Type Radio network Country United States | Branding Westwood One News | |
First air date January 1, 2015 (2015-01-01) Availability Radio stations owned by Cumulus Founded July 30, 2014 (2014-07-30) | ||
Westwood One News is a radio news network operated by Westwood One through its parent company Cumulus Media. It launched on January 1, 2015. It provides radio stations with hourly newscasts delivered by Westwood One anchors as well as voiced reports that can be individually used by member stations.
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About
Months after Cumulus acquired Westwood One, merging it with the former Cumulus Media Networks, the radio network acquired exclusive content from CNN. The news division was created months before Cumulus' deal with ABC News Radio was set to expire at the end of 2014. Until then, most Cumulus radio stations (including the former ABC-owned heritage stations carried over from the Citadel Broadcasting acquisition) used ABC News as their national news source. Cumulus also replaced the former NBC News Radio service previously distributed by the old Westwood One network, which was acquired under the "Dial Global" name in 2012. Ironically, NBC News Radio had replaced Westwood One's CNN Radio service several years earlier.
Unlike the ABC, Fox and CBS Radio News networks (the latter also distributed by Westwood One), this is a "white-label" news service that contains no mention of "Westwood One" or "CNN." Subscribing radio stations (mostly Cumulus-owned) can brand the newscasts with their own call letters and station slogans. The anchors give their own names but do not say what news service they work for. Nash-branded country music stations may run the content under the "Nash News" branding.
Former Cumulus Chief Executive Officer Lew Dickey said in a statement, "Our affiliates and advertising partners know they can count on us for news and information products that reflect how people today consume content through various platforms, and this exclusive access to CNN’s newsgathering will ensure we can provide stations nationwide an unmatched array of news formats."
Current Anchor Lineup:
-Scott Walterman
-Barton Eckert
-Michael Toscano
-John Irving
-John Trout
-Evan Haning
-Barbra Kusak
-Ann Cates
-Jim Ascendio
-Chas Henry
-Elliot Francis
Haning also anchors the weekday First Light news program, which airs from 5 to 6 a.m. Eastern Time using reporters and feeds from Westwood One and CNN.