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A History of Radio Station Bombings
Historically, in the U.S. radio station bombings have been rare. So rare, it was comic fodder in an episode of the TV program WKRP. This is not the case in other nations. Often in the case of war or...
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The Oldest Broadcaster In The Bahamas
1540 ZNS-AM is one of the oldest and strangest radio stations in the West. It is a 50,000 watt station based in the Bahamas, but has the protections of a Class A, clear channel station under NARBA. So...
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The Spamettes!
They were never actually called the Spamettes. Some sources claim they were nick-named the Spamettes, but this is apocryphal. Alas, in 1946, the Hormel Company started recruiting for for an all-female...
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LONDON BANDSCAN
I had the good fortune to have access to a decent radio while in London last Friday. What was remarkable to me was not just the number of pirates, but that in some cases I couldn't distinguish between...
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News and Reviews 2018
It's been a shorter year for me blog-wise. There has been less research, less writing but so much going on elsewhere. However, when I have posted it's been longer, delved deeper and weirder unearthing...
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CUBAN CHANNEL RAID
NARBA was replaced in in 1983, with the adoption of the Regional Agreement for the Medium Frequency Broadcasting Service in Region 2, A.K.A. the "Rio Agreement", which covered more or less the entire...
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Hugo Gernsback Vs. Gaylord Wilshire
Henry Gaylord Wilshire, known by his friends as Gaylord, was a quack. But he was a notable quack. In 1895 he began developing 35 acres of a barley field in what is now Los Angeles. From that parcel, he...
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Brian Rust, Mardi Gras & Needle Time
Discography research is an arcane enough hobby. But Brian Rust, despite his profile in that community, managed achieved a level of willful obscurity all his own. He self-published a 'zine (to use the...
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Upstate PA Radio Dial
I found this Radio at an antique shop south but failed to record the make and model. But the call letters present the usual game of guess-where-this-radio-is from. The call signs are as follows:560 -...
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Radio Free Shostakovich
On August 9th , 1942 a piece-meal orchestra performed Dimitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich's famous "Symphony No. 7" in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). Notably the city was under siege by the Nazi's. If...
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Nielsen Radio Survey (Part 1)
For the second time in all the dozens of places I've lived my home has been selected for a Nielsen Radio Survey. Actually, the first time I found it in a new apartment in a recycle bin- a pile of junk...
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Nielsen Radio Survey (Part 2)
It opens 'Dear Radio Listener"...So the next thing that came was a box that looks like an order of blank checks. Inside is another letter and one envelope for each member of the household containing...
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Nielsen Radio Survey (Part 3)
As much as I appreciate the importance of a ratings system, it's hard to ignore the "Publishers Clearinghouse sweepstakes" vibe in the continual promise of future cash. But I suppose for most other...
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Nielsen Radio Survey (Part 4)
This yellow flyer, about 7" x 4" was at the bottom of the box, I missed it on the first pass. It just reiterates who can participate, and who cannot, and again summarizes the simple instructions....
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Nielsen Radio Survey (Part 5)
So here's the diary itself. The instructions are simplicity itself. Over the last 50 years Nielsen has made these more or less idiot-proof. I prefer to use the term idiot-resistant, as virtually...
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Nielsen Radio Survey (Part 6)
Nielsen has it down to a science. Before I even completed the survey, I got a reminder letter with more crisp dollar bills, explaining the importance of the data, and reiterating for an Nth time that I...
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Nielsen Radio Survey (Part 7)
And after it's over you receive a postcard thanking you, and again reminding you to return the diary for your long-promised $10. Mine was slightly mauled by the post, but the gesture remains clear.My...
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The Fate of WGSA-AM
1310 WGSA-AM is an obscure little AM station. It existed for about 30 years but it's difficult to find any information on it beyond a few radio boards. It's listed in a Radio Annuals with varying...
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Radio Free Alcatraz
Radio Free Alcatraz is one of my favorite things that happened in all of radio history So lets start at the beginning. Almost everyone is at least passingly familiar with the iconic Alcatraz prison....
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Bird Notes from WHRO
I get up early sometimes for travel and I happened to catch a little 5-minute program on a Sunday morning called Bird Notes. It's a mellow short-form program with a tempo that reminds me of Bob Ross...
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