Group W's NewsRadio Format, and That Clicking Sound
Westinghouse-owned "Group W" stations, including KYW-AM in Philadelphia and WINS-AM in New York, pioneered both the "traffic and weather" concept and the signature sound of loud teletype machines. After replacing those teletype systems with computers, some station managers noticed sudden drops in ratings. Without the teletype rhythm, many listeners skipped to other stations on the AM dial with similar programming. Production managers removed the teletype machines from storage, recording their clatter onto endless tape loops to be played behind announcers.
News Radio Goes National
NBC, CNN, and the Associated Press sought to establish unified news radio networks. However, commercial stations often found it difficult to build ratings by meshing local updates with national feeds. Major news operations still supply top-of-the-hour updates to news radio stations, but no continuous, national news radio network currently exists.
On the non-commercial side of the radio dial, public radio stations built their own national news operation by pooling their resources. By 1970, a group of 90 charter members formed National Public Radio. NPR affiliates often anchor "drive time" with news programs like Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Marketplace. Carl Kasell, one of NPR's most familiar voices, recently announced his retirement from radio. He started his career at WAVA, mirroring the history of news radio in America.
News Radio Evolves into News/Talk
Since the explosion of political talk radio in the early 1990s, some stations branding themselves as "news radio" or "news/talk" run local information in the mornings, following by lineups of local and syndicated talk shows throughout the rest of the day. For instance, WABC-AM in New York is the flagship station of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Atlanta's WSB-AM mixes political talk from Neal Boortz with consumer advice from Clark Howard.
Critics of the news/talk format suggest that editorial elements of newscasts can be influenced by the political slant of their marquee talk hosts. NPR came under similar scrutiny during the 2008 Presidential Election, even though the network's own ombudsman performed a content analysis that showed slight favor to the Republican ticket.
Although music radio ratings have suffered in the wake of iPods and in-car satellite radio systems, news radio stations often rank highly in their local markets. Listeners craving immediate weather, traffic, and school closing information often stay tuned in for fifteen minutes or longer before switching stations, often enough to earn higher "time spent listening" numbers. With the introduction of streaming internet radio, some news radio stations have become superstations, feeding the cravings of listeners who once lived within their broadcast signals.