August 9 Radio History

In 1942...CBS radio broadcasts the debut of "Our Secret Weapon."

In 1955...Bill Stern , ABC radio network sports commentator is injured in an auto crash on the Henry Hudson parkway. 20 years ago,Stern’s left leg was amputated because of injuries suffered inanother auto accident. This time, he suffered a concussion,cuts, bruises and possible internal injuries

In 1964...Storer-owned WJBK 1500 AM in Detroit, dropped contemporary hit music and adopted an easy-listening format.



Detroit was the only city with a four-way top-40 battle. That leaves WKNR, WXYZ and CKLW.

WJBK made another run at Top 40 format in 1969.  The format lasted only a few months. WJBK dropped Top 40 late in 1969 and became WDEE, airing a country format.  It used a Top 40-style sound to present country sound, driving old-style country competitor WEXL out of the format.  WDEE also aired a racy program called “Fem Forum,” in which female listeners called in to share their sexual frustrations.

In 1978...The great NYC newspaper strike began.  During the strike, leader William J. Kennedy delighted his union's members, but angered managers at The Daily News, The New York Post and The New York Times, by digging in against the newspapers' demands to cut back the number of people operating their printing presses.