So long, CBS “bong”

CBS News Radio airs its final newscast today. It’s the last vestige of CBS radio, nearly 100 years in continuous operation and once a real force in American broadcasting. As someone who has loved and followed radio for decades, I’m saddened. But given the steep decline of traditional broadcast media, this end feels inevitable. January 2026 revenue for the division had fallen to $67,000 — it was no longer a viable business. With this passing, something else goes too: the CBS “bong.” A single tone preceded every hourly CBS radio newscast, and for many years marked the hour on CBS television as well. Not just on newscasts — on every program, every hour, whenever an affiliate carried the network feed. It was part of the ambient sonic landscape of American life. You could set your watch to it, as the bong hit exactly at the top of the hour. That precision wasn’t accidental. It reflected an institutional culture of discipline and reliability that CBS embodied at its peak. The tone itself is…