On March 11, 2020 the same day WHO made the declaration that COVID-19 was a global pandemic, the CBS News Broadcast center was evacuated after positive cases were detected in the building. In an engineering feat that was unimaginable prior to this year, the CBS News Radio network went remote, turning anchors homes into studios, and making the transition to a virtual newsroom. Featured this week in a special edition of ‘America: Changed Forever’ is an audio diary, from the employees of CBS News, retelling the story of how they kept reporting the news remotely, amid the biggest story of their careers.

America Changed Forever - One Year Later

CBS' Country 4th with Friends is the soundtrack for your Independence Day weekend. Host Lezli Young speaks with Ronnie Dunn and Lauren Aliana about their 4th of July traditions. We hear from Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban and more about getting back on stage and what this last year has meant to them. Enjoy the show!

CBS Country 4th with Friends Special 2021

1 year ago, CBS News Radio reported from the front lines of the sage on the U.S. Capitol. The program was anchored by CBS News Radio White House Correspondent Steven Portnoy.

1 YEAR AGO: JAN 6 INSURRECTION CBS NEWS LIVE ANCHORED COVERAGE

Speechless and heartbroken - Mike Hopkins, Director of Logistics/Special Events CBS News. Mike was the heart of CBS News and tireless committed to the craft. He cared about everyone and taught us all so much. Mike was a friend to all and loved CBS. He looked out for everyone and ensured we were all safe and taken care of on the road. Hopkins embodied CBS News in every way. I am speechless and heartbroken. I do not know what to say.

20 World News Roundup Late Edition - Hopkins

REMEMBERING QUEEN ELIZABETH II
CBS News Radio  coverage as Queen Elizabeth II's coffin procession from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster, where the Queen will lie in state for a period of four days.

Correspondent Steve Futterman anchors our coverage from Buckingham Palace in London and is joined by a Royal Commentator Dr. Nigel Fletcher a political historian at King's Collage London.

CBS News Special Report The Procession Of The Queen Elizabeth II

Seventy-five years ago this spring, a murder shocked the world. A CBS News correspondent was executed — shot in the back of the head, bound at his hands and feet and, while still breathing, thrown into the Aegean Sea. The bloated, fully-clothed body of the 34-year-old World War II veteran George Polk was discovered a week later by a fisherman. 

Today, George Polk is best known for the prestigious award given for journalistic excellence in his name. Fittingly, the prize recognizes coverage of armed conflicts; government corruption; military injustice; war crimes, sedition; and authoritarian government abuses. All major plot points in the backstory of George Polk’s murder.

WHO KILLED GEORGE POLK?

A loss of one of our own at CBS News. Former CBS Radio News anchor Bill Lynch has died. He was 77. Lynch was a long time anchor of the World News Round Up. He died yesterday, surrounded by his family, in Lawrence Kansas.

REMBERING CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT BILL LYNCH

REMBERING CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT BILL LYNCH: SPECIAL REPORT

CBS News Radio Special Report: Former President Donald Trump arrived Tuesday, April 4 afternoon at Manhattan Criminal Court to be arraigned on charges for which he was indicted by a New York grand jury last Thursday, Marc 30th. White House Correspondent Steven Portnoy and is joined by Correspondent Matt Pieper in lower Manhattan outside the courthouse, and Loyola Law Professor Laurie Levenson.

April , 4th Trump Arraignment 2023

Tom's guest for the hour today is Craig Swagler, the new president and general manager of theYour Public Radio Corporation, the parent company of WYPR and our sibling station, WTMD.

Swagler was appointed by Your Public Radio's board of directors after a national search. He brings over 20 years of experience as a producer and senior executive at CBS News Radio and Audio in New York.

WYPR took your calls, ema,ils and tweets during the hour.

First Day at WYPR

In a new special audio documentary airing on CBS News Radio stations over Memorial Day weekend, CBS News White House correspondent Steven Portnoy investigates the mystery behind the unsolved murder of CBS News correspondent George Polk. Seventy-five years ago this month, this murder shocked the world and led colleagues to create the George Polk Awards in the victim’s name. The CBS News correspondent was executed – shot in the back of the head, bound at his hands and feet and, while still breathing, thrown into the waters of the Aegean Sea. The bloated, fully clothed body of the 34-year-old World War II veteran was discovered a week later by a fisherman. 

Portnoy’s reporting on the project involved travel to Thessaloniki, Greece, the city where Polk was murdered. The documentary cites formerly classified documents reviewed by Portnoy that detail how U.S. government officials actively sought to suppress doubts about the innocence of the only man to face trial in Polk’s killing, a Greek reporter who was tortured into making a false confession. 

The special features interviews Portnoy conducted with four different authors who’ve written extensively about George Polk’s murder, as well as members of the Polk family and leading press freedom advocates. The special also includes interviews that Ed Bradley conducted for 60 MINUTES in 1990 that never aired, material that was discovered on dozens of videotapes kept in storage in London.

The three-hour special is CBS News’ deepest dive into its audio archive in recent memory. The program includes reporting from George Polk, Edward R. Murrow, Howard K. Smith and other CBS News correspondents that hasn’t been heard since it first aired on the CBS Radio Network in the late 1940s. In addition to airing on CBS News Radio stations this weekend, the audio documentary will be available to stream on CBSNews.com/Polk and heard on SiriusXM’s P.O.T.U.S. Channel 124. 

“This audio documentary puts a sharp focus on the importance of a free press in functioning democracies,” said CBS News Radio vice president and general manager Craig Swagler, the program’s executive producer. “Steven’s incisive reporting is also timely. Never before have we seen threats with such frequency to reporters’ lives, both foreign and domestic, as they attempt to discover and report the truth.”

The original 1947-49 audio used in the documentary has been retained for decades on transcription discs stored at the CBS News Archives and painstakingly restored and digitized by archivists. Recreations of Polk’s reporting were made using the original transcripts of his broadcasts.

Steven Portnoy is the host of the audio documentary. Craig Swagler is the executive producer. Listen to the entire audio documentary at CBSNews.com/Polk.

Who Killed George Polk?

Craig Swagler is the President and General Manager of Baltimore Public Media, the parent company of WYPR 88.1, and WTMD 89.7.

He joins Midday to discuss the company's outlook for 2025, including the future of public broadcast funding, ongoing local coverage and community engagement.

Craig on Midday January 8, 2025

VOICE: Futterman, Steve - CBS News Correspondent
 LENGTH: 1:56
 LEAD: The Oscars come to a crashing halt during the ceremony's biggest award. CBS News Correspondent Steve Futterman reports. 
 OUTCUE: I'm Steve Futterman

Craig Swagler

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