While I was in a research rabbit hole this week, I found an intriguing tale of an early “broadcast” of a college football game through the use of a telegraph in 1903. According to the University of Michigan Amateur Radio Club, On October 31, 1903, the University of Michigan Football Team traveled to Minnesota to […]
Tag Archives | radio history
Podcast #138 – Radio History on Display at the San Francisco Airport
We visit the “On The Radio” exhibit on radio history at the San Francisco Airport Museum, where travelers can feast their eyes on 27 cases full of historical items related to radio’s past, ranging from 1920s crystal radios to 1970s novelty radios. Jennifer chats with exhibit curator Daniel Calderon and California Historical Radio Society President […]
‘On the Radio’ Exhibit at San Francisco Airport Celebrates Radio History
Radio fans have a major reason to visit San Francisco this year: the SFO Museum just debuted the massive “On the Radio” exhibit in Terminal 3 of the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Until September 30, 2018, travelers can feast their eyes on 27 cases full of historical items related to radio’s past, ranging from […]
Radio Station Visit #142 – College Radio Station WIIT at Illinois Institute of Technology
With so many college radio stations in the Chicago area, it can be tough to decide which to visit first. WIIT 88.9 FM at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) jumped to the top of my list when I learned that it was potentially one of the oldest college radio stations in the country. Coupled with […]
Radio Preservation Task Force Announces Radio History Conference in D.C. in November
We just got word that the Library of Congress’ Radio Preservation Task Force will be holding another conference in Washington, D.C. this fall. With the theme “Radio History: From Archive to Classroom,” the official event will take place on November 3 and 4 at the Library of Congress. A special pre-conference session on Cold War […]
Radio Recollections: the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1950s
Editor’s Note: Fred Krock is a retired broadcaster who worked in commercial broadcasting in San Francisco and New York City. An electrical engineer, he got his start in radio at KZSU at Stanford University in 1950. Fred offered to share his memories of KZSU and radio in the Bay Area from that time, and we […]
Radio Art and New Media in Radio Studies: An Interview with Magz Hall – Pt. 2
We’re happy to return to the second part of our interview with radio scholar and radio artist Magz Hall. In the first part of the interview, Hall detailed the many ways in which we can understand radio, in both a contemporary and historical context, through the lens of radio art. She introduced us to a […]
Investigating Some Contenders for the Oldest Women’s College Radio Station
A few days ago I learned about a documentary about the “first all-woman radio station,” a commercial country station WHER which launched in Memphis in 1955. Of course it piqued my curiosity, not only because it sounds like an intriguing station, but also because I’m aware of college radio stations at all women’s colleges that […]
Radio Survivor Podcast #16: Why Does Radio Have to Die?
For the first time on the podcast the three founding partners of Radio Survivor are together in one place. Jennifer Waits, Matthew Lasar and Paul Riismandel recount the origin story of Radio Survivor, challenge the myth that radio has to die, and discuss the good work that is yet to be done to evangelize and […]
Announcing the RPTF Conference: Saving America’s Radio Heritage
Over the past few months the Radio Preservation Task Force (now with a brand new website) has worked to expand its list of affiliate archives. A number of big organizations have also become recently affiliated with the RPTF, including NPR, the Pacifica Radio Archives, the Prometheus Radio Project, and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and […]