January 27 Radio History

➦In 1927...With the creation of the "United Independent Broadcasters" network in Chicago by New York talent-agent Arthur Judson. The fledgling network soon needed additional investors though, and the Columbia Phonograph Company, manufacturers of Columbia Records, rescued it in April 1927; as a result, the network was renamed "Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System". Columbia Phonographic went on the air on September 18, 1927, with a presentation by the Howard Barlow Orchestra from flagship station WOR in Newark, New Jersey, and fifteen affiliates.

William S. Paley

Operational costs were steep, particularly the payments to AT&T for use of its land lines, and by the end of 1927, Columbia Phonograph wanted out. In early 1928, Judson sold the network to brothers Isaac and Leon Levy, owners of the network's Philadelphia affiliate WCAU, and their partner Jerome Louchenheim. None of the three was interested in assuming day-to-day management of the network, so they installed wealthy 26-year-old William S. Paley, son of a Philadelphia cigar family and in-law of the Levys, as president. With the record company out of the picture, Paley quickly streamlined the corporate name to "Columbia Broadcasting System".

He believed in the power of radio advertising since his family's "La Palina" cigars had doubled their sales after young William convinced his elders to advertise on radio. By September 1928, Paley bought out the Louchenheim share of CBS and became its majority owner with 51% of the business.

➦In 1927...KXO 1230 AM went on the air in El Centro, California. (Today the station airs oldies)

➦In 1931...The NBC Radio Network first broadcast "Clara, Lu ’n’ Em" on its Blue network.

➥In 1948...the Wire Recording Corporation of America introduced the magnetic tape recorder, the first audio recording system that didn’t involve acetate disks or wire. The “Wireway” machine, complete with a built-in oscillator, sold for $149.50.

➥In 1957...The "CBS Radio Workshop" debuted.  This first broadcast featured Aldous Huxley narrating his classic, “Brave New World”.

➦In 1997...WNYC 820 AM / 93.9 FM taken over by “WNYC Foundation”

➦In 2003...WNEW 102.7 FM dropped talk format in favor of music.

The station tunted for the next couple of months with Contemporary hit radio music, using a limited playlist of approximately 50 songs from artists like Pink, Eminem, Bowling for Soup, and Avril Lavigne, as well as nightly simulcasts of CBS's Late Show with David Letterman.

Sounders during that period teased listeners about how "a new station" would soon be coming to the 102.7 frequency, and it arrived in April, when WNEW became "102.7 Blink" (keeping the WNEW call letters) and adopted an unusual "Entertainment AC" format.  The station mixed old and contemporary pop hits with talk shows and entertainment news from sources such as E!; on-air personalities during this period included the morning team of Chris Booker and Lynda Lopez (who were also dating during this time), game show host Todd Newton and afternoons with Tim Virgin and now-MSNBC Anchor Alison Stewart. Other personalities included, Rick Stacy (now with WOCL Orlando), Maze, and reporters Matt Wolfe and Lisa Chase, who provided hourly entertainment updates. The station also used AOL Instant Messenger to take requests, and 24 star Kiefer Sutherland did the station IDs ("It is physically impossible not to Blink", etc.).

However, the station's ratings sank further. The station's pink logo led to the derisive nickname "Barbie Radio", and Booker & Lopez did little more on the air than talk about Jennifer Lopez, Lynda's older sister. After less than six months, the station fired most of the staff and changed its branding to "102.7 Blink FM: Music Women Love" with an (again, unusual) explicit appeal to a female audience. This format also failed to draw audiences. By October, it adopted a more mainstream adult contemporary format and ratings began to go up slightly. That November, the station (like many AC stations) adopted the increasingly popular "all Christmas music, all the time" format, dropping the "Blink" format after less than 11 months for the name "New York's New 102.7 FM".

In 2004...The Federal Communications Commission fined Clear Channel Radio for apparently airing indecent material over several broadcast stations during several days. The Commission proposed the highest fine the law provides resulting in a $27,500 for each of 26 apparent indecency violations for a total of $715,000.



In 2013…Philadelphia television pioneer/radio disc jockey/recording artist (the album Our Gal Sal, on which she was backed by Bill Haley & His Comets)/actress (The Outlaws Is Coming, The In Crowd, Holiday Journey, Mannequin on the Move) Sally Starr, who, in her blonde cowgirl persona, hosted children's TV shows on WFIL-TV (which became WPVI-TV in 1968) from the 1950s until the early 1970s, died at the age of 90.