Bob Law, WWRL newscaster and 'Night Talk' host, dies at 86

Bob Law, a pioneering radio executive and host of the first nationally syndicated Black-oriented talk show, "Night Talk, " has died. The longtime Westbury resident was 86.

"It is with broken hearts that the family of Bob Law, legendary radio broadcaster, community activist, author and entrepreneur, announces his passing on Monday, March 30," his family said in a statement. "Bob Law was devoted to his faith, his family and his community. He touched the lives of many through his words and actions."

The Brooklyn native — who wrapped a 50-year career on radio in 2024 as host of a weekly talk show on WBAI/99.5FM on music, politics and Black history — joined New York radio giant WWRL/1600 as the station's public affairs director in 1973. An R&B powerhouse that featured some of the nation's best-known DJs — Jeffrey Troy, Enoch Gregory, Imhotep Gary Byrd, Bobby Jay and the "Soul Server" Hank Spann — Law went on to build the station's news programs and information outreach efforts, and spent countless hours on its air in the process. During an era when Black-oriented broadcasters like "Super Soul 16" tended to be as much community bulletin boards as music stations, Law had an enduring impact on both New York City politics and policy. In a statement, the Office of the New York City Public Advocate called him "a powerful voice in Black media and tireless advocate for justice."

After joining the station — at the time, a Queens institution that has been based on 58th Street in Woodside since 1926 — Law launched "Black Dialogue," a listener clearinghouse for a wide range of subjects that affected the lives of Black New Yorkers, from policing to housing, schools and safety. That program, and later "Night Talk," were key stops on the campaign trail for numerous politicians and civil rights leaders, including Malcolm X, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, who later announced his 1984 run for the White House on "Night Talk," which Law had launched in 1981.

Nicknamed the Urban Preacher, Law also created the station's long-running "Respect Yourself" campaign, a pillar of Super Soul 16's civic engagement efforts. It asked listeners to greet each other with "I respect you" or "respect yourself." In a 2008 NPR interview, he said, "I was very active before I got into radio [and] was already working with young people at Wingate Prep [one of 16 alternative New York City high schools, based in Crown Heights] where we had begun to develop the campaign. When I was in radio, I was able to give it real life."

Law was also at WWRL long enough to witness its long, slow and painful decline. Like many radio stations across the country, the Big RL was sidelined by new media, new music, the advent of FM, and changing tastes. As radio stations were swept up into huge conglomerates, stubborn independents like WWRL were sidelined then forgotten. That once vitally important hyperlocal community function withered along with them. In 2016, WWRL, the last Black-owned station in New York, was sold to a New Jersey-based broadcaster that programmed it for South Asian listeners. WRL was later bought by iHeartMedia, and is now the New York flagship for Black Information Network.

In an interview with Newsday in 2024, Law also blamed the decline in Black radio on the 1996 "Telecommunications Act, which dealt one of the most severe blows to Black radio because companies like Clear Channel could come in and buy huge numbers of stations, and homogenization followed."

In the '70s, stations like WWRL offered "a range of ideas and information that [was] important to the community. ... Black radio gave the community a presence it doesn't have any more."

Born in Brooklyn, Law began his long career in community activism there, and later was New York State coordinator for 1995's "Million Man March" on Washington, organized by Louis Farrakhan and Benjamin Chavis. His family said he was also chairman of the National Black Alliance — which focuses on voter education and mobilization — and helped organize the Peace Keepers Global Initiative, which promotes mental health awareness.

Law is survived by two daughters, Abina and Patrice, and was predeceased by his wife, Muntu Law.