1948 in radio
Encyclopedia
The year 1948 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.
Events
- 22 March: The Voice of FirestoneThe Voice of FirestoneThe Voice of Firestone, is a long-running radio and television program of classical music. The show featured leading singers in selections from opera and operetta. Originally titled The Firestone Hour, it was first broadcast on the NBC Radio network December 3, 1928 and was later also shown on...
becomes the first radio program to be aired on both AMAM broadcastingAM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
and FMFM broadcastingFM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
radio stations. - 12 May: Don McNeill's Breakfast Club appears on television for the first time, via a simulcast on both ABC Radio and ABC TVAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. The telecast is seen in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington and New York. Because ABC-TV's New York flagship station WJZ-TVWABC-TVWABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
had not signed on yet (and would not for another three months), DuMontDumont- People :Dumont or DuMont is a common family name in France that has spread to many other countries. It is the name of:* Dumont de Montigny , French explorer and author...
flagship WABDWNYWWNYW, virtual channel 5 , is the flagship television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, located in New York City. The station's transmitter is atop the Empire State Building and its studio facilities are located in the Yorkville section of Manhattan...
carried it live.
Debuts
- 5 January – The first episode of the radio serial drama Mrs Dale's DiaryMrs Dale's DiaryMrs Dale's Diary was the first significant BBC radio serial drama. It was first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on 5 January 1948, and subsequently transferred to the newly formed Radio 2 in 1967, where it ran until 25 April 1969...
is broadcast in the BBC Light ProgrammeBBC Light ProgrammeThe Light Programme was a BBC radio station which broadcast mainstream light entertainment and music from 1945 until 1967, when it was rebranded as BBC Radio 2...
. - 23 March – Take It From HereTake It From HereTake It From Here was a British radio comedy programme broadcast by the BBC between 1948 and 1960. It was written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden, and starred Jimmy Edwards, Dick Bentley and Joy Nichols...
is first broadcast by the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. - 3 April – The Louisiana HayrideLouisiana HayrideLouisiana Hayride was a radio and later television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of the greatest names in American music...
from ShreveportShreveport, LouisianaShreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
makes its debut. - 21 September – Life with LuigiLife with LuigiLife With Luigi was a radio comedy-drama series which began September 21, 1948 on CBS Radio, with the final episode broadcast on March 3, 1953.The story concerned Italian immigrant Luigi Basco, and his experiences as an immigrant in Chicago...
premieres on CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. - 26 December – Bertrand RussellBertrand RussellBertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
gives the first annual Reith LectureReith LectureThe Reith Lectures is a series of annual radio lectures given by leading figures of the day, commissioned by the BBC and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service....
on the BBC Home ServiceBBC Home ServiceThe BBC Home Service was a British national radio station which broadcast from 1939 until 1967.-Development:Between the 1920s and the outbreak of The Second World War, the BBC had developed two nationwide radio services, the BBC National Programme and the BBC Regional Programme...
.
Births
- 4 February – Alice CooperAlice CooperAlice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rockRock musicRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
singer, songwriter, musician and radio host. - John BatchelorJohn BatchelorJohn Calvin Batchelor is an author and host of The John Batchelor Show radio news magazine. Based at WABC radio in New York for five years from early 2001 to September, 2006; the show was syndicated nationally on the ABC radio network. On October 7, 2007, Batchelor returned to radio on WABC New...
, author and syndicated talk showTalk showA talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
host. - Fritz ColemanFritz ColemanFritz Coleman is a weathercaster for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, California and KNSD-TV in San Diego, California....
, former disc jockeyDisc jockeyA disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
and current weathercaster for KNBCKNBCKNBC, channel 4, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, licensed to Los Angeles, California, USA. KNBC's studios and offices are located within the NBC Studios complex in Burbank, California, and its transmitter is located on Mount Wilson...
-TV in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. - Chet CoppockChet CoppockChet Coppock is an American Emmy award-winning radio broadcaster, television broadcaster and sports talk personality. Coppock publishes Daily Coppock videos and interviews on www.DailyCoppock.com, as well as an audio podcast called Coppock on Sports available on iTunes...
, American sports radioSports radioSports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
broadcaster. - Citizen KafkaCitizen KafkaCitizen Kafka was the stage name of New York-based radio personality and folk musician Richard Shulberg ....
, New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based radio personality and folk musicFolk musicFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
ian.
Deaths
- Tom BrenemanTom BrenemanThomas Breneman Smith was a popular 1940s American radio personality known to his listeners as Tom Breneman....
, 46, radio talk show host from 1941–1948, best known for the radio program, Breakfast in HollywoodBreakfast in HollywoodBreakfast in Hollywood was a popular morning radio show created and hosted by Tom Breneman who broadcast from 1941 to 1948 on three different radio networks: NBC, ABC and Mutual. These unscripted shows were spontaneous and involved much audience participation...
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