SHORT TAKES : CBS Folds Original Newsroom

CBS has folded its news operations at WCAU radio here, the station where William Paley launched the CBS broadcasting network in the 1920s.

The network-owned station, which featured a local news and talk show format, had suffered from lagging ratings for more than a decade.

At 1 p.m. Wednesday, the station began its new “golden oldies” rock and roll programming without advance notice to listeners or staff. About 35 station employees were laid off. A CBS spokesman said WCAU would adopt the call letters WOGL-AM.

Among the personalities losing air time was former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo, who used his daily talk show to attack political opponents, including current Mayor Wilson Goode.