This is the FAQ section of
The Broadcast Archive

Maintained by:
Barry Mishkind - The Eclectic Engineer
Updated as of 7/2/06

PLEASE: IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING WE CAN ADD TO THIS LIST,
PLEASE LET ME KNOW

Other "Firsts".

This section is under construction and refinement. It is necessary to understand that many of the "firsts" listed by different stations are actually little more than Press Releases that became part of the urban folklore. Therefore, some of the items in this section are subject to revision, as better information and documentation appear. If you know of a correction needed, or an appropriate fact that could/should be added, please let Barry know.

15a. Programming:

The First:

... VOICE TRANSMISSION: Fessenden. His program on December 24, 1906 from Brant Rock MA, included a female voice singing a Christmas carol and Fessenden doing a speech and a violin solo.
... WIRELESS BROADCAST TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC: January 13, 1910. Lee DeForest arranges broadcast featuring Caruso and others directly from Metropolitan Opera to several listeners in New York. The transmission utilized two microphones and a 500-w transmitter
... US GOVERNMENT LICENSE FOR TRANSMISSION: 1911, to George Hill Lewis of Cincinnati.
... TRANSCONTINENTAL BROADCAST
- It is reported that there was a National Defense Test Day broadcast, sent coast to coast on September 12, 1924.
... TRANSCONTINENTAL NETWORK BROADCAST:
- On October 24, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge spoke the US Chamber of Commerce, and coast to coast on a network of 24 stations.
- In September 1928, the first network coast to coast broadcasts began, although it required a dialup line from Denver to Salt Lake City.
- NBC used AT&T lines entirely for "The General Motors' Party" on December 24, 1928.
... RELIGIOUS PROGRAMMING:
- The first religious programming may be Fessenden's 1906 broadcast.
- The first regularly scheduled religious programming was heard by 1920 on various stations, including 9BW, Wichita, KS in May 1920.
- The first all-Religious radio station in the US is said to be WDM, Washington DC, December 1921. Another early station was KJS, Los Angeles, in March 1922.
- (often mis-reported as the first:: KDKA's claims for the Calvary Episcopal Church, 1/2/21.)
... CONCERT: broadcast was on / / on Station (anyone have a nomination?)
... DRAMA BROADCAST: 8/3/22 on Station WGY.
... OPERA BROADCAST: had no Phantoms... <g>
... AIRCHECK
- According to some reports, the oldest existing aircheck dates to the Armistice Day broadcast, November 10, 1923.
- Some WEAF broadcasts of the NY Philharmonic are said to predate that slightly.
... REGULAR 24 HOUR A DAY PROGRAMMING: KGFJ, Los Angeles, claims to have been operating all night with a sponsored program from 1927 into the 1930s. Later, they operated all night for the benefit of WWII construction workers. WNEW, NYC and WKY, Oklahoma City both say they were the first to inaugurate all night programming. Dates are elusive.
... BLACK PERFORMERS:
- 1922 - Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, WNAC Boston.
- 1922 - Charles Gilpin, famous black actor, did a reading on WGI Boston.
- 1922 - George Dewey Washington, black recording artist, sang on KFC Seattle.
... BLACK DISC JOCKEYS:
- 1929 - Jack Cooper, WSBC, Chicago. (possibly 1924 in Washington, DC.)
- 1945-1986 - Kae Williams, Philadelphia, PA.
- 1948-1958 - Walkin' Talkin' Bill Hawkins, Cleveland, OH.
... CALL-IN TALK SHOWS:
- 1922, "Neighboring" in Minnesota. What is now "Swap Shop" in many cities goes on the air.
- 1930, John J. Anthony invited listeners to call in and he then paraphrased what they said on the air.
- Two-way Call-in Talk Show: Barry Gray was said to put Lionel Hampton on the air on WMCA, NYC, in 1945.
... ALL TALK STATIONS: 1960 - KMOX-St. Louis, KABC-Los Angeles and KVOR-Denver.
... ROCK AND ROLL:
- Origin of the format was generally credited to Alan Freed.
- BOSS RADIO: unveiled on KHJ, 930, Los Angeles on 5/3/65.
... ALL OLDIES STATION: KHJ-FM, 1971, where "Solid Gold Rock & Roll" automation debuted.
... MTV Broadcast: August 1, 1981.

15b. News:

The First:

... LOCAL DAILY NEWS PROGRAM:

March 18, 1922, at 8 PM, on WGI - Medford Hillside, MA. (in cooperation with The Boston American.)
or, September 1, 1922 on WBAY, NYC, at 4:30 PM. "The Radio Digest" was edited by George Thompson.
or, perhaps it was WWJ in 1920.

... DAILY NETWORK NEWS PROGRAM: began 2/24/30 on NBC. Announcer: Floyd Gibbons. (CBS began daily news on 9/29/30, with Lowell Thomas.)
... ALL NEWS FORMAT: 5/16/60, KFAX San Francisco began an all news format. (Longest running: WINS news continues since 4/19/65) On 9/27/00, WNNY, New York City (1380) began a spanish language all news format.
... ELECTION RESULTS: November 7, 1916. The DeForest Radio Laboratory experimental station in Bronx, NY, broadcast bulletins from the New York American on results of the Wilson-Hughes election for approximately six hours until signing off about 11 p.m. with the announcement that Hughes had been elected. (This was certainly a surprise to Woodrow Wilson!)
... HELICOPTER USED FOR LIVE TV NEWS: KTLA, Los Angeles, 1958.
... AIRBORNE TRAFFIC REPORT: Hap Harper, KSFO, 1957. (WOR also lays a claim here. Date unknown.)
... TIME CHECK: was not accurate.
... WEATHER REPORT: someone suggested it was raining outside (Or, was it leaking through the studio ceiling?).

15c. Sports:

The First broadcast::

... BASEBALL GAME - Play by Play: According to KDKA, it was on August 5, 1921 that they broadcast a game between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The Pittsburgh Corsairs won 8-5 at Pittsburgh, the field being connected by wire to the broadcasting station. Play-by-play was by Harold Arlin, 16.
... WORLD SERIES:
- October 5, 1920 - 8MK (WBL/WWJ) broadcast the latest scores.
- October 5-13, 1921 - Grantland Rice broadcast the play-by-play of the NY Giants/NY Yankees series.
... FOOTBALL GAME:
- A number game reports appear to have been made from 1912 onward using radiotelegraphy.
- October 9, 1920 - 5YA - Texas A&M vs SMU (this is in doubt and may be removed.)
- November 12, 1921 - 1GAI (predecessor to WDRC) - Yale vs Princeton.
- WTAW (or 5YA/5YB) seems to be November 24th 1921. This was apparently a Morse Code broadcast.
- Fall 1921 - KDKA. Pittburgh vs West Virginia University.
... PRIZE FIGHT: September 6, 1920. WWJ broadcast the Jack Dempsey-Billy Miske fight in Benton Harbor MI. (Miske was knocked out in the third round of the scheduled ten-round fight.)
...
... ALL SPORTS STATION: WFAN, New York. July 1, 1987.

15d. Miscellaneous:

The First:

... EDUCATIONAL RADIO STATION: WOI was licensed on November 21, 1921 - to the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts
... FCC FINE: against KDWB; $10,000 for willful and repeated technical violations.
... PRESIDENT TO BROADCAST
- ... on radio: Warren G. Harding. November 1921, using a 25 kV RCA transmitter on Long Island, NY. In June, 1922, his speech at the dedication of the F.S. Key Memorial was broadcast by WEAR.
- ... from the White House: President Coolidge on February 22, 1924.
... RADIO RECEIVER AT THE WHITE HOUSE: installed for President Harding on February 8, 1922
... CAR RADIO: Wales, 1921.
... COMMERCIAL CAR RADIO: Manufactured by the Heinaphone Company in 1925. William Heina held a patent for it.
... TRANSISTOR RADIO: the first mass produced consumer transistor radio was marketed on November 19, 1954.
... WEBCAST: 1993.
... INTERNET STREAMING by a commerical station: KPIG, 1995
... IBOC broadcast
... FULLTIME IBOC (digital radio) broadcasting
- FM - KROQ-FM, Los Angeles (9/29/02).
- AM - WOR, New York (10/10/02).
... DEAD AIR: was ... a longgggg time ago.

The Longest:

... LONGEST RUNNING RADIO SHOW: The Grand Ole Opry - WSM, Nashville, 1925-present.
- ... Previously noted: Rambling with Gambling on WOR, NYC 1925-2000
- Other long running programs:
  - ... Texaco Opera.
  - ... Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
  - ... "Unshackled," a drama by the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, has been on the air since 1950.

... LONGEST RUNNING RADIO PERSONALITY: Alistair Cooke, "Letter from America" 1946-2004
(Cooke did 2,869 shows over the years, retiring at the age of 95.)
- Honorable Mention:
  - Paul Harvey

Want to know more about Oldradio.com?

Or, just need to get BACK TO THE MAIN PAGE?

Thanks for visiting ... I hope you find the site interesting!

It would be a kindness if you'd take a moment and let me know who you are and what interests you have. If you can share some information, or even a picture, that would be great! Just use the address below. Thanks. (Please note: Due to the huge amount of spam on the internet, it would be extremely helpful if you would use something like [Oldradio] in your subject line, so the filters don't get in the way.)

An important note about this resource:

We have used many sources, including FCC files, university lecturers, historical publications and more, and have tried to be as accurate as possible, not repeating many of the myths of the industry (such as the Uncle Don Story) nor histories "manufactured" by promotion departments. However, I am not perfect, and may well have overlooked something. If you do see an error or omission, please let me know.

The accuracy and expansion of this resource depend upon our SHARING our efforts.

If you can help, please share your materials or information.
Due to the huge amount of spam on the internet, please use something like [Oldradio] in your subject line.

Thanks a megaWatt!
snailmail:
Barry Mishkind
2033 S. Augusta Place
Tucson, Arizona 85710

This is the FAQ section of The Broadcast Archive

Maintained by: Barry Mishkind - The Eclectic Engineer Updated as of 7/2/06

PLEASE: IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING WE CAN ADD TO THIS LIST, PLEASE LET ME KNOW

Other "Firsts".

15a. Programming:

15b. News:

15c. Sports:

15d. Miscellaneous:

This is the FAQ section of
The Broadcast Archive

Maintained by:
Barry Mishkind - The Eclectic Engineer
Updated as of 7/2/06

PLEASE: IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING WE CAN ADD TO THIS LIST,
PLEASE LET ME KNOW