RSS
Home
WCBS 880 staffers, past and present, reunite
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.jpg)
Lebe shares a laugh with former WCBS anchor Therese Crowley/Ted David
Lyndon Johnson was president, "Bonanza" was the highest-rated on TV and WCBS-AM switched to an all-news format.
It was August 28, 1967, when WCBS would become known as Newsradio 88. The station’s format change came 28 months after WINS first blazed the trail in New York City.
Fast forward 42 years.
After dozens of notable anchors, reporters and writers have passed through the WCBS doors at various locales, some of those same dozens now gather twice a year at a Northern New Jersey restaurant to celebrate their glorious past.
The genesis of the CBS “Board Meetings" started one day in 1993 when six station staffers went to lunch. Former WCBS anchor Bob Gibson was one those half-dozen participants.
Chosen to helm the luncheon, he recalled how everyone said, ‘We work for a living. We’re busy and you’re a professional freelancer.”
So Gibson took on the responsibility of getting the word out about the bi-annual lunches, hoping to attract more current and CBS alum. “It would be nice if we did it again. But let’s invite some more people.”
Year after year, more and more people did take part in the afternoon, as the “Board” expanded from its humble beginnings. The guest list from the most recent gathering had 47, including several not directly connected to WCBS-AM. (The final tally was 41, as six were unable to attend.)
Among those in attendance were WINS freelance anchor Ted David, former WCBS anchor Bill Fahan, former WNEW-AM newsman Andy Fisher, WINS morning anchor Lee Harris, WCBS Dining Diary food critic Bob Lape and former WABC-TV news director Ed Silverman.
In between the bites of veal parmigiana, many business cards were passed around, proving the art of reconnecting was alive and well.
Former Newsradio 88 anchor Mitch Lebe was a member of that packed house last Saturday. “I guess the most important part is the camaraderie. …It’s just mostly seeing the people, and seeing how happy the people still are. Some people are still at CBS or other places where I worked.” Lebe, who spent much of the 1990s at 880, said, “…Everytime we go there’s one or two people that weren’t at the other ones. So [it’s] somebody new. So it expands the horizons. It’s very nice.”
Gibson, who retired his distinct deep voice in 2007, handed off the torch of orchestrating the function after 14 years to former CBS Radio executive Bob Leeder.
It was under Leeder’s leadership that the June/December event not only grew further, but a guest list was created. Leeder explained it was, “so that everybody can see who’s here and if they want to do some networking or if they want see an old friend or somebody they haven’t seen in years.”
He said it’s always a fun get-together as people come and enjoy discussing the future and “reminiscing about the past.”
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
.jpg)
