Last month we wrote about the California Historical Radio Society (CHRS)’s plans to move from its current home at the KRE building in Berkeley to a new space in Alameda. Due to some ownership changes at the Berkeley location (which is also a transmitter site for KVTO-AM, the descendent of historic radio station KRE), the […]
Archive | History
“I Am What I Play”: documenting the rock DJ
Roger King of the Toronto/Montreal based Performance Network Agency wrote to us a fortnight ago with some exciting news. He has a documentary film in the works on the glory days of the rock radio deejay. Title: “I am what I play.” Subtitle: “a feature film about the heyday of rock radio.” From the sixties […]
College Radio Survivor: Revealing History of St. Joseph’s Pioneering College Radio Station
College radio history is largely undocumented, with much lore locked away in the memories of its participants. Glimpses of the past can be found by digging into the archives of student publications, particularly yearbooks and newspapers, where radio activities were often chronicled. Luckily for college radio history buffs like myself, it’s getting easier and easier […]
Still asynchronous? Internet radio at 21
It appears that Internet radio can soon celebrate its 21st birthday. The New York Times identified what is arguably the first Internet radio station in an article posted by reporter John Markoff on March 4, 1993. “Talk radio is coming to desktop computers,” Markoff wrote from San Francisco. “Within a few weeks, a Virginia-based entrepreneur […]
California Historical Radio Society Finds New Home for Radio Museum
As 2013 drew to a close, the California Historical Radio Society (CHRS) announced that it had signed an agreement to purchase a building in Alameda, California to house the Bay Area Radio Museum and Hall of Fame. CHRS currently operates out of the historic KRE building in Berkeley and its days there have been numbered […]
How the FCC helped win World War II
I am reading Tim Weiner’s diverting book Enemies: A History of the FBI and have learned something about the Federal Communications Commission as well. Its Radio Intelligence Division played a critical role in anti-Fascist counterespionage in the southern hemisphere. Weiner writes: “The civilians of the Radio Intelligence Division intercepted clandestine Germany communications with spies in […]
More radio history books for the holidays (or any time)
I am endlessly buying books about the history of radio. Here are some updated recommendations for the holidays. The Hits Just Keep on Coming: The History of Top 40 Radio: Ben Fong-Torres’ immensely fun history of Top 40 radio explores the lives, accomplishments, and antics of the great Top 40 deejays. Frank, engaging, lots of […]
Remembering WABC radio’s 1963 “Mona Lisa” contest
Much of what you read about radio station contests these days is depressing. At best, some operation botches a game by misrepresenting the rules or winnings and winds up paying the Federal Communications Commission a fine. At worst, a signal launches an ill-advised water drinking marathon that literally kills a contestant. To be fair to […]
50 Years Ago Today Student Radio Broke News of JFK Assassination
As people are reflecting back on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy 50 years ago today, many of them may remember hearing the news over the radio. College radio stations were among the media outlets breaking the news on this tragic day in history. The WMUC archives actually contain audio from the University of […]
Radio News Round-Up: Dallas station to air tapes from JFK assassination, Iggy Pop holiday broadcasts
Here’s a quick radio news roundup to round-out your Thursday afternoon: Nielsen just released its annual Music 360 study that shows 63% of music listeners still turn to terrestrial radio to discover new music, and that radio drives many listeners to look for music on YouTube. The Radio and Internet Newsletter talked with David Bakula, […]