America’s longest-running newscast is celebrating 80 years on the air today.
CBS News Radio’s World News Roundup was first heard on this date in 1938. The 38-minute program anchored by Robert Trout reported the Nazi invasion of Austria. CBS Radio had been around for 10 years when The World News Roundup came to be. It gave listeners access to live reports from multiple correspondents in the field, including a young CBS executive making his on-air debut in Vienna that night, Edward R. Murrow.
The newscast would go on to revolutionize news coverage, and set the stage for how TV journalists gathered news and assembled newscasts.
“People have lots of choices for news, so achieving 80 years on the air is an incredible landmark,” said Craig Swagler, GM of CBS News Radio. “We are proud that millions of Americans rely on the reporting of CBS News every day. From shortwave and the Murrow Boys to smartphones and our stellar correspondents, THE WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP is still the leader setting the standard in quality journalism.”
CBS This Morning, the CBS Evening News, CBSN and CBSNews.com will all be marking the milestone today.