February 5 Radio History

In 1916...Radio pioneer Ernst Alexanderson successfully tested the multiple tuned antenna. In his 45 years with General Electric he was responsible for 322 patents.




In 1924...The BBC time signal was first transmitted at 9.30pm, introduced by Sir Frank Dyson, the Astronomer Royal. Ever since that date, equipment at the Greenwich Observatory generates six short “pips” starting at five seconds to the hour and ending exactly on the hour.


In 1931...Eddie Cantor made his radio debut singing on Rudy Vallée's musical variety show, "The Fleischmann Hour" on NBC.


In 1940..."Amanda of Honeymoon Hill" first aired on radio.


In 1940...WTIC-FM was one of the two pre-World War II FM stations in Connecticut, signing on the air originally as W1XSO and using a frequency of 43.5 MHz. In December 1941, it became a commercial operation using the call letters W53H. In 1943, the call letters were changed for the last time to WTIC-FM. On April 17, 1948, the station moved to 96.5 MHz where it has remained, and switched to a classical music format. It switched from classical to CHR/Top 40 on May 12, 1977; the first song played as a Top 40 station was "Feels Like The First Time" by Foreigner.

The station's classical music library was donated to the University of Hartford radio station WWUH a few months later.

WTIC 96.5 FM (20 Kw) Red=60dBu Coverage Area

The station switched to its current Hot AC format on June 15, 1994. This was done in order to remove controversial rap music from its playlist.

After the switch, the station's sound has become decidedly softer in subsequent years compared to its past, though this has changed in recent years, as the Hot AC format as a whole has embraced more upbeat music. Since 1977, the station has referred to itself on the air variously as "Hot Hits 96 Tics","96TIC-FM", and "The New 965 TIC-FM".

The original WTIC-FM Top 40 format in the late 1970s consisted of only current hit songs (no oldies) in a high-energy, jingle-heavy presentation designed by consultant Mike Joseph, and it was an instant success. Joseph would later term this formatic approach "Hot Hits" and put it into use at other stations around the United States, most notably WBBM-FM in Chicago.


In 1941...WNYC FM signs on as W39NY and was located at 43.9mc in the early FM band. On September 21, 1943, it became WNYC and in 1946 it moved over to 98.1 on the current FM band. By 1948, it settled on its current position of 93.9 FM.

It has always featured classical and other cultural programming.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 destroyed WNYC-FM's transmitter atop the World Trade Center. The station's studios, in the nearby Municipal Building, had to be evacuated and station staff was unable to return to its offices for three weeks. The FM signal was knocked off the air for a time. WNYC temporarily moved its offices to the studios at National Public Radio's New York bureau in midtown Manhattan, where it broadcast on its still operating AM signal transmitting from towers in Kearny, New Jersey and by a live Internet stream.


In 1955...New York radio station WNEW announced the winners of its annual music popularity poll: Perry Como (Male Singer), Patti Page (Female Singer), the Crew-Cuts (Vocal Group), and Ray Anthony (Orchestra).

Ringo Starr 10/1961 w/"Rory Storm & the Hurricanes"

In 1962...Ringo Starr appeared with the Beatles for the first time when he filled in for ailing Pete Best. They played two shows that day, a lunchtime date at the Cavern Club and an evening show at the Kingsway Club in Southport.


In 1963...At the Columbia Recording Studio in Nashville, exactly one month before her death in a plane crash, Patsy Cline recorded three songs, including the Don Gibson composition "Sweet Dreams (Of You)." The song was later used to title the 1985 Patsy Cline biopic starring Jessica Lange and Ed Harris.

In 1968...American Forces Vietnam Network (AFVN)  Detachment 5 stations at Hue South Vietnam was overrun after a fierce fire fight. Three AFVN’ers were killed, others taken as prisoners, to spend the rest of the Vietnam war as captives.


In 1977..."General Mills Adventure Theater" first aired on the CBS Radio Network.


In 1979...the "Sears Radio Theater" first aired on the CBS Radio Network.


In 1989...the Z-Rock Radio Network broadcasted Metallica's concert at Reunion Arena in Dallas, TX.


In 2015…After operating for nearly a century, the consumer electronics chain RadioShack filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, saying it planned to sell 1,500 to 2,400 stores to its largest shareholder and close the remainder of its 4,000 stores.