Breaking News: Sadness, melancholy, nostalgia, and grief fill the airwaves across the tri-state region. This week, we bid farewell to a venerable all-news radio station, WCBS 880, a steadfast companion in our daily lives for nearly sixty years. It was our go-to source for up-to-the-minute information, guiding us as we planned our days. Rooted in the traditions of terrific, trusted CBS reporters like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, we were confident in the news we received. Yet, the time came to say goodbye as the station signed off for the final time.
In its place, an all-sports station, ESPN, has taken over Newsradio 880’s spot on the dial—a shift reminiscent of July 1, 1987, when WFAN, the first 24-hour all-sports talk radio station, replaced New York’s iconic WHN, the region’s sole country music station at the time. DJ Dan Daniels signed off with Ray Price’s “For the Good Times,” and immediately after, Suzyn Waldman, now the play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees, inaugurated the new station with its first sports update.
What remains now are memories of the past. We’ll have to turn to other outlets for traffic and weather updates—information that was once reliably delivered on the “eights” every ten minutes. Future generations won’t know what Chopper 880 was, nor understand the pang of its absence. They won’t comprehend the significance of an LIE backup at the Elmhurst Gas Tanks or the urgency in the muffled reports shouted over the helicopter’s blades about the Pulaski Skyway—a place many Long Islanders never traveled but instinctively knew to avoid.
We say goodbye to Newsradio 880 with sadness, but we’ll continue to receive our news through other mediums and sources. Technologies and methods change, and we will adapt. Information will continue to flow, just like our traffic reports. Do you remember the art of re-folding maps from Amoco and Esso service stations? These were our go-to guides when Chopper 880 wasn’t flying. And Hagstrom—does that name mean anything to today’s GPS drivers?
Similarly, the Word of God continues to reach us regardless of how our culture and faith practices evolve. Consider the churches St. Paul established in various communities, many of which are recognized by the letters included in the Bible—Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, and Thessalonica. We also remember other houses of worship in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, the seven churches addressed in the Revelation to John. Though none of these churches have survived, the Word of God endures.
For the good times, join us for worship this Sunday, September 1, at 9:30 AM at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lindenhurst. We will worship outdoors, weather permitting. While CBS 880 won’t provide the morning traffic report, rest assured that the Word of God will be on the air.
Blessings,
Pastor Marc
