SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Former CBS News Radio correspondent Peter King spoke with Syracuse University graduate students Tuesday about the future of news radio.
King spent more than 30 years working for CBS News. The network signed off from radio in May.
“It was a very short-sighted decision,” King said.
King said new leadership at CBS viewed radio as “old media” and failed to recognize the value of its audience, reach and history.
He said the radio industry has also lost some of the local presence that once connected stations with their communities.
King pointed to his own start in Syracuse radio as an example. He said his station used a red Corvette as a promotional vehicle that became recognizable around the city.
“Everybody knew it as a symbol of the radio station I worked for,” King said.
He said radio also faces competition from phones and digital platforms. Listeners can now get news, weather and traffic without turning on a radio.
King said stations need to offer audiences something they cannot find elsewhere.
“Give your audience something that they can’t get anywhere else,” King said.
King said the next generation of journalists will play a role in determining whether radio remains relevant.
Audio Transcript
Astrid Arias: Corporate greed is killing the radio industry. That’s according to former CBS news correspondent Peter King. King spent more than thirty years working with CBS news. The network signed off this past May.
Peter King: Big companies like iHeart and Cumulus and Beasley are basically killing our business for the sake of trying to stay afloat.
Arias: Listeners are increasingly turning to their phones for basic information. Radio stations have responded with layoffs. King says those cuts have severed vital community links. He says stations need to rebuild local presence and trust.
King: I hope people don’t give up on radio, but radio companies all have to give people a reason not to give up on us.
Arias: King told the students something simple, radio survival is up to them.