The following is a note from Richard Murdocco, founder/publisher of The Foggiest Idea, and was written on August 12th, 2024.
It is a sad day for New Yorkers, and an even sadder day for journalism – After almost sixty years of reporting news 24/7 on the airwaves, WCBS 880 will end it’s legendary run at 12:01 AM on August 26th.
The team behind 880 is incredibly talented, and helped New Yorkers navigate momentous events such as the September 11th attacks, Hurricane Sandy, and the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic with professionalism through virtues of old-school reporting.
All one needs to hear is the station’s daily “88 seconds in sound” segment to appreciate the station’s vast archive of coverage from the past six decades, and any seasoned commuter knows to turn to 880 for “traffic and weather together on the 8’s”. The weather coverage was especially top-tier – and over the years had inspired a renewed focus on The Foggiest Idea‘s reporting on the policy ramifications of extreme weather events within the region.
I grew up listening to 880, then known as Newsradio 88, and have had 880 as the first radio preset on every car I’ve driven. The station’s signal reach was so expansive that I was actually able to hear the 880 chief meteorologist Craig Allen’s tristate forecasts while our family was traveling in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
It is my hope that Audacy, the parent company of 880, has the foresight to retain the talented men and women who made 880 a must-listen.
You can read more on this from 880’s sister station, 1010 WINs, here.
Pictured: A car radio tuned to 880 AM. The station announced that it was ending its all-news format on August 26th. Source: Richard Murdocco/The Foggiest Idea)
