September 16 Radio History

In 1914...radio/TV host/producer Allen Funt (Candid Microphone, Candid Camera) was born in New York City.  He died Sept 5, 1999, just days before his 85th birthday.


In 1919....singer Andy Russell was born in Los Angeles. He was the star of radio’s Your Hit Parade for several years beginning in 1946.


In 1919...actor Lawrence Dobkin was born in New York City.  He was one of the most used character actors on network radio out of Hollywood in the 1940’s & 50’s, then seamlessly made the transition to TV.  He worked into directing, but was still appearing in supporting roles on TV a year before his death in 2002 at age 83.

In 1928...WGL changed call letters to WOV in New York (now WADO 1280 AM).

This station was launched as WGL on January 30, 1927, and was owned by the International Broadcasting Corporation. WGL president Colonel Lewis Landes stated on the inaugural broadcast,

"The International Broadcasting Corporation's aim is to adhere to truth, to be free of partisanship, religious or political."

WGL was the first station to protest the frequency allocations of the Federal Radio Commission in May 1927. WGL was authorized to move to 1170 AM, but wanted to go to 720, occupied by WOR.

When WOR was awarded the 710 frequency, both stations went to court, with WOR eventually winning the case. Finally in June 1927, WGL moved to 1020 AM and shared time with Paterson station, WODA.

In August 1927, studio manager Charles Isaacson announced one of the city's first attempts at local news coverage. WGL was organizing listeners to volunteer as radio reporters and call the station with breaking news stories.

On September 16, 1928, WGL changed calls to WOV and was sold to Sicilian-born importer John Iraci. The WGL call sign was then picked up by a Fort Wayne station, which uses them to this very day.

In 1941...the "The Arkansas Traveler" debuted on CBS Radio. The show was later renamed "The Bob Burns Show."

In 1989...The Hot 100 Gloria Estefan had the #1 song with "Don't Wanna' Lose You", Milli Vanilli had #2--"Girl I'm Gonna' Miss You" and Warrant was at 3 with "Heaven".

The rest of the Top 10:  New Kids on the Block and "Hangin' Tough", Surface with "Shower Me with Your Love", Paula Abdul's former #1 "Cold Hearted" was at #6, Cher's comeback song "If I Could Turn Back Time", Skid Row with "18 And Life", the Jeff Healey Band had song #9 with "Angel Eyes" and Madonna hit the Top 10 with "Cherish".


In 2011...News Anchor Jack O’Rourke WNBC 660 AM, NBC Radio Net died


In 2011...Citadel merged with Cumulus Media.

Starting in June 2010, Cumulus made multiple unsuccessful offers to buy out Citadel Broadcasting after its emergence from bankruptcy.   In February 2011, Cumulus was again said to be in "exclusive negotiations" to acquire Citadel for $2.5 billion paid to Citadel shareholders, according to CNBC. Some Citadel shareholders were said to have been pushing the board to consider a sale.  On March 10, 2011, Citadel Broadcasting stations announced via email that Cumulus had purchased Citadel Broadcasting. Citadel was made up of 225 radio stations in over 50 markets, as well as Citadel Media, one of the largest radio networks in the United States.

The deal was finalized on September 16, 2011, after acceptance by the FCC and Citadel's shareholders.   As part of the deal, Cumulus Media will have to place 14 stations into a separate trust to comply with ownership limits.

In an effort to focus on accretive large market consolidation as well as further de-leveraging of their balance sheet, Cumulus and Townsquare Media ink a deal to swap 65 radio stations in 13 markets, with majority of the 65 stations being sold to Townsquare.


In 2014...Clear Channel announced that it has become iHeartMedia, reflecting the company’s success in becoming a one-of-a-kind multi-platform media company with unparalleled reach and impact.