23 April – Inauguration of the
Swiss national medium-wave transmitter at
Sottens by the French-language Société Romande de Radiophonie (
SRR) and
Radio-Genève.
11 May – The
Pittsburgh Police begin broadcasting with "radio patrol cars" and the region's first emergency band.
24 May –
Polskie Radio begins transmitting its national programme from a new
long-wave station at
Raszyn, outside
Warsaw. With a power of 158 kW, it is the most powerful transmitter in Europe at this time.[2]
24–30 July – Jehovah's Witnesses make the most extensive radio chain broadcast ever to air up to 1931. The broadcast is of a portion of the group's convention held in Columbus, Ohio, USA. The broadcast is carried by more than 450 radio stations in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United States.
18 October –
NBC replaces its NBC-Pacific nine-station network with two five-station networks, known informally as the Orange and Gold networks. Orange comprises
KGO, Oakland;
KFI, Los Angeles;
KGW, Portland,
KOMO, Seattle, and KHQ, Spokane. Gold comprises
KPO, San Francisco;
KECA, Los Angeles;
KEX, Portland; KRJ, Seattle; and
KGA, Spokane.[3]
27 January – Clara, Lu, and Em, the first daytime radio serial, debuts on the
NBCBlue Network as a late-evening program.[7] On 15 February 1932, the show moves to its morning time slot.
2 September –
Bing Crosby makes his solo debut on network radio and remains on air with at least one weekly show until the fall of
1962.[citation needed]
30 October – The
Federal Communications Commission orders
WCHI and
WJAZ – two stations in the Chicago, Illinois, area – off the air in order to allow full-time operation for
WCKY, Covington, Kentucky.[12]
18 December – The
Federal Communications Commission orders WOQ, Kansas City, Missouri, and WMAK, Buffalo, New York, off the air: WOQ "to make way for KFH, Wichita, Kansas" and WMAK "because of an unsatisfactory showing of public interest", as reported in
Broadcasting.[13][14]
Births
6 January –
Dick Bertel, announcer, news anchor, and media executive at
WTIC (AM),
NBC Radio Network, and the
Voice of America - host of The Golden Age of Radio from 1970 - 1977, an oral history of network radio entertainment programming
^"NBC Acquires WMAQ". Broadcasting in Chicato, 1921–1989. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
^"KARK New Call"(PDF). Broadcasting. 1 December 1931. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
^
abcCox, Jim (2008). This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History. McFarland & Company, Inc.
ISBN978-0-7864-3848-8.
^
abcdefgDunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press.
ISBN978-0-19-507678-3.
23 April – Inauguration of the
Swiss national medium-wave transmitter at
Sottens by the French-language Société Romande de Radiophonie (
SRR) and
Radio-Genève.
11 May – The
Pittsburgh Police begin broadcasting with "radio patrol cars" and the region's first emergency band.
24 May –
Polskie Radio begins transmitting its national programme from a new
long-wave station at
Raszyn, outside
Warsaw. With a power of 158 kW, it is the most powerful transmitter in Europe at this time.[2]
24–30 July – Jehovah's Witnesses make the most extensive radio chain broadcast ever to air up to 1931. The broadcast is of a portion of the group's convention held in Columbus, Ohio, USA. The broadcast is carried by more than 450 radio stations in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United States.
18 October –
NBC replaces its NBC-Pacific nine-station network with two five-station networks, known informally as the Orange and Gold networks. Orange comprises
KGO, Oakland;
KFI, Los Angeles;
KGW, Portland,
KOMO, Seattle, and KHQ, Spokane. Gold comprises
KPO, San Francisco;
KECA, Los Angeles;
KEX, Portland; KRJ, Seattle; and
KGA, Spokane.[3]
27 January – Clara, Lu, and Em, the first daytime radio serial, debuts on the
NBCBlue Network as a late-evening program.[7] On 15 February 1932, the show moves to its morning time slot.
2 September –
Bing Crosby makes his solo debut on network radio and remains on air with at least one weekly show until the fall of
1962.[citation needed]
30 October – The
Federal Communications Commission orders
WCHI and
WJAZ – two stations in the Chicago, Illinois, area – off the air in order to allow full-time operation for
WCKY, Covington, Kentucky.[12]
18 December – The
Federal Communications Commission orders WOQ, Kansas City, Missouri, and WMAK, Buffalo, New York, off the air: WOQ "to make way for KFH, Wichita, Kansas" and WMAK "because of an unsatisfactory showing of public interest", as reported in
Broadcasting.[13][14]
Births
6 January –
Dick Bertel, announcer, news anchor, and media executive at
WTIC (AM),
NBC Radio Network, and the
Voice of America - host of The Golden Age of Radio from 1970 - 1977, an oral history of network radio entertainment programming
^"NBC Acquires WMAQ". Broadcasting in Chicato, 1921–1989. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
^"KARK New Call"(PDF). Broadcasting. 1 December 1931. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
^
abcCox, Jim (2008). This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History. McFarland & Company, Inc.
ISBN978-0-7864-3848-8.
^
abcdefgDunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press.
ISBN978-0-19-507678-3.