All-news radio
All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news.
All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news stations can run the gamut from simulcasting an all-news television station like CNN, to a "rip and read" headline service, to stations that include live coverage of news events and long-form public affairs programming.
Many stations brand themselves Newsradio but only run news during the morning and afternoon drive times, or in some cases, broadcast talk radio shows with frequent news updates. These stations are properly labeled as "news/talk" stations. Also, some National Public Radio stations identify themselves as News and Information stations, which means that in addition to running the NPR news magazines such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered, they run other information and public affairs programs.
History
In 1956, Chronicle Broadcasting Network began an attempt to provide a 24-hour news program in the Philippines with its radio station DZXL, despite CBN sales director Nitoy Escano noting that audiences at the time were "not too news-conscious".In 1960, KJBS radio in San Francisco, California, became KFAX and changed formats from a blend of music, news, and sports to trial the concept of a "newspaper of the air". The call letters reflected the word facts. However, this experiment proved unsuccessful.
Broadcasting pioneer Arthur W. Arundel is credited with establishing the first 24-hour all-news station in the United States in January 1961 on his owned-and-operated WAVA in Washington, D.C. The station met with success amongst an audience in the capital city then riveted to news of the Vietnam War and of the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert F. Kennedy. Arundel helped other stations in New York and Chicago to convert to his "All News, All the Time" format and then met direct competition from Washington Post-owned WTOP/1500 in 1969.
Radio programmer Gordon McLendon, who has been credited with pioneering top 40, all-sports, beautiful music, and telephone talk formats, is also an acknowledged pioneer in the all-news format. XTRA News went on the air May 5, 1961, from XETRA, a station licensed to Tijuana, Mexico, whose 50,000-watt signal could be heard in San Diego and Los Angeles. Not long after, WNUS debuted in Chicago. Fred B. Walters, who served as the first executive editor of Westinghouse's KYW when it launched its all-news format in September 1965, helped establish the operational model that would be replicated at stations across the country.
The format, which can be heard to on many all-news stations, started each half-hour with world and national news, from a national network, then switched to locally anchored area news, filling out the half-hour with updates on weather, sports, business, and features. XETRA had no outside reporters and got all of its local news from the AP and UPI wire services. Both stations operated using a 15-minute news cycle with newscasts repeated every 15 minutes.
Another early prototypical all-news format operated through WABC-FM in New York City during the 114-day 1962 New York City newspaper strike which lasted from December 8, 1962, to March 31, 1963. The format only lasted as long as the strike, though, and the station reverted to its regular format of Broadway show tunes and simulcasting of its AM sister station afterwards. The following year, ABC's Detroit FM station, WXYZ-FM, made a similar effort during a newspaper strike. Both stations, which previously had simulcast their AM sister stations, carried ABC Radio Network news programs, AM local newscasts plus wire service stories read to fill the balance of the time.
Group W, the broadcast division of Westinghouse, adopted an all-news format 20-minute cycle that eschewed network newscasts so that local and non-local news could be freely mixed, according to what appeared more interesting or important on any given day. Westinghouse also used field reporters at its all-news stations, which included 1010 WINS New York, KYW Newsradio 1060 Philadelphia, and KFWB News 98 Los Angeles. WINS began broadcasting its all-news format in April 1965. KYW launched its all-news format on September 21, 1965, with Fred B. Walters serving as its first executive editor. Walters edited the station's first all-news broadcast and played a major role in establishing KYW's news operation. Under his leadership, KYW became the only all-news station rated number one in a major American market.
In 1975, the NBC Radio Network shut down its profitable weekend music- and information-service NBC Monitor to launch the "News And Information Service", the first all-news radio network. It closed two years later in a cost-cutting move, though it had strong ratings in some markets.
In 1994, Associated Press launched an effort similar to NIS. Officially known as AP All-News Radio, it had affiliates from coast to coast. However, it was informally better known by its promotional title of "The News Station". Associated Press discontinued the all-news format in July 2005. However, the Associated Press continue to offer top-of-hour updates, which are streamed 24/7 online.
In 2003, Fox News began syndicating 1-minute radio updates to radio stations via syndication service Westwood One. Some years later, Fox opted to make a full foray into network radio news services. On June 1, 2005, Fox News Radio employed 60 people and provided hourly 5-minute newscasts and a 1-minute newscast half-hourly. At its launch, 60 stations participated in the network, with more joining under a deal struck between Fox and Clear Channel Communications. This allowed many Clear Channel stations to carry Fox News Radio newscasts and allowed Fox News Radio to use and nationally distribute news content produced by Clear Channel, with several of those stations ending decades-long relationships dating back to the Golden Age Of Radio with ABC News Radio and CBS Radio News to carry Fox News Radio.
Fox also produces Fox News Talk, with talk radio programs featuring Fox News personalities. The programs are broadcast on terrestrial radio stations in the U.S., as well as a dedicated channel on SiriusXM Satellite Radio's digital platform on Channel 450.
The national audio feed of CNN Headline News, began a long phaseout in 2007. Headline News's audio feed was popular among some all-news stations, particularly after the AP disbanded the format in 2005, until the TV network decided in 2006 to abandon its all-news format and add talk-show programming in prime time, when many smaller stations do not have air staff and rely on a network feed. Most of the Headline News affiliates became talk-radio stations, with a handful of daytime-only stations keeping the feed. CNN also for a time offered a second all-news channel with the hour filled with CNN Radio newscasts on the hour and half-hour and business, sports, and feature segments from CNN Radio and Headline News at specific points each hour, plus time segments for local news to be inserted. Many smaller affiliates, however, preferred Headline News audio which was more suited to turn-key operation. CNN Radio ceased operations April 1, 2012, although CNN continues to stream an advertisement-supported audio simulcast of CNN on TuneIn.
While not a full-time NIS, the CBS Radio Network provides significant content for most all-news radio stations in the United States. WestwoodOne offers 2 morning news magazines on weekdays, which many talk radio stations air at 4 AM or 5 AM. The network's mobile app also contains a 24/7 stream featuring rolling news and features on a set schedule, along with breaking news coverage.
All-news has for years been a top-rated radio format in New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities, but as big-city traffic worsens and people work longer hours that increase the urgency of planning their day ahead, the focus of such stations has increasingly turned to traffic and to weather, updated every 10 minutes. Attempts at long-form commercial all-news stations, such as Washington Post Radio, have been largely unsuccessful.
A newcomer to all-news in the early 2010s, Randy Michaels, acquired FM stations in New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia in preparation for all-news formats in those cities. Michaels gave up on the format after approximately one year, and changed formats on both the New York and Chicago stations to music, later selling the stations.
Talk Radio Network launched America's Radio News Network, a 15-hour weekday block of news, in January 2011; the company had been launching 3-hour news blocks in specific dayparts since January 2009. The network was syndicated mostly to smaller stations in need of turnkey news operations during the day; the network never produced programming for overnights or weekends. The service shut down in September 2013.
In 2012, Cumulus Media added more all-news hours on KGO in San Francisco and KLIF in Dallas under the branding "News And Information", but both stations have since changed to a news-talk format due to audience and talk staff rejection of the all-news programming as presented on the stations, accompanied by staff reductions due to budget cuts.
In 2016, "24/7 News" on the iHeart app was renamed NBC NewsRadio. It also carries a second all-news network, AP Radio News.
In late 2015, Fox News Radio began offering Fox News Headlines 24/7 exclusively to SiriusXM subscribers on Channel 115. The program is a live-anchored all-news radio channel offering news, sports, entertainment, and social media discussion in 15-minute blocks. It is a companion channel to the audio simulcasts of the Fox News Channel on SiriusXM 114 and Fox Business on SiriusXM 113. The channel draws heavily from the newsgathering resources of Fox News Radio's two terrestrial radio networks.
TuneIn offers audio simulcasts of several television networks, including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and Fox News, along with 'commercial-free' feeds through its Premium tier.