to improve on today. According to Mr. Scheld, the biggest
strength that WCBS AM has in the industry is its staff. The station has the largest, most
experienced local radio news team out there. In today’s world, as the advancement of technology begins to
replace the workingman, WCBS does not succumb to contraction. Instead, WCBS AM seek to maintain its
staff and continue to add qualified radio broadcasting and communications
practitioners. “A combination of
young and experienced employees,” Scheld explains, “and a combination of values
and opinions from each distinct group of employees contributes to the ongoing
success of this station. Everyone
plays a part and does their job accordingly.”
The biggest
weakness that WCBS AM has is their diversity in staff. This lack in variety restricts them
when it comes to story ideas. Scheld
explains, “we are still looking for people with different types of backgrounds
to help contribute different and exciting news stories that will cater to more
diverse demographics.” Another
major weakness that they have been dealing with, which has started to diminish,
is their lack of time and resources in training new employees who have just
graduated from their academic institutions. Because of their goal of providing up-to-the-minute news
coverage to the public, they do not have the time to help these new employees
become better acclimated with their in-studio and on-the-field
technologies. They depend on their
academic institutions to give them the knowledge that they need to be efficient
in operating a radio station, but some college radio stations lack the current
technology that today’s commercial radio stations possess. As a way to combat this issue, WCBS AM
has internship programs to help train prospective employees in order to prepare
them and help them succeed in the radio and communications industry, whether it
be with WCBS AM, the other flagship stations of CBS Radio in New York, or other
news-format radio stations.
In
the future, there will be a dramatic change in the distribution of news. However, there will always be a need
for news organizations to deliver up-to-the-minute news and information to the
public. This is where WCBS AM will
continue to thrive. As technology
and media continues to evolve in functions and purpose, the CBS brand will
never diminish. CBS Network and
all affiliated stations will convert to the new media formats and learn about
and contribute to the development of technologies. CBS has always been a credible news bureau for many years,
and as long as they maintain their News Radio format, they will never decrease
in value, audience, and importance.
I hope that someday, I can be a part of WCBS AM and them continue to
grow in the radio industry.
Contact Information
Tim Scheld
Director of News and Programming, WCBS 880 AM— New York, NY
345 Hudson Street, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10014
1 (212) 524-2910
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