I did not produce any DYKs prior to 2014, but hey!
2014 (10)
... that The Castle, headquarters of internet company
Rackspace, was formerly an enclosed shopping mall that also hosted churches, a nightclub, and hurricane survivors? (31 Jan 2014)
... that Valley National Bank of Arizona employed a full-time curator to manage the art displayed at all of its 200 branches? (31 Jan 2014)
... that despite being described by its leader as "liberal", the Social Encounter Party supported a constitutional amendment in
Baja California to ban same-sex marriage? (18 Feb 2016)
... that Carmen Salinas, a Mexican actress who has appeared in over 110 movies, now serves as a
federal deputy with the
PRI? (6 Aug 2016 - three DYKs at once)
... that Tomás Ruiz González was the first president of the Mexican Tax Administration Service? (22 Aug 2016)
... that Guadalupe Acosta Naranjo was jailed after protesting fraud in the 1993 election for municipal president of
Tepic,
Nayarit, which he lost? (23 Aug 2016)
... that Mexican parliamentarian Hortensia Aragón Castillo's alternate deputy is her sister? (28 Aug 2016)
... that under the leadership of Martha Hilda González Calderón, the city of
Toluca received an award for leading Mexico in budget transparency? (1 Sep 2016)
... that in 2010 and 2016, Rafael Yerena Zambrano was reelected unopposed as the secretary general of the Federation of Workers of
Jalisco? (3 Sep 2016)
... that a local newspaper criticized the
PRI's nomination of Marco Antonio García Ayala to represent
Baja California, saying he "doesn't even belong to this state"? (15 Sep 2016)
... that a 2014 attack on the radio station Calentana Mexiquense resulted in the death of the owner's 12-year-old son? (17 Oct 2016 - DYK #100)
... that Imagen Televisión, which launches today, is the first new commercial television network in Mexico since 1993? (18 Oct 2016)
... that when it leased the planes of a failed Venezuelan airline, a Bolivian company retained the name LaMia to avoid the cost of repainting the aircraft? (1 Jan 2017 with
Hack,
Sunnya343 and
Cclark0)
... that with more than 14,000 airings over 60 years, Minuto de Dios is the longest-running program on Colombian television? (10 Jan 2017)
... that the Maximilian Chapel (pictured), atop Cerro de las Campanas, is built in a style that "has nothing to do with Mexican buildings"? (8 Feb 2017)
... that in 2013, two hundred teachers occupied a toll booth on Mexican Federal Highway 180D and allowed cars to pass for free? (18 Feb 2017)
... that construction of the Macrolibramiento Palmillas-Apaseo el Grande highway was delayed by difficulties acquiring rights of way, rising material costs, and intermittent funding from the Mexican government? (5 Jul 2017)
... that the call letters of radio stations KFAS and
KFAS-FM were adopted to honor minority owner
Francis Albert Sinatra? (12 Jul 2017)
... that 35 years ago today,
Tucson, Arizona, radio station KIKX shut down after losing its
FCC license over a 1974 kidnapping hoax involving one of the station's DJs? (18 Jul 2017)
... that A Voz do Brasil is the longest-running radio program in the Southern Hemisphere? (22 Jul 2017)
... that Mexican senator Delfina Gómez Álvarez entered politics at the urging of a former mayor who later ran for the Senate alongside her? (14 Sep 2018)
... that Cruz Pérez Cuéllar ran for
Governor of Chihuahua, Mexico, in 2016 on a platform that called for voters to decide if the governor should be removed midway through his term? (6 Oct 2018)
... that until being murdered in May 2018, Mexican journalist and
radio station founder Juan Carlos Huerta anchored the newscast on the television station XHTVL-TDT? (23 Nov 2018)
... that in 2018, the
pay television service on channel 51 of MVS TV in
Mexico City had only three subscribers? (15 Dec 2018)
2019 (79)
... that a landowner buried the transmitter building for
Missouri radio station KXBR under 6 feet (1.8 m) of dirt as part of a rent dispute? (1 Mar 2019)
... that Mexican federal deputy Nay Salvatori invited the public to "smoke marijuana at my house and listen to
The Doors" if the drug was legalized in Mexico, despite never having smoked it herself? (13 Apr 2019)
... that Barry Sage has earned US$22,000 for clapping his hands in 1981? (21 Apr 2019)
... that XHCDMX-FM, operated by a consortium of women's organizations and activists, is the first
community radio station in
Mexico City? (28 Apr 2019)
... that although KGTO-TV in
Fayetteville, Arkansas, signed on as an
NBC affiliate, it received no network compensation for carrying its programs? (12 May 2019 — DYK #150)
... that during construction of the tower for
Oklahoma City's KLPR-TV station, a worker was trapped 200 ft (61 m) in the air for more than an hour? (26 May 2019)
... that convenience store chain
Wawa successfully forced
Philadelphia-area radio station WAWA to stop using its new
call letters? (1 Jun 2019)
... that after discontinuing normal programming, KPPC radio signed on once a week for six months to fulfill a contract to broadcast church services? (3 Jul 2019)
... that WBUZ and four other operating radio stations lost their
FCC licenses as a result of the owner being convicted of felonies? (3 Aug 2019)
... that KSOM in
Tucson, Arizona, suffered two transmitter fires in less than four years of broadcasting? (12 Aug 2019)
... that New Jersey high school radio station WHPH, itself shared between two schools, had to share time with
another high school radio station? (17 Aug 2019)
... that Chicago's WCLM radio was investigated for leasing an audio channel without permission to a service that broadcast horse racing results to
bookies, later losing its license over other violations? (27 Aug 2019)
... that radio station KSUN in
Bisbee, Arizona, sold its call letters to
a station in Phoenix after going off the air due to financial troubles? (6 Sep 2019)
... that eight years to the day after it first signed on, WVOB radio in
Bel Air, Maryland, lost its tower when a construction worker clipped the tower's
guy wires? (7 Sep 2019)
... that WBBY-FM lost its license because the man who claimed to be its manager worked full-time at a car dealership 120 miles (190 km) away? (13 Sep 2019)
... that backlash over
Dodge City, Kansas, radio station KTTL's racist programming and its refusal to pay property taxes left the station with just one advertiser by 1983? (18 Sep 2019)
... that in 1975, a
field mouse knocked
Michigan radio station WKJR off the air for 45 minutes? (20 Sep 2019)
... that
Kevin Harlan said his "first good move" in sports broadcasting was getting into radio at WGBP-FM? (22 Sep 2019)
... that after KSJU radio was forced off FM and onto a cable system, students at the
College of Saint Benedict could not listen to it on campus, even though their activity fees supported it? (26 Sep 2019)
... that high school radio station WGAG-FM had a yearly budget of US$200, which it raised by selling donuts and clearing lawns? (29 Sep 2019)
... that with the sign-ons of KWCS-TV, KOET, KUSU-TV, and
KBYU-TV, Utah had more educational TV stations than commercial ones by 1966? (6 Oct 2019)
... that a snake chased a mouse into the transmitter of Nebraska radio station KWRV in 1962, knocking it off the air for two hours? (8 Oct 2019)
... that in its first decade as an educational radio station, KSLH produced 2,878 fifteen-minute programs for
St. Louis-area school students? (10 Oct 2019)
... that KTKN in
Ketchikan, Alaska, was one of just six new radio stations authorized in the United States in 1942, due to a wartime freeze order? (12 Oct 2019)
... that radio station WPSA at
Paul Smith's College began life in the basement of a dormitory that had previously been a meat market? (15 Oct 2019)
... that the annual charity radiothon at Wyoming
high school radio station KYDZ was commended by a thank-you letter from President
Ronald Reagan? (18 Oct 2019)
... that a contributing factor to the demise of black radio station KOJC in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was an internal struggle among its board of directors? (19 Oct 2019)
... that two years after going on air, WBCE radio switched from
country to
gospel music because too many stations in western Kentucky had country formats? (20 Oct 2019)
... that after the owner of Delaware radio station WNRK died before he could put it on the air, his widow was interviewed on the station's first day of broadcasting? (25 Oct 2019)
... that that New Hampshire radio station WBRL's first license was cancelled by the
Federal Communications Commission because of double-billing practices? (27 Oct 2019)
... that KSKI AM initially broadcast from a lodge at the
Sun Valley ski resort? (28 Oct 2019)
... that XHFAMX-TDT "La Octava", which opens tonight, marks
Grupo Radio Centro's return to
Mexico City television for the first time since 1972? (1 Nov 2019)
... that North Carolina radio station WVSP began operations out of a former doctor's office? (3 Nov 2019)
... that the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation wound up operating a radio station when it seized a failed Tennessee bank, which in turn had seized WIDD? (5 Nov 2019)
... that just three years after starting radio station WESQ,
North Carolina Wesleyan College sold it, partly because of a failure to integrate the station into its curriculum? (6 Nov 2019)
... that a vandal "knew what he was doing" when he disconnected the fuse blocks to WEYY's transmitter, keeping it off the air for two and a half hours? (8 Nov 2019)
... that Hawaii radio station KKON's change of format from "beautiful music" to a rock-and-roll/country mix in 1974 lasted just one day? (10 Nov 2019)
... that
Louisiana radio station WBOX lost more than 90 percent of its advertisers as a result of a 1965 boycott by the
Ku Klux Klan? (11 Nov 2019)
... that
Rhode Island Public Radio's 2007 acquisition of WAKX brought
NPR service to communities in southern Rhode Island for the first time? (12 Nov 2019)
... that in 1939, alert workers at West Virginia radio station WBLK saved equipment from a devastating fire, and the station returned to the air within 45 minutes to report the blaze? (18 Nov 2019)
... that with Danielle Dithurbide's appointment to anchor the morning newscast on
Las Estrellas, a majority of Mexican news broadcaster
Noticieros Televisa's news programs are hosted by women? (19 Nov 2019)
... that the first incarnation of radio station WYFI was described as running "on faith and LPs" and ending in an "
Edsel-like burn" within a year? (20 Nov 2019 — DYK #200)
... that an owner of radio station KPRB sold it to devote himself to his duties as the fire chief of
Redmond, Oregon? (21 Nov 2019)
... that in 1998, a buyer of Colorado radio station KGRE risked his entire savings and maxed out seven credit cards to acquire it? (22 Nov 2019)
... that
Vermont's first FM radio station renamed itself WQCR, standing for "Wonderful Queen City Radio", in 1972? (29 Nov 2019)
... that WXXX'sbroadcast license was challenged in the 1970s because the station employed no African Americans in
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, a city that was 30 percent black? (1 Dec 2019)
... that despite fighting for more than two years to stop the other station from signing on, WGVL's last day on the air was also
WSPA-TV's first? (5 Dec 2019)
... that after taking the unprofitable station off the air, Harold Orr hired a crew of young announcers to broadcast on KSVY 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, to keep the license? (10 Dec 2019)
... that Nevada radio station KONE was sued in 1966 by the proprietors of 16 musical works, who claimed that the station did not pay
royalties for playing songs such as "
San Antonio Rose" and "
Sweet Georgia Brown"? (14 Dec 2019 — 50th state in 2019)
... that
St. Louis County police arrested engineers and announcers of KXLW because their tower violated local zoning laws? (16 Dec 2019)
... that 17 extensions and modifications of the construction permit were necessary before Hawaii radio station KFSH went on the air in 1985, more than eight years after the permit was awarded? (17 Dec 2019)
... that KSLN-TV, the
ABC television affiliate in
Salina, Kansas, folded twice in three years under two different owners? (19 Dec 2019)
... that religious ministers revealed the winning numbers to illegal lotteries on WOOK radio, by hiding them in Bible references? (25 Dec 2019 – completes 50 states and DC)
... that after
John Lennon called the Beatles
more popular than Jesus, KLUE radio responded by staging a
bonfire of Beatles memorabilia – and its transmitter was struck by lightning the next day? (26 Dec 2019)
... that the demise of Sportsvue, which lost $2 million in its 10 months of operation, prompted
Jim Fitzgerald to sell the
Milwaukee Bucks basketball team? (27 Dec 2019)
... that the sale of
WWIZ radio in
Lorain, Ohio, undertaken in order to raise capital to build WXTV in
Youngstown, prompted both stations to lose their
licenses? (29 Dec 2019)
... that the first owners of radio station KSTO fled
Guam after running up a debt of $60,000 in less than seven months of operation? (31 Dec 2019)
... that after Mississippi radio station WKNZ relaunched as "Zoo 107", it sponsored a name-the-zebra contest at its namesake, the
Hattiesburg Zoo? (31 Dec 2019)
2020 (107)
... that Missouri radio station KADY was the first ever recipient of a fine from the
FCC for failing to illuminate its tower? (2 Jan 2020)
... that KFXY in
Flagstaff, Arizona, was reported by American newspapers in 1925 to be the only radio station in the world owned by a woman? (8 Jan 2020)
... that WWNN (980 AM) in
Pompano Beach, Florida, was the first radio station in the United States to adopt a format consisting of motivational speeches? (9 Jan 2020)
... that when WFAB radio in
Miami was forced off the air in 1977, Hispanic-owned shops in
Homestead closed for an hour in protest? (11 Jan 2020)
... that the 12-year license fight that led to the establishment of
Washington, D.C., radio station WYCB also drained its principals' finances? (15 Jan 2020)
... that the owner of Hawaii television station KHBC-TV compared an effort to
unionize the station to "socialism"? (16 Jan 2020)
... that someone shot out KSNN radio's tower lights using a
.22-caliber rifle in 1967? (18 Jan 2020)
... that
Cincinnati high-school radio station WNSD was permanently shut down in part because its faculty advisor went on maternity leave? (19 Jan 2020)
... that 23 of the 25
disc jockeys of Utah radio station KJQN-FM defected and started
their own station, taking with them a converted truck called the "Milk Beast"? (20 Jan 2020)
... that after its sale to the Western Bible College, radio station KJOL toned down its protests against abortion clinics and grocery stores that sold pornographic materials? (21 Jan 2020)
... that upon the demise of WFAN-TV in Washington, D.C., its owner took out a full-page newspaper advertisement declaring that the station had been "choked to death" by an inability to upgrade its signal? (21 Jan 2020)
... that leaks by Miami radio stations WMJX and
WHYI-FM forced the release date for the new
Bee Gees album Spirits Having Flown to be brought forward? (23 Jan 2020)
... that when
Louisville, Kentucky's WKYW radio became religious station WFIA in 1965, it ceased accepting beer, wine and tobacco commercials? (23 Jan 2020)
... that
Baltimore television station WMET-TV was housed in a converted movie theater? (24 Jan 2020)
... that ashes from a nearby fire left the freshly painted tower of radio station WCAI black instead of red? (25 Jan 2020)
... that within six hours of Alabama radio station WFPA being served an
eviction notice, the tower had been dismantled? (26 Jan 2020)
... that 75 business leaders, pastors, and listeners of Nevada's KRCV radio attempted to buy the station, even though it was not making money? (28 Jan 2020)
... that a 1986 contest by radio station KXUS jammed all telephone circuits in
Springfield, Missouri, for an hour? (30 Jan 2020)
... that in 1952, Los Angeles radio station KFAC boasted a recording library weighing 28 tons, enough to program the station for a year without repeating a selection? (3 Feb 2020 with
User:Nathan Obral)
... that WCAE, the first educational television station in
Indiana, received more support from viewers in
Illinois than in its own state? (10 Feb 2020)
... that Brenda Nelson, host of the Talk of the Town interview program on KTLO-FM in
Mountain Home, Arkansas, retired after doing more than 8,000 interviews over 34 years? (13 Feb 2020)
... that at a meeting about zoning for a tower for KUCB-FM in
Des Moines, Iowa, a radio station board member hurled a wastebasket at the chairman of the city zoning board? (14 Feb 2020 — first GA DYK)
... that to commemorate its new
call letters in 1938, radio station KITE in
Kansas City, Missouri, gave away 15,000 kites to children? (16 Feb 2020)
... that in 1979, the initials CIRALG were said to "spell power in central Iowa"? (16 Feb 2020)
... that Mexican indigenous radio station La Voz de los Chontales returns today after being
silent for more than 30 years? (21 Feb 2020)
... that when WIRK-TV ceased operations 64 years ago today, its president admitted to operating the station "long past the point of good judgment"? (29 Feb 2020)
... that Ohio television station WSWO-TV went off the air the same week that its owner was arrested for stealing equipment from other stations? (15 Mar 2020)
... that television station KTVE in
Longview, Texas, broadcast the
1954 World Series without permission, and was ordered to cease and desist by the
NBC network? (20 Mar 2020)
... that station staff had to throw snowballs to knock the ice off the aging transmitter of radio station KWCR-FM at
Weber State University in Utah? (3 Apr 2020)
... that after ceasing operations, the owner of television station KETX in
Tyler, Texas, was sued for nearly $6,000 in unreturned film rentals? (5 Apr 2020)
... that professional journalists commended a student reporter at
Sacramento radio station KERS for refusing to reveal her source for a story about California governor
Ronald Reagan not paying taxes? (18 Apr 2020)
... that when the
College of the Pacific started a radio station, it had to settle for the
call signKCVN because a police facility held the rights to KCOP? (19 Apr 2020)
... that an early program feature on Nebraska radio station KJSK was a cooking show hosted by the owner's wife from her kitchen? (21 Apr 2020)
... that Oklahoma station KRMC dropped its
all-news radio format in part because its management felt that it did not work well on a daytime-only station? (24 Apr 2020)
... that the
Federal Communications Commission found that the owner of Maine radio station WKZX had "abdicated financial control" of the business? (27 Apr 2020)
... that California governor
Pete Wilson celebrated his 60th birthday as a
DJ on Sacramento radio station KSEG? (29 Apr 2020)
... that a five-year-old boy, using paper and his mother's
cigarette lighter, started a fire that consumed the transmitter of Florida radio station WEAR? (1 Jun 2020)
... that Florida radio station WEBY received three threats to blow it up if it did not stop criticizing the sheriff of
Okaloosa County? (3 Jun 2020)
... that the owner of Texas television station KFWT-TV questioned the use of a
UNIVAC III computer to assign it a channel? (7 Jun 2020)
... that in a promotional stunt, staff at
Cincinnati-area radio station WIZF demanded a 40-percent raise, which turned out to refer to a 40-foot (12 m) increase in the height of the station's antenna? (16 Jun 2020)
... that in the early years of Montana radio station KGHL, some musical groups had to perform on the roof of the studio building? (17 Jun 2020)
... that the board of directors of Canadian
cooperative television station CFVO-TV refused to accept the resignation of its president so that he could negotiate a loan? (18 Jun 2020)
... that after a show host on
Orlando-area radio station WTLN hired a hitman to kill his former lover's husband, the intended victim began a campaign to urge advertisers to boycott the station? (1 Jul 2020)
... that program tapes were sent to KUAC, the first public radio station in
Alaska, by overnight
Pan Am flights from Oregon? (11 Jul 2020)
... that South Dakota TV station KRSD-TV's signal was so poor that it sparked an "uprising" of calls and cancellations from cable viewers? (17 Jul 2020)
... that when he was
Archbishop of Buenos Aires,
Pope Francis instructed the first director general of television station Canal 21 to position the station "between nude women and the Sunday Mass"? (20 Jul 2020)
... that Indiana radio station WFCI engaged in a five-year battle to increase its transmitting power, facing opposition from
a local TV station? (21 Jul 2020)
... that the Ente Nacional de Comunicaciones, the communications and media regulator of Argentina, was created despite a court ruling blocking the act? (23 Jul 2020)
... that while the management of Wyoming television station KFNB claimed transmitter trouble as the reason for going off the air, a former reporter announced that all staff had been laid off? (25 Jul 2020)
... that the bank that owned
Wisconsin radio stations WMAD AM and
FM, hired three new employees in the ten days before shutting the stations down? (28 Jul 2020)
... that
El Salvador converted its main convention center into a COVID-19 hospital that, when completed, will have 2,000 beds? (28 Jul 2020)
... that the transmitter used to start
Nashville radio station WSIX was purchased in exchange for five barrels of oil? (30 Jul 2020)
... that Chilean television station TVO fired presenter
Pamela Jiles for appearing in a presidential campaign advertisement, even though it described itself as editorially "tolerant"? (31 Jul 2020)
... that nearly 5,000 fans of
easy-listening music successfully petitioned Mississippi radio station WEQZ to adopt the format when another station changed away from it? (3 Aug 2020)
... that in 1947, New York City's WMGM rated dead last among FM radio stations, at a time when just 3 percent of metropolitan area residents had FM receivers? (4 Aug 2020)
... that K26AC in
Bemidji, Minnesota, was the first low-power television station in the United States that did not repeat another station? (5 Aug 2020)
... that when the
Jehovah's Witnesses sold New York City radio station WBBR in 1957, the purchase included the 18-acre (7.3 ha) farm, complete with 20 chicken houses, at the transmitter site? (6 Aug 2020 — DYK #300)
... that a "self-proclaimed public avenger" cut down the tower of Oregon television station KVDO-TV in 1976 to protest its sale to the state government? (14 Aug 2020)
... that
South Carolina radio station WDAB sold its former call letters to
Michael Bloomberg, then named itself after an owner that had not yet bought the station? (15 Aug 2020)
... that WILS-TV in
Lansing, Michigan, featured a singing weather girl and pianist dressed appropriately for the next day's forecast? (16 Aug 2020)
... that the all-woman announcing staff of
Spokane, Washington, radio station KPEG all used the first name Peg on air? (17 Aug 2020)
... that a 1967 promotion by Virginia radio station WHIH, anticipated to receive 15,000 entries, instead received nearly 180 million? (4 Sep 2020)
... that WHUM-TV featured a cooking show hosted by a woman who did not know how to cook and scoured for recipes at the local public library? (5 Sep 2020)
... that New Jersey radio station WJJZ lost its
license over an unauthorized payment of $25,000 to a competing applicant for its frequency? (14 Sep 2020 — completes 50 states and DC for 2020)
... that 54 years ago today, California television station KCFT-TV went off the air when
General Electric showed up with a moving van, a locksmith, and a court order to repossess equipment? (19 Sep 2020)
... that the site of Los Arcos Mall was dubbed the "most divisive piece of property" in the history of
Scottsdale, Arizona? (21 Sep 2020)
... that less than 18 months after being launched, radio station KFNA of
El Paso, Texas, declared bankruptcy after its format failed to attract listeners? (23 Sep 2020)
... that after shutting down in 1954, Indiana television station WRAY-TV was activated once a year to air the annual
March of Dimes telethon? (23 Sep 2020)
... that the $10 million Tri-City Mall in
Mesa, Arizona, began to lose stores and customers ten years after opening, and even a multimillion-dollar renovation could not save it? (23 Sep 2020)
... that the owner of WSZE-TV started an air-taxi service to bring program tapes to
Saipan? (27 Sep 2020 — DYK #100 for 2020)
... that the owners of Florida radio station WPAS blamed an
Associated Press teletype machine for starting a fire that burned it down? (30 Sep 2020)
... that two weeks after the owner of a Kansas City television station declared that "KCIT-TV is here to stay", it ceased broadcasting? (7 Oct 2020)
... that the
Federal Radio Commission revoked the license of Chicago radio station WCHI in 1931 for attacking medical procedures such as surgical operations and vaccinations? (3 Nov 2020)
... that the establishment of KVZK-TV led to the electrification of many villages in
American Samoa? (10 Nov 2020)
... that four days after participating in a 12-hour-long legislative session, Joel Molina Ramírez became the first
Mexican senator to die of COVID-19? (11 Nov 2020)
... that after 28 years away from public media, José Antonio Álvarez Lima was tapped in 2019 to head the Mexican television channel
Canal Once? (21 Nov 2020)
... that 185 Spanish-language radio stations aired the astronomy program Universo produced by KXCR of
El Paso, Texas? (4 Dec 2020)
2021 (104)
... that KAVU-TV in
Victoria, Texas, did not know their signal was being seen on cable in
Corpus Christi until family of station employees living there said that they had enjoyed that morning's newscast? (7 Jan 2021)
... that radio station WWBC in
Cocoa, Florida, was forced to remove its transmitter tower from the
Indian River when the site was sold to condominium developers? (11 Jan 2021)
... that television station WKAB-TV of
Mobile, Alabama, broadcast for less than two years before the company that owned it got into financial difficulties and WKAB went off air? (14 Jan 2021)
... that the Argentine government took over operations of television channel 8 at Mar del Plata in 1973, only to privatize it again a decade later? (15 Jan 2021)
... that KEVT, the first Spanish-language radio station in
Tucson, offered English lessons from a
University of Arizona professor? (20 Jan 2021)
... that during the trial of
Francis Gary Powers, Kansas radio station KBTO presented summaries of
Radio Moscow broadcasts alongside other international reports? (23 Jan 2021)
... that when a proposed sale of
Orlando-area radio station WVCF fell through, the attempted buyer started
his own station? (29 Jan 2021)
... that one student's entire semester at the
University of Wisconsin–Green Bay in 1979 consisted of programming its student radio station WGBW? (1 Feb 2021)
... that
Albuquerque radio station KRZY broadcast a college football game without permission by smuggling in gear under blankets and disguising an announcer in the opposing team's student section? (6 Feb 2021)
... that station officials climbed the 500-foot (150 m) tower of the first WFMZ-TV, smashed a bottle of champagne against the top, and christened it "Miss
Ultra High"? (8 Feb 2021)
... that despite boasting it was the most powerful television station in the Midwest, Missouri television station KACY left the air because it could not secure the right to carry network programs? (11 Feb 2021)
... that Utah radio stations KSUB and KSUB-FM both suffered tower collapses before going on air—39 years apart? (14 Feb 2021)
... that while
Gerry House worked at Kentucky radio station WCBR, the owner, a pastor, asked him whether he wanted to donate his salary? (26 Feb 2021)
... that even though low interest prompted the Associated Students of
Montana Tech to cut funding for student radio station KMSM-FM, it still filed to renew the station's
license? (4 Mar 2021)
... that the co-founder of Arkansas radio station KTOY, the first Black-owned radio station in the state, continued teaching math after starting it? (4 Mar 2021)
... that Mexican political party Progressive Social Networks allowed party members to vote in internal elections using a smartphone app? (5 Mar 2021)
... that a former owner of Illinois radio station WRBA carried an expired police badge to allow him to get to its transmitter site quickly if need be? (10 Mar 2021 — DYK #350)
... that Clair McCollough rose from being a carrier boy for
Lancaster Newspapers to presiding over the broadcast station group spawned by the company? (10 Mar 2021)
... that an engineer of
Pittsburgh television station WENS found out that its tower had collapsed when he looked out his window to find it missing? (13 Mar 2021)
... that a 1958 promotion by
Nashville radio station WKDA, in which a "
purple people eater" climbed a hotel sign, prompted the police chief to ask the station "never to pull a trick" like it again? (16 Mar 2021)
... that within hours of the
Social Encounter Party in Mexico being stripped of its electoral registration, the Solidary Encounter Party was formed with the same initials, party structure and ideology? (17 Mar 2021)
... that KSBK, which has been described as the most influential radio station in
Okinawa in the 1960s, became a casualty of the
reversion of the Ryukyu Islands to Japan and closed in October 1973? (17 Mar 2021)
... that
Idaho's first television station, KFXD-TV, was a two-man operation that lasted less than two months? (19 Mar 2021)
... that
Chuck Connors, star of the
ABC show The Rifleman, was an investor in TV station KNBS, an ABC affiliate, in Washington state? (20 Mar 2021)
... that a decade after passing on the opportunity to build a radio station, the owner of the Okmulgee Daily Times newspaper instead bought KOKL? (18 Mar 2021)
... that KQLO, the antecedent of today's KIHM, was established after its founder drove from
Nevada to
Vermont and found no Catholic radio stations on the trip? (22 Mar 2021)
... that the founder of WZIP in
Covington, Kentucky, beat out his own brother for the right to build the station? (31 Mar 2021)
... that when the tower of
Sioux Falls radio station KISD collapsed in 1968, it narrowly missed a train motel run by the station's former owner? (5 Apr 2021)
... that students from four local high schools and
Rutgers University each had their chance to run New Jersey television station WRTV for a day? (6 Apr 2021)
... that within three years, American subscription television service ON TV went from boasting 725,000 subscribers in eight cities to being out of business? (7 Apr 2021)
... that the chief engineer of Virginia television station WRFT-TV said that "a 15-watt Christmas bulb and baling wire" kept it on the air? (10 Apr 2021)
... that Idaho television station KCIX-TV went silent awaiting a merger deal that fell apart? (12 Apr 2021)
... that an owner of Wyoming radio station KATI donated the station to the
University of Wyoming, only to be "disappointed" when the university opted not to use his gift? (13 Apr 2021)
... that
Dottie Ray interviewed 32,397 guests over 55 years on more than 14,000 broadcasts of her daily show on KXIC radio in
Iowa City? (14 Apr 2021)
... that the owner of Oregon radio station KLOO offered $10,000 to anyone who could bring an extraterrestrial lifeform to the station's studios? (16 Apr 2021)
... that after
Ted Turner asked for viewers' money to keep WRET-TV afloat, he was able to repay thousands of lenders four years later—with interest? (18 Apr 2021)
... that radio station WMLB in
Cumming, Georgia, earned national acclaim as an
Americana music station in the 1990s? (21 Apr 2021 — US station #200)
... that San Francisco's "KYOU Radio" was the first terrestrial radio station to broadcast a program format consisting of
podcasts? (24 Apr 2021)
... that Indiana radio station WFML was bought so that the new owner could use the station's transmitter site to expand his hotel? (26 Apr 2021)
... that a
new-age music format called "The Breeze" was a ratings failure for Nebraska radio station KLMS, causing a precipitous decline in listenership? (27 Apr 2021)
... that the founding owner of Minnesota radio station WVAL would climb the 300-foot (91 m) transmission tower himself and change the light bulbs on the mast? (5 May 2021)
... that confusion over time zone changes in the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan resulted in technical violations at WCKD radio and almost cost the owner an opportunity to build a station in Illinois? (7 May 2021)
... that two utility companies fought in court over who would supply electricity to
North Dakota radio station KBMR? (13 May 2021)
... that the founder of
New Orleans radio station WHIV-LP chose those call letters to help reduce the stigma surrounding
the virus? (20 May 2021)
... that the owner of a radio station in Hawaii changed its call letters to KIMO because the
Hawaiian name Kimo translates to Jim, the owner's name? (21 May 2021)
... that financial troubles at
a television station in Florida led to the bankruptcy that caused the 1994 demise of Mississippi radio station WHSY? (22 May 2021)
... that a man who threatened to blow up Alaska radio station KIAK unless he was put on the air was startled to find the station completely automated? (2 Jun 2021)
... that a former DJ at radio station WKOP in
Binghamton, New York, was convicted of
arson for setting fire to the studios? (3 Jun 2021)
... that West Virginia radio station WHIS made the first broadcast of a murder trial in the United States—and was broadcasting when the first on-air death occurred? (4 Jun 2021)
... that the four-year history of radio station WUCI-FM included the revelation of the founder as a convicted felon and a station staffer threatening another with a revolver? (6 Jun 2021)
... that
Sonny Bloch invested $500,000 in improvements to Connecticut radio station WCNX, only to be unable to complete the purchase after he was arrested on federal fraud charges? (8 Jun 2021)
... that radio station WADK debuted its first talk show after a local businessman told the owner that "the great pastime of
Rhode Island ... is talking politics"? (9 Jun 2021)
... that Massachusetts radio station WAAF pulled off an "unprecedented radio concert promotion coup" by organizing a concert by
The Rolling Stones for 300 locals? (10 Jun 2021)
... that WMEB-FM had to move its transmitter because its signal was interfering with equipment in physics laboratories at the
University of Maine? (10 Jun 2021)
... that the manager of WVSS at the
University of Wisconsin–Stout spent about $6,000 of his own money to buy more than 500 classical music CDs to program the station? (12 Jun 2021)
... that the seven-year-old son of the first owner of Maryland radio station WPTX was sometimes allowed to spin
big band records on the air? (13 Jun 2021)
... that Don Mullally, a DJ at Vermont radio station WSTJ between 1952 and 2016, was still playing vinyl records when he retired just two weeks before his death? (13 Jun 2021 — ends 8 queues straight of DYKs, 50 states for 2021)
... that a jury awarded $225,000 to the prospective owners of Florida radio station WODX because of poor record-keeping and breaches of their lease agreement? (16 Jun 2021 with
User:Thomas H. White)
... that Christian radio station KIXL near
Austin, Texas, pulled an
anti-pornography program off-air in mid-transmission because of its graphic descriptions of gay sex? (16 Jun 2021)
... that
Homestead, Florida, radio station WOIR was credited with saving the lives of hundreds of farmworkers in a labor camp before the arrival of
Hurricane Andrew? (9 Jul 2021)
... that after losing his job at KBIF when his father was convicted on
tax-withholding crimes, future California politician
Jim Patterson bought
Fresno's KIRV and turned it into a Christian radio station? (19 Jul 2021)
... that KICU-TV in Visalia, California, claimed to be the most powerful TV station west of the Mississippi River after a transmitter upgrade—and closed for good two years later? (5 Aug 2021)
... that South Carolina radio station WBAW received a
Peabody Award for public-service programming just six months after signing on the air? (5 Aug 2021)
... that after starting Los Angeles Spanish-language television station KVEA, a group led by
Saul Steinberg bought other Spanish-language stations to form the
Telemundo network? (9 Aug 2021)
... that mixed-use stadium districts around major sports venues often include
public squares, office space, hotels and residential units? (11 Aug 2021)
... that within a decade, KTVK in
Phoenix went from being a "blot on
ABC's affiliate ledger" to a station the network only gave up reluctantly? (11 Aug 2021)
... that an
FCC hearing examiner scolded the owner of California radio station KCTY for having a "cavalier attitude" and at times being too lazy to put the station on the air? (12 Aug 2021)
... that Dallas television station KDAF abandoned plans to launch a local newscast in 1994, after having already hired 20 staff, because it was to
lose its Fox affiliation and be sold? (15 Aug 2021)
... that radio station KCON in
Conway, Arkansas, shut down twice on March 10? (24 Aug 2021)
... that when Texas radio station KNUE was sold to another station in 1982, the new owners added a second story to their newly constructed studios to accommodate the addition? (2 Sep 2021 with
User:Dma37dude)
... that
South Carolina's first television station, WCOS-TV, "could not stand the economic gaff" and folded less than three years after starting up? (14 Sep 2021)
... that even the manager of Indiana radio station WMCZ confused it with
WMEE, leading a federal judge to order the former to change its
call sign? (2 Oct 2021)
... that Indiana's WTAF-TV fought for more than six years to obtain a network affiliation and reached an agreement with
NBC just ten days before shutting down for good? (18 Oct 2021)
... that when
Gene Scott was forced to close
San Francisco TV station KVOF-TV, he called
its successor "the Tower of Babel religious brigade"—then proceeded to buy air time on it? (23 Oct 2021)
... that watching
Tacoma, Washington's KTVW "used to be worse than no TV at all"? (26 Oct 2021)
... that radio station KWKC dropped its application for a TV station in order to speed the arrival of television to
Abilene, Texas, which would otherwise have been 89th in line? (31 Oct 2021)
... that KMXO near
Abilene, Texas, aired the region's first Spanish-language radio program and later became its first full-time Spanish-language station? (10 Nov 2021)
... that a complaint over an allegedly illegal transmitter move led to Texas radio station KFQX-FM being forced off the air for four hours in 1988? (11 Nov 2021)
... that
Phoenix radio station
KTAR bought television station KTYL-TV to avoid a conflict with former U.S. senator
Ernest McFarland? (18 Nov 2021)
... that Montana television station KOPR-TV brought forward its start date by several months, only to last just one year? (22 Nov 2021)
... that California radio station KNCR was fined by the
Federal Communications Commission for moving its transmitter site without permission after being evicted? (27 Nov 2021)
... that one owner of Montana radio station KXGF went from owning the Plush Pillow to liquidating his assets in a span of six months? (28 Nov 2021)
... that a "
North Dakota joke of the mornin'" was a feature on Montana radio station KGRZ because the station's owner and morning show host hailed from that state? (8 Dec 2021 — DYK #100 for 2021)
... that when the founder of New Mexico television station KBIM-TV was told on the morning of
April Fools' Day that his station's tower had collapsed, he initially wrote it off as a joke? (15 Dec 2021)
... that WNJU, a Spanish-language television station serving
New York City, was the first in the United States to air a hard-liquor advertisement? (18 Dec 2021)
... that the last edition of The Knoxville Journal was printed 30 years ago today after a 106-year run? (31 Dec 2021)
2022 (140)
... that New Mexico television station KIVA-TV received angry phone calls and a bomb threat after switching away from a tied football game? (1 Jan 2022)
... that WTVK in
Knoxville, Tennessee, won a years-long battle to move from
UHF to a VHF channel, only to be sent by new management to "that big TV station in the sky"? (6 Jan 2022)
... that a federal marshal seized a car and a truck because there was no other way to satisfy a debt owed by Arkansas television station KRZB-TV? (9 Jan 2022)
... that the owner of Mississippi radio stations WGUF and
WGUF-FM purposefully fell behind on his
royalty payments because he did not like copyright fees? (10 Jan 2022)
... that
Roswell, New Mexico, radio station KBIM was so successful that its owner was able to start two other stations with its profits? (13 Jan 2022)
... that Georgia radio station WMGA was so "atrocious" that its announcers would invite listeners to donate their records? (14 Jan 2022)
... that Colorado public television station KTSC operates from two studios named for
the same benefactor? (15 Jan 2022)
... that the street from which Mississippi radio station WMPR broadcasts was renamed in honor of the station's longtime owner and general manager, former politician
Charles Evers? (17 Jan 2022)
... that after it broadcast for the last time, KHAT became Rock Steady and was part of a Triathlon? (20 Jan 2022)
... that Lifetime Medical Television, "the network for physicians only", charged the highest advertising rates on cable? (24 Jan 2022)
... that after a dispute emerged over the terms of its lease, the owner of its broadcast tower forced Wyoming radio station KNWT off the air by disconnecting its power? (26 Jan 2022)
... that one radio station owner's decision to bring a "country cousin" to
Tallahassee, Florida, turned out to be a miscalculation? (27 Jan 2022)
... that after going off the air due to financial issues, the control room of Texas radio station KBIL was set ablaze by an arsonist? (30 Jan 2022)
... that a would-be buyer of
San Angelo, Texas, radio station KBIL-FM had no knowledge of the transaction? (5 Feb 2022)
... that just four years after starting up, the president of Satellite Television & Associated Resources commented that his entire industry had "gone down the drain"? (9 Feb 2022)
... that a 1971 format change and firing of three Black disc jockeys contributed to the Mississippi radio station WSWG losing its
broadcast license? (10 Feb 2022 — DYK #450)
... that Catalena Productions had a
Monty Hall problem when the host, unpaid, forced the company into bankruptcy? (12 Feb 2022)
... that in its final years, Mississippi radio station WKXG allegedly attempted to maintain its broadcast license by "taking turns" with another station in their transmitter facility? (13 Feb 2022)
... that Nathan Safir, general manager of Texas radio station
KCOR for 44 years, was credited with being a pioneer in Spanish-language broadcasting in the United States? (18 Feb 2022)
... that at WSTA, the first radio station in the
U.S. Virgin Islands, goats and chickens sometimes wandered in during broadcasts? (22 Feb 2022)
... that when Florida television station WITV ceased broadcasting in May 1958, its owner was reported to be on a yacht at sea and thus unavailable for comment? (2 Mar 2022)
... that an executive of Florida station WFTL-TV declared that he had "faith in its future", only to sell it within months and for the station to close within three years? (3 Mar 2022)
... that Alabama radio station WTQX was picketed over the alleged systematic firing of its existing staff by new management? (5 Mar 2022)
... that the day employees of Boston television station WLVI received new business cards, they learned the station would be sold and they would lose their jobs? (11 Mar 2022)
... that out of desperation, Pennsylvania radio station WMAJ took its call letters from the scrambled initials of its first program director? (15 Mar 2022)
... that Iowa radio station KFQC was said to change programming and ownership "almost as regularly as dental check-ups are recommended"? (17 Mar 2022)
... that
Red Blanchard, the owner of Iowa radio station KSMN, commuted 800 miles (1280 km) by plane from
Mason City each week to host a radio show in
Chicago? (19 Mar 2022)
... that North Carolina television station WNAO-TV operated from a converted
supper club? (20 Mar 2022)
... that after
Los Angeles Spanish-language TV station KMEX-TV discovered that 15 percent of its viewers did not know the language, it added Spanish courses to its programming? (26 Mar 2022)
... that in the early days of news at KPHO-TV in
Phoenix, Arizona, one employee processed newsfilm in his bathtub? (31 Mar 2022)
... that on this day in 1966, California radio stations KAHR and KVIP switched frequencies, leading to "mass confusion"? (1 Apr 2022, first April Fools DYK)
... that at WOPR, a high school radio station in
Michigan, DJs were forced to change the music styles they played every two weeks? (4 Apr 2022)
... that WBAA, the radio station of
Purdue University, received its
broadcast license 100 years ago today? (4 Apr 2022 — replaced above hook after 5 hours due to promoter error)
... that radio station WIQT near
Elmira, New York, was co-owned with a regional group of clothing, furniture, and shoe stores? (7 Apr 2022)
... that the owner of
Phoenix's KNXV-TV "[held] a gun to
ABC's head" – and it paid off? (8 Apr 2022)
... that in 1982, a news anchor for
Phoenix television station KOOL-TV was held hostage on set for five hours? (9 Apr 2022)
... that one of the original co-owners of New York state radio station WAQX-FM did much of the construction himself? (11 Apr 2022)
... that when WGPR-TV in Detroit was converted from a station serving Black and ethnic audiences to a
CBS affiliate, it experienced ratings increases of 11,000 percent? (12 Apr 2022 with
Nathan Obral)
... that
Washington state TV station KTRX went on the air in January 1958—and failed to make it to the end of the year? (12 Apr 2022)
... that KLEF in
Anchorage, Alaska, is one of just three remaining commercially operated
classical-music radio stations in the United States? (13 Apr 2022)
... that the owners of
North Carolina radio station WBIG justified shutting it down by noting that
the metropolitan area had outgrown its signal? (20 Apr 2022)
... that to convince Canadian regulators that
Vancouver could support a new ethnic radio station, the founder of CJVB documented local restaurants and Sikh temples? (25 Apr 2022)
... that a mobile production unit served as the first studios of
Washington state public TV station KTNW? (30 Apr 2022)
... that Iowa radio station KTFC was partially powered by a wind turbine that the owner had bought from an Arizona wind farm? (13 May 2022)
... that even though plans to convert the studio building of station KITN in
Olympia, Washington, into a courthouse were soon changed, county taxpayers still paid its moving expenses? (14 May 2022)
... that the first studio of
Indiana high school radio station WETL was a cedar closet that once stored furs? (16 May 2022)
... that half the students of
Northern Arizona University left for Christmas early after campus radio station KNAU was pranked? (19 May 2022)
... that US radio regulators sought to shut down Ohio station WEBE, which was said to operate from the owner's bedroom using "parts of a questionable nature"? (20 May 2022)
... that the 1988 closure of WLEE, once one of the top radio stations in
Richmond, Virginia, also took WBBL, a church station in existence for nearly 65 years, off the air for good? (22 May 2022)
... that Sunday-school classes were once held in the transmitter building of New Mexico radio station KCLV? (25 May 2022)
... that when a fire broke out next to studios of Oklahoma radio station KVSO, reporters had to rush in to report the blaze and then out to breathe fresh air? (27 May 2022)
... that the staff of a Georgia TV station thought they were "really something" for shooting the moon? (29 May 2022)
... that local dairy farmers credit morning broadcasts of
polka music from a Wisconsin radio station for relaxing their cows? (6 Jul 2022)
... that a Louisiana radio station went to a
satellite-fed music format because it had more control than with its previous "18- and 20-year-old jocks"? (9 Jul 2022)
... that two state representatives got into a fight in the parking lot of Miami's Radio Mambí after one's father insulted the other's on the air? (18 Jul 2022)
... that a founder of a Tennessee radio station bought it back from the same group he had sold it to, who in turn had bought it back themselves? (23 Jul 2022)
... that the defiant owner of a Miami TV station kept its marquee lit for 18 months after losing its
license? (24 Jul 2022)
... that the administration of
Carlos Salinas de Gortari barred El Financiero from the Mexican presidential press plane for its reporting on foreign debt negotiations? (2 Aug 2022)
... that in 1969, unknown persons dynamited the tower of a Kentucky TV station, leaving it leaning at a 15-degree angle? (3 Aug 2022)
... that among the special events broadcast by the Maine Television Network during its brief existence were a fashion show, a basketball tournament, and an
ordination ceremony? (3 Aug 2022)
... that
Kurt Cobain gave a Seattle radio station a copy of his first single, then called from a pay phone to request it after it went unplayed? (1 Nov 2022)
... that the studios of a California TV station were converted back into a movie theater after it went out of business? (4 Nov 2022)
... that J. Elroy McCaw feigned losing his wallet to make women pay for meals at restaurants? (5 Nov 2022)
... that the opening day of a California TV station was affected by a strike when workers refused to cross a two-man picket line? (7 Nov 2022)
... that an attempt by six employees of a California TV station to remain on the air by working unpaid lasted just three days? (13 Nov 2022)
... that by the time he became Governor of Arizona,
John Howard Pyle's appearances on a Phoenix radio station made him "as familiar in Arizona homes as the family radio"? (16 Nov 2022)
... that a woman hitchhiked from
Indiana to Washington, D.C., to protest the sale of the radio station where she worked? (28 Nov 2022)
... that an apparently jobless man wearing a cardboard box who taped himself to a lamppost was actually a new DJ for a Vermont radio station? (12 Dec 2022)
... that Atlanta's "quicker picker-upper" aired martial arts movies, professional wrestling, jazz music, and Japanese-language programming? (6 Jan 2023)
... that the general manager of a West Virginia TV station called changing its network affiliation "the hardest decision I've ever had to make"? (7 Jan 2023)
... that a Washington state radio station turned to "professional bikini watchers"—military recruiters—to report on crowds at local beaches? (8 Jan 2023)
... that the president of his own party criticized the speed at which members of the
Congress of Puebla moved to appoint Sergio Salomón Céspedes as the substitute governor? (18 Jan 2023)
... that Governor Miguel Barbosa Huerta said that his predecessor's death in office was a punishment from God – and then died in office himself? (20 Jan 2023)
... that nearby homeowners believed the tower of a TV station in Arkansas was responsible for "a bad effect on the peace and health of the citizens"? (21 Jan 2023)
... that employees claimed to have temporarily shut down an Arkansas radio station over not receiving paychecks? (25 Jan 2023)
... that the launch of a Florida TV station was brought forward nearly two months because the local
ABC affiliate stopped airing more than half of its
prime-time shows? (1 Feb 2023)
... that a media columnist in
Columbus, Georgia, opined: "If TV-16 was a horse, it would have been shot long ago"? (1 Mar 2023)
... that
Comcast removed a Florida TV station from its lineup for allegedly broadcasting home shopping in prime time instead of its normal
UPN programming? (2 Mar 2023)
... that even though an
FCC examiner recommended denial of an application for a radio station in Illinois after approving it twice, the commission granted it anyway? (5 Mar 2023)
... that the
FCC's criteria for comparative hearings did not pass the Bechtel test? (3 Apr 2023)
... that a Kansas City TV station had so many children's shows to air that the station manager talked of "fit[ting] so many ten-pound turnips into a five-pound sack"? (4 Apr 2023)
... that in 1979, Vermont ETV received more donations from viewers in
Quebec than it did from
Vermonters? (11 Apr 2023)
... that The Vision of God sparked controversy in Mexican radio? (12 Apr 2023)
... that in the same year, an Illinois radio station lost its station manager in a car crash and its advertising revenue to flooding? (29 Apr 2023)
... that one of the longest civil trials in Utah history, with 1,000 exhibits, concerned the alleged coerced purchase of a Salt Lake City TV station? (7 May 2023)
... that programs at a Cleveland public TV station had to be recorded in between school bells and fire drills? (30 May 2023)
... that the owner of a Tennessee TV station denied that he had named it after himself, telling a reporter, "I'm not that much of an egotist"? (4 June 2023)
... that the studios of Basin PBS had once been a movie theater, a church meeting space, and a nightclub? (23 June 2023)
... that in the 1980s, "Sherman Bonner, The Human Thermometer" presented the weather on an Arkansas TV station? (24 June 2023)
... that volunteers at a Florida public TV station forced its chief fundraiser to resign by accosting him in the hallway? (25 Jun 2023)
... that staff of a California public TV station were unaware it was broadcasting in color until a viewer called to compliment their color signal? (30 Jun 2023)
... that even though syndicated talk show Karamo generally replaced Maury, its host promised it would feature "no baby mama stuff"? (14 Jul 2023)
... that weeks after its CEO said the chain had no plans to open or close stores, Store of Knowledge filed for bankruptcy and initiated a liquidation? (24 Jul 2023)
... that in the span of three days, a Florida man was approved by bankruptcy courts to buy TV stations in Roanoke and Lynchburg, Virginia, and then arrested on charges of laundering millions in drug money? (30 Aug 2023)
... that today is independence day for Philly 57? (1 Sep 2023)
... that a Maine TV station was so protective of its evening newscast that it preempted nearly 40 percent of all
NBC Sports programming in 1994? (25 Sep 2023)
... that one reviewer described a TV station in St. Louis as appearing to be "not serious about the news"? (27 Sep 2023)
... that MI-5 had trouble finding people to interview? (1 Oct 2023)
... that a retired man with no previous broadcasting experience was offered a job by a Wyoming TV station after winning an "Anchorman for a Day" contest? (10 Nov 2023)
... that in its first full month on the air, an Idaho TV station had the highest prime-time viewing share of any independent station in the United States? (17 Nov 2023)
... that a Nebraska radio station chartered an aircraft to search for motorists stranded after a blizzard? (8 Dec 2023)
... that a reception was held for civic leaders of
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, to promote a forthcoming TV station that never launched? (10 Dec 2023 — first DYK in Puerto Rico, last missing US territory)
... that police were stationed on the new Kansas Avenue Bridge to prevent streetcar rails from being laid down? (12 Dec 2023)
... that one of the founders of a public TV station in California gave 92 speeches in 90 days during a fundraising drive? (14 Dec 2023 — DYK #666 on channel 6)
... that each station in the TVX Broadcast Group had exactly 37 employees? (15 Dec 2023)
... that a Connecticut radio station left the FM band for good after it was out of service for a week and only one person wrote a letter to complain? (9 Jan 2024)
... that 25 years after an attempt to
explode a whale went awry, the Oregon TV station that filmed it regularly fielded requests for its footage? (25 Jan 2024)
... that years after it closed, the studios of an Iowa TV station became the headquarters for the state police radio network? (27 Jan 2024)
... that following a
boycott orchestrated by church groups, a Texas TV station ceased airing the controversial NYPD Blue after just a month? (30 Mar 2024)
... that an Arkansas TV station apologized for not being on the air by sending local media a drawing of ducks? (3 Apr 2024)
... that an
Edmonton politician began mouthing his words when he saw a cameraman for A-Channel walk in, mocking the frequent audio difficulties on its newscasts? (4 Apr 2024)
... that a Minneapolis TV station had newscasts that were "about as popular as the measles" with "sickening theme music"? (6 Apr 2024)
... that shareholders of UDC Homes received two settlements over claims that executives sought to inflate its stock price and conceal financial information? (14 Apr 2024)
... that the planned sale of a Texas TV station was the subject of a lawsuit more than seven years after it closed for the last time? (19 Apr 2024)
... that employees of a Florida TV station joked that their studio building would survive "as long as the termites don't stop holding hands"? (9 May 2024)
... that Ground Round attempted to diversify its meat-heavy menu with such dishes as swordfish and Mexican pizza? (13 May 2024)
... that a North Carolina TV station broadcast from a "residential showplace" that was considered to be "one of [the] finest" houses in town? (19 May 2024)
... that a California TV station wondered whether it had the "World's Longest Pregnancy"? (20 May 2024)
... that one of the "plushest" nightclubs in northern Florida turned into studios for a TV station in Jacksonville? (7 Jun 2024 — DYK #700)
... that the operators of a Wisconsin radio station received unsolicited checks and food deliveries? (20 Jun 2024)
... that a Utah radio station read books to listeners, a Chapter a Day? (23 Jun 2024)
... that Black Sheep Radio dedicated its first day of programming to a fallen pirate? (28 Jun 2024)
.. that a U.S. Navy plane piloted by
Michael Wettlaufer clipped the tower of a Florida TV station while on a training mission, forcing it off the air for nearly five years? (29 Jun 2024, double DYK with
CommissarDoggo)
I did not produce any DYKs prior to 2014, but hey!
2014 (10)
... that The Castle, headquarters of internet company
Rackspace, was formerly an enclosed shopping mall that also hosted churches, a nightclub, and hurricane survivors? (31 Jan 2014)
... that Valley National Bank of Arizona employed a full-time curator to manage the art displayed at all of its 200 branches? (31 Jan 2014)
... that despite being described by its leader as "liberal", the Social Encounter Party supported a constitutional amendment in
Baja California to ban same-sex marriage? (18 Feb 2016)
... that Carmen Salinas, a Mexican actress who has appeared in over 110 movies, now serves as a
federal deputy with the
PRI? (6 Aug 2016 - three DYKs at once)
... that Tomás Ruiz González was the first president of the Mexican Tax Administration Service? (22 Aug 2016)
... that Guadalupe Acosta Naranjo was jailed after protesting fraud in the 1993 election for municipal president of
Tepic,
Nayarit, which he lost? (23 Aug 2016)
... that Mexican parliamentarian Hortensia Aragón Castillo's alternate deputy is her sister? (28 Aug 2016)
... that under the leadership of Martha Hilda González Calderón, the city of
Toluca received an award for leading Mexico in budget transparency? (1 Sep 2016)
... that in 2010 and 2016, Rafael Yerena Zambrano was reelected unopposed as the secretary general of the Federation of Workers of
Jalisco? (3 Sep 2016)
... that a local newspaper criticized the
PRI's nomination of Marco Antonio García Ayala to represent
Baja California, saying he "doesn't even belong to this state"? (15 Sep 2016)
... that a 2014 attack on the radio station Calentana Mexiquense resulted in the death of the owner's 12-year-old son? (17 Oct 2016 - DYK #100)
... that Imagen Televisión, which launches today, is the first new commercial television network in Mexico since 1993? (18 Oct 2016)
... that when it leased the planes of a failed Venezuelan airline, a Bolivian company retained the name LaMia to avoid the cost of repainting the aircraft? (1 Jan 2017 with
Hack,
Sunnya343 and
Cclark0)
... that with more than 14,000 airings over 60 years, Minuto de Dios is the longest-running program on Colombian television? (10 Jan 2017)
... that the Maximilian Chapel (pictured), atop Cerro de las Campanas, is built in a style that "has nothing to do with Mexican buildings"? (8 Feb 2017)
... that in 2013, two hundred teachers occupied a toll booth on Mexican Federal Highway 180D and allowed cars to pass for free? (18 Feb 2017)
... that construction of the Macrolibramiento Palmillas-Apaseo el Grande highway was delayed by difficulties acquiring rights of way, rising material costs, and intermittent funding from the Mexican government? (5 Jul 2017)
... that the call letters of radio stations KFAS and
KFAS-FM were adopted to honor minority owner
Francis Albert Sinatra? (12 Jul 2017)
... that 35 years ago today,
Tucson, Arizona, radio station KIKX shut down after losing its
FCC license over a 1974 kidnapping hoax involving one of the station's DJs? (18 Jul 2017)
... that A Voz do Brasil is the longest-running radio program in the Southern Hemisphere? (22 Jul 2017)
... that Mexican senator Delfina Gómez Álvarez entered politics at the urging of a former mayor who later ran for the Senate alongside her? (14 Sep 2018)
... that Cruz Pérez Cuéllar ran for
Governor of Chihuahua, Mexico, in 2016 on a platform that called for voters to decide if the governor should be removed midway through his term? (6 Oct 2018)
... that until being murdered in May 2018, Mexican journalist and
radio station founder Juan Carlos Huerta anchored the newscast on the television station XHTVL-TDT? (23 Nov 2018)
... that in 2018, the
pay television service on channel 51 of MVS TV in
Mexico City had only three subscribers? (15 Dec 2018)
2019 (79)
... that a landowner buried the transmitter building for
Missouri radio station KXBR under 6 feet (1.8 m) of dirt as part of a rent dispute? (1 Mar 2019)
... that Mexican federal deputy Nay Salvatori invited the public to "smoke marijuana at my house and listen to
The Doors" if the drug was legalized in Mexico, despite never having smoked it herself? (13 Apr 2019)
... that Barry Sage has earned US$22,000 for clapping his hands in 1981? (21 Apr 2019)
... that XHCDMX-FM, operated by a consortium of women's organizations and activists, is the first
community radio station in
Mexico City? (28 Apr 2019)
... that although KGTO-TV in
Fayetteville, Arkansas, signed on as an
NBC affiliate, it received no network compensation for carrying its programs? (12 May 2019 — DYK #150)
... that during construction of the tower for
Oklahoma City's KLPR-TV station, a worker was trapped 200 ft (61 m) in the air for more than an hour? (26 May 2019)
... that convenience store chain
Wawa successfully forced
Philadelphia-area radio station WAWA to stop using its new
call letters? (1 Jun 2019)
... that after discontinuing normal programming, KPPC radio signed on once a week for six months to fulfill a contract to broadcast church services? (3 Jul 2019)
... that WBUZ and four other operating radio stations lost their
FCC licenses as a result of the owner being convicted of felonies? (3 Aug 2019)
... that KSOM in
Tucson, Arizona, suffered two transmitter fires in less than four years of broadcasting? (12 Aug 2019)
... that New Jersey high school radio station WHPH, itself shared between two schools, had to share time with
another high school radio station? (17 Aug 2019)
... that Chicago's WCLM radio was investigated for leasing an audio channel without permission to a service that broadcast horse racing results to
bookies, later losing its license over other violations? (27 Aug 2019)
... that radio station KSUN in
Bisbee, Arizona, sold its call letters to
a station in Phoenix after going off the air due to financial troubles? (6 Sep 2019)
... that eight years to the day after it first signed on, WVOB radio in
Bel Air, Maryland, lost its tower when a construction worker clipped the tower's
guy wires? (7 Sep 2019)
... that WBBY-FM lost its license because the man who claimed to be its manager worked full-time at a car dealership 120 miles (190 km) away? (13 Sep 2019)
... that backlash over
Dodge City, Kansas, radio station KTTL's racist programming and its refusal to pay property taxes left the station with just one advertiser by 1983? (18 Sep 2019)
... that in 1975, a
field mouse knocked
Michigan radio station WKJR off the air for 45 minutes? (20 Sep 2019)
... that
Kevin Harlan said his "first good move" in sports broadcasting was getting into radio at WGBP-FM? (22 Sep 2019)
... that after KSJU radio was forced off FM and onto a cable system, students at the
College of Saint Benedict could not listen to it on campus, even though their activity fees supported it? (26 Sep 2019)
... that high school radio station WGAG-FM had a yearly budget of US$200, which it raised by selling donuts and clearing lawns? (29 Sep 2019)
... that with the sign-ons of KWCS-TV, KOET, KUSU-TV, and
KBYU-TV, Utah had more educational TV stations than commercial ones by 1966? (6 Oct 2019)
... that a snake chased a mouse into the transmitter of Nebraska radio station KWRV in 1962, knocking it off the air for two hours? (8 Oct 2019)
... that in its first decade as an educational radio station, KSLH produced 2,878 fifteen-minute programs for
St. Louis-area school students? (10 Oct 2019)
... that KTKN in
Ketchikan, Alaska, was one of just six new radio stations authorized in the United States in 1942, due to a wartime freeze order? (12 Oct 2019)
... that radio station WPSA at
Paul Smith's College began life in the basement of a dormitory that had previously been a meat market? (15 Oct 2019)
... that the annual charity radiothon at Wyoming
high school radio station KYDZ was commended by a thank-you letter from President
Ronald Reagan? (18 Oct 2019)
... that a contributing factor to the demise of black radio station KOJC in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was an internal struggle among its board of directors? (19 Oct 2019)
... that two years after going on air, WBCE radio switched from
country to
gospel music because too many stations in western Kentucky had country formats? (20 Oct 2019)
... that after the owner of Delaware radio station WNRK died before he could put it on the air, his widow was interviewed on the station's first day of broadcasting? (25 Oct 2019)
... that that New Hampshire radio station WBRL's first license was cancelled by the
Federal Communications Commission because of double-billing practices? (27 Oct 2019)
... that KSKI AM initially broadcast from a lodge at the
Sun Valley ski resort? (28 Oct 2019)
... that XHFAMX-TDT "La Octava", which opens tonight, marks
Grupo Radio Centro's return to
Mexico City television for the first time since 1972? (1 Nov 2019)
... that North Carolina radio station WVSP began operations out of a former doctor's office? (3 Nov 2019)
... that the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation wound up operating a radio station when it seized a failed Tennessee bank, which in turn had seized WIDD? (5 Nov 2019)
... that just three years after starting radio station WESQ,
North Carolina Wesleyan College sold it, partly because of a failure to integrate the station into its curriculum? (6 Nov 2019)
... that a vandal "knew what he was doing" when he disconnected the fuse blocks to WEYY's transmitter, keeping it off the air for two and a half hours? (8 Nov 2019)
... that Hawaii radio station KKON's change of format from "beautiful music" to a rock-and-roll/country mix in 1974 lasted just one day? (10 Nov 2019)
... that
Louisiana radio station WBOX lost more than 90 percent of its advertisers as a result of a 1965 boycott by the
Ku Klux Klan? (11 Nov 2019)
... that
Rhode Island Public Radio's 2007 acquisition of WAKX brought
NPR service to communities in southern Rhode Island for the first time? (12 Nov 2019)
... that in 1939, alert workers at West Virginia radio station WBLK saved equipment from a devastating fire, and the station returned to the air within 45 minutes to report the blaze? (18 Nov 2019)
... that with Danielle Dithurbide's appointment to anchor the morning newscast on
Las Estrellas, a majority of Mexican news broadcaster
Noticieros Televisa's news programs are hosted by women? (19 Nov 2019)
... that the first incarnation of radio station WYFI was described as running "on faith and LPs" and ending in an "
Edsel-like burn" within a year? (20 Nov 2019 — DYK #200)
... that an owner of radio station KPRB sold it to devote himself to his duties as the fire chief of
Redmond, Oregon? (21 Nov 2019)
... that in 1998, a buyer of Colorado radio station KGRE risked his entire savings and maxed out seven credit cards to acquire it? (22 Nov 2019)
... that
Vermont's first FM radio station renamed itself WQCR, standing for "Wonderful Queen City Radio", in 1972? (29 Nov 2019)
... that WXXX'sbroadcast license was challenged in the 1970s because the station employed no African Americans in
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, a city that was 30 percent black? (1 Dec 2019)
... that despite fighting for more than two years to stop the other station from signing on, WGVL's last day on the air was also
WSPA-TV's first? (5 Dec 2019)
... that after taking the unprofitable station off the air, Harold Orr hired a crew of young announcers to broadcast on KSVY 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, to keep the license? (10 Dec 2019)
... that Nevada radio station KONE was sued in 1966 by the proprietors of 16 musical works, who claimed that the station did not pay
royalties for playing songs such as "
San Antonio Rose" and "
Sweet Georgia Brown"? (14 Dec 2019 — 50th state in 2019)
... that
St. Louis County police arrested engineers and announcers of KXLW because their tower violated local zoning laws? (16 Dec 2019)
... that 17 extensions and modifications of the construction permit were necessary before Hawaii radio station KFSH went on the air in 1985, more than eight years after the permit was awarded? (17 Dec 2019)
... that KSLN-TV, the
ABC television affiliate in
Salina, Kansas, folded twice in three years under two different owners? (19 Dec 2019)
... that religious ministers revealed the winning numbers to illegal lotteries on WOOK radio, by hiding them in Bible references? (25 Dec 2019 – completes 50 states and DC)
... that after
John Lennon called the Beatles
more popular than Jesus, KLUE radio responded by staging a
bonfire of Beatles memorabilia – and its transmitter was struck by lightning the next day? (26 Dec 2019)
... that the demise of Sportsvue, which lost $2 million in its 10 months of operation, prompted
Jim Fitzgerald to sell the
Milwaukee Bucks basketball team? (27 Dec 2019)
... that the sale of
WWIZ radio in
Lorain, Ohio, undertaken in order to raise capital to build WXTV in
Youngstown, prompted both stations to lose their
licenses? (29 Dec 2019)
... that the first owners of radio station KSTO fled
Guam after running up a debt of $60,000 in less than seven months of operation? (31 Dec 2019)
... that after Mississippi radio station WKNZ relaunched as "Zoo 107", it sponsored a name-the-zebra contest at its namesake, the
Hattiesburg Zoo? (31 Dec 2019)
2020 (107)
... that Missouri radio station KADY was the first ever recipient of a fine from the
FCC for failing to illuminate its tower? (2 Jan 2020)
... that KFXY in
Flagstaff, Arizona, was reported by American newspapers in 1925 to be the only radio station in the world owned by a woman? (8 Jan 2020)
... that WWNN (980 AM) in
Pompano Beach, Florida, was the first radio station in the United States to adopt a format consisting of motivational speeches? (9 Jan 2020)
... that when WFAB radio in
Miami was forced off the air in 1977, Hispanic-owned shops in
Homestead closed for an hour in protest? (11 Jan 2020)
... that the 12-year license fight that led to the establishment of
Washington, D.C., radio station WYCB also drained its principals' finances? (15 Jan 2020)
... that the owner of Hawaii television station KHBC-TV compared an effort to
unionize the station to "socialism"? (16 Jan 2020)
... that someone shot out KSNN radio's tower lights using a
.22-caliber rifle in 1967? (18 Jan 2020)
... that
Cincinnati high-school radio station WNSD was permanently shut down in part because its faculty advisor went on maternity leave? (19 Jan 2020)
... that 23 of the 25
disc jockeys of Utah radio station KJQN-FM defected and started
their own station, taking with them a converted truck called the "Milk Beast"? (20 Jan 2020)
... that after its sale to the Western Bible College, radio station KJOL toned down its protests against abortion clinics and grocery stores that sold pornographic materials? (21 Jan 2020)
... that upon the demise of WFAN-TV in Washington, D.C., its owner took out a full-page newspaper advertisement declaring that the station had been "choked to death" by an inability to upgrade its signal? (21 Jan 2020)
... that leaks by Miami radio stations WMJX and
WHYI-FM forced the release date for the new
Bee Gees album Spirits Having Flown to be brought forward? (23 Jan 2020)
... that when
Louisville, Kentucky's WKYW radio became religious station WFIA in 1965, it ceased accepting beer, wine and tobacco commercials? (23 Jan 2020)
... that
Baltimore television station WMET-TV was housed in a converted movie theater? (24 Jan 2020)
... that ashes from a nearby fire left the freshly painted tower of radio station WCAI black instead of red? (25 Jan 2020)
... that within six hours of Alabama radio station WFPA being served an
eviction notice, the tower had been dismantled? (26 Jan 2020)
... that 75 business leaders, pastors, and listeners of Nevada's KRCV radio attempted to buy the station, even though it was not making money? (28 Jan 2020)
... that a 1986 contest by radio station KXUS jammed all telephone circuits in
Springfield, Missouri, for an hour? (30 Jan 2020)
... that in 1952, Los Angeles radio station KFAC boasted a recording library weighing 28 tons, enough to program the station for a year without repeating a selection? (3 Feb 2020 with
User:Nathan Obral)
... that WCAE, the first educational television station in
Indiana, received more support from viewers in
Illinois than in its own state? (10 Feb 2020)
... that Brenda Nelson, host of the Talk of the Town interview program on KTLO-FM in
Mountain Home, Arkansas, retired after doing more than 8,000 interviews over 34 years? (13 Feb 2020)
... that at a meeting about zoning for a tower for KUCB-FM in
Des Moines, Iowa, a radio station board member hurled a wastebasket at the chairman of the city zoning board? (14 Feb 2020 — first GA DYK)
... that to commemorate its new
call letters in 1938, radio station KITE in
Kansas City, Missouri, gave away 15,000 kites to children? (16 Feb 2020)
... that in 1979, the initials CIRALG were said to "spell power in central Iowa"? (16 Feb 2020)
... that Mexican indigenous radio station La Voz de los Chontales returns today after being
silent for more than 30 years? (21 Feb 2020)
... that when WIRK-TV ceased operations 64 years ago today, its president admitted to operating the station "long past the point of good judgment"? (29 Feb 2020)
... that Ohio television station WSWO-TV went off the air the same week that its owner was arrested for stealing equipment from other stations? (15 Mar 2020)
... that television station KTVE in
Longview, Texas, broadcast the
1954 World Series without permission, and was ordered to cease and desist by the
NBC network? (20 Mar 2020)
... that station staff had to throw snowballs to knock the ice off the aging transmitter of radio station KWCR-FM at
Weber State University in Utah? (3 Apr 2020)
... that after ceasing operations, the owner of television station KETX in
Tyler, Texas, was sued for nearly $6,000 in unreturned film rentals? (5 Apr 2020)
... that professional journalists commended a student reporter at
Sacramento radio station KERS for refusing to reveal her source for a story about California governor
Ronald Reagan not paying taxes? (18 Apr 2020)
... that when the
College of the Pacific started a radio station, it had to settle for the
call signKCVN because a police facility held the rights to KCOP? (19 Apr 2020)
... that an early program feature on Nebraska radio station KJSK was a cooking show hosted by the owner's wife from her kitchen? (21 Apr 2020)
... that Oklahoma station KRMC dropped its
all-news radio format in part because its management felt that it did not work well on a daytime-only station? (24 Apr 2020)
... that the
Federal Communications Commission found that the owner of Maine radio station WKZX had "abdicated financial control" of the business? (27 Apr 2020)
... that California governor
Pete Wilson celebrated his 60th birthday as a
DJ on Sacramento radio station KSEG? (29 Apr 2020)
... that a five-year-old boy, using paper and his mother's
cigarette lighter, started a fire that consumed the transmitter of Florida radio station WEAR? (1 Jun 2020)
... that Florida radio station WEBY received three threats to blow it up if it did not stop criticizing the sheriff of
Okaloosa County? (3 Jun 2020)
... that the owner of Texas television station KFWT-TV questioned the use of a
UNIVAC III computer to assign it a channel? (7 Jun 2020)
... that in a promotional stunt, staff at
Cincinnati-area radio station WIZF demanded a 40-percent raise, which turned out to refer to a 40-foot (12 m) increase in the height of the station's antenna? (16 Jun 2020)
... that in the early years of Montana radio station KGHL, some musical groups had to perform on the roof of the studio building? (17 Jun 2020)
... that the board of directors of Canadian
cooperative television station CFVO-TV refused to accept the resignation of its president so that he could negotiate a loan? (18 Jun 2020)
... that after a show host on
Orlando-area radio station WTLN hired a hitman to kill his former lover's husband, the intended victim began a campaign to urge advertisers to boycott the station? (1 Jul 2020)
... that program tapes were sent to KUAC, the first public radio station in
Alaska, by overnight
Pan Am flights from Oregon? (11 Jul 2020)
... that South Dakota TV station KRSD-TV's signal was so poor that it sparked an "uprising" of calls and cancellations from cable viewers? (17 Jul 2020)
... that when he was
Archbishop of Buenos Aires,
Pope Francis instructed the first director general of television station Canal 21 to position the station "between nude women and the Sunday Mass"? (20 Jul 2020)
... that Indiana radio station WFCI engaged in a five-year battle to increase its transmitting power, facing opposition from
a local TV station? (21 Jul 2020)
... that the Ente Nacional de Comunicaciones, the communications and media regulator of Argentina, was created despite a court ruling blocking the act? (23 Jul 2020)
... that while the management of Wyoming television station KFNB claimed transmitter trouble as the reason for going off the air, a former reporter announced that all staff had been laid off? (25 Jul 2020)
... that the bank that owned
Wisconsin radio stations WMAD AM and
FM, hired three new employees in the ten days before shutting the stations down? (28 Jul 2020)
... that
El Salvador converted its main convention center into a COVID-19 hospital that, when completed, will have 2,000 beds? (28 Jul 2020)
... that the transmitter used to start
Nashville radio station WSIX was purchased in exchange for five barrels of oil? (30 Jul 2020)
... that Chilean television station TVO fired presenter
Pamela Jiles for appearing in a presidential campaign advertisement, even though it described itself as editorially "tolerant"? (31 Jul 2020)
... that nearly 5,000 fans of
easy-listening music successfully petitioned Mississippi radio station WEQZ to adopt the format when another station changed away from it? (3 Aug 2020)
... that in 1947, New York City's WMGM rated dead last among FM radio stations, at a time when just 3 percent of metropolitan area residents had FM receivers? (4 Aug 2020)
... that K26AC in
Bemidji, Minnesota, was the first low-power television station in the United States that did not repeat another station? (5 Aug 2020)
... that when the
Jehovah's Witnesses sold New York City radio station WBBR in 1957, the purchase included the 18-acre (7.3 ha) farm, complete with 20 chicken houses, at the transmitter site? (6 Aug 2020 — DYK #300)
... that a "self-proclaimed public avenger" cut down the tower of Oregon television station KVDO-TV in 1976 to protest its sale to the state government? (14 Aug 2020)
... that
South Carolina radio station WDAB sold its former call letters to
Michael Bloomberg, then named itself after an owner that had not yet bought the station? (15 Aug 2020)
... that WILS-TV in
Lansing, Michigan, featured a singing weather girl and pianist dressed appropriately for the next day's forecast? (16 Aug 2020)
... that the all-woman announcing staff of
Spokane, Washington, radio station KPEG all used the first name Peg on air? (17 Aug 2020)
... that a 1967 promotion by Virginia radio station WHIH, anticipated to receive 15,000 entries, instead received nearly 180 million? (4 Sep 2020)
... that WHUM-TV featured a cooking show hosted by a woman who did not know how to cook and scoured for recipes at the local public library? (5 Sep 2020)
... that New Jersey radio station WJJZ lost its
license over an unauthorized payment of $25,000 to a competing applicant for its frequency? (14 Sep 2020 — completes 50 states and DC for 2020)
... that 54 years ago today, California television station KCFT-TV went off the air when
General Electric showed up with a moving van, a locksmith, and a court order to repossess equipment? (19 Sep 2020)
... that the site of Los Arcos Mall was dubbed the "most divisive piece of property" in the history of
Scottsdale, Arizona? (21 Sep 2020)
... that less than 18 months after being launched, radio station KFNA of
El Paso, Texas, declared bankruptcy after its format failed to attract listeners? (23 Sep 2020)
... that after shutting down in 1954, Indiana television station WRAY-TV was activated once a year to air the annual
March of Dimes telethon? (23 Sep 2020)
... that the $10 million Tri-City Mall in
Mesa, Arizona, began to lose stores and customers ten years after opening, and even a multimillion-dollar renovation could not save it? (23 Sep 2020)
... that the owner of WSZE-TV started an air-taxi service to bring program tapes to
Saipan? (27 Sep 2020 — DYK #100 for 2020)
... that the owners of Florida radio station WPAS blamed an
Associated Press teletype machine for starting a fire that burned it down? (30 Sep 2020)
... that two weeks after the owner of a Kansas City television station declared that "KCIT-TV is here to stay", it ceased broadcasting? (7 Oct 2020)
... that the
Federal Radio Commission revoked the license of Chicago radio station WCHI in 1931 for attacking medical procedures such as surgical operations and vaccinations? (3 Nov 2020)
... that the establishment of KVZK-TV led to the electrification of many villages in
American Samoa? (10 Nov 2020)
... that four days after participating in a 12-hour-long legislative session, Joel Molina Ramírez became the first
Mexican senator to die of COVID-19? (11 Nov 2020)
... that after 28 years away from public media, José Antonio Álvarez Lima was tapped in 2019 to head the Mexican television channel
Canal Once? (21 Nov 2020)
... that 185 Spanish-language radio stations aired the astronomy program Universo produced by KXCR of
El Paso, Texas? (4 Dec 2020)
2021 (104)
... that KAVU-TV in
Victoria, Texas, did not know their signal was being seen on cable in
Corpus Christi until family of station employees living there said that they had enjoyed that morning's newscast? (7 Jan 2021)
... that radio station WWBC in
Cocoa, Florida, was forced to remove its transmitter tower from the
Indian River when the site was sold to condominium developers? (11 Jan 2021)
... that television station WKAB-TV of
Mobile, Alabama, broadcast for less than two years before the company that owned it got into financial difficulties and WKAB went off air? (14 Jan 2021)
... that the Argentine government took over operations of television channel 8 at Mar del Plata in 1973, only to privatize it again a decade later? (15 Jan 2021)
... that KEVT, the first Spanish-language radio station in
Tucson, offered English lessons from a
University of Arizona professor? (20 Jan 2021)
... that during the trial of
Francis Gary Powers, Kansas radio station KBTO presented summaries of
Radio Moscow broadcasts alongside other international reports? (23 Jan 2021)
... that when a proposed sale of
Orlando-area radio station WVCF fell through, the attempted buyer started
his own station? (29 Jan 2021)
... that one student's entire semester at the
University of Wisconsin–Green Bay in 1979 consisted of programming its student radio station WGBW? (1 Feb 2021)
... that
Albuquerque radio station KRZY broadcast a college football game without permission by smuggling in gear under blankets and disguising an announcer in the opposing team's student section? (6 Feb 2021)
... that station officials climbed the 500-foot (150 m) tower of the first WFMZ-TV, smashed a bottle of champagne against the top, and christened it "Miss
Ultra High"? (8 Feb 2021)
... that despite boasting it was the most powerful television station in the Midwest, Missouri television station KACY left the air because it could not secure the right to carry network programs? (11 Feb 2021)
... that Utah radio stations KSUB and KSUB-FM both suffered tower collapses before going on air—39 years apart? (14 Feb 2021)
... that while
Gerry House worked at Kentucky radio station WCBR, the owner, a pastor, asked him whether he wanted to donate his salary? (26 Feb 2021)
... that even though low interest prompted the Associated Students of
Montana Tech to cut funding for student radio station KMSM-FM, it still filed to renew the station's
license? (4 Mar 2021)
... that the co-founder of Arkansas radio station KTOY, the first Black-owned radio station in the state, continued teaching math after starting it? (4 Mar 2021)
... that Mexican political party Progressive Social Networks allowed party members to vote in internal elections using a smartphone app? (5 Mar 2021)
... that a former owner of Illinois radio station WRBA carried an expired police badge to allow him to get to its transmitter site quickly if need be? (10 Mar 2021 — DYK #350)
... that Clair McCollough rose from being a carrier boy for
Lancaster Newspapers to presiding over the broadcast station group spawned by the company? (10 Mar 2021)
... that an engineer of
Pittsburgh television station WENS found out that its tower had collapsed when he looked out his window to find it missing? (13 Mar 2021)
... that a 1958 promotion by
Nashville radio station WKDA, in which a "
purple people eater" climbed a hotel sign, prompted the police chief to ask the station "never to pull a trick" like it again? (16 Mar 2021)
... that within hours of the
Social Encounter Party in Mexico being stripped of its electoral registration, the Solidary Encounter Party was formed with the same initials, party structure and ideology? (17 Mar 2021)
... that KSBK, which has been described as the most influential radio station in
Okinawa in the 1960s, became a casualty of the
reversion of the Ryukyu Islands to Japan and closed in October 1973? (17 Mar 2021)
... that
Idaho's first television station, KFXD-TV, was a two-man operation that lasted less than two months? (19 Mar 2021)
... that
Chuck Connors, star of the
ABC show The Rifleman, was an investor in TV station KNBS, an ABC affiliate, in Washington state? (20 Mar 2021)
... that a decade after passing on the opportunity to build a radio station, the owner of the Okmulgee Daily Times newspaper instead bought KOKL? (18 Mar 2021)
... that KQLO, the antecedent of today's KIHM, was established after its founder drove from
Nevada to
Vermont and found no Catholic radio stations on the trip? (22 Mar 2021)
... that the founder of WZIP in
Covington, Kentucky, beat out his own brother for the right to build the station? (31 Mar 2021)
... that when the tower of
Sioux Falls radio station KISD collapsed in 1968, it narrowly missed a train motel run by the station's former owner? (5 Apr 2021)
... that students from four local high schools and
Rutgers University each had their chance to run New Jersey television station WRTV for a day? (6 Apr 2021)
... that within three years, American subscription television service ON TV went from boasting 725,000 subscribers in eight cities to being out of business? (7 Apr 2021)
... that the chief engineer of Virginia television station WRFT-TV said that "a 15-watt Christmas bulb and baling wire" kept it on the air? (10 Apr 2021)
... that Idaho television station KCIX-TV went silent awaiting a merger deal that fell apart? (12 Apr 2021)
... that an owner of Wyoming radio station KATI donated the station to the
University of Wyoming, only to be "disappointed" when the university opted not to use his gift? (13 Apr 2021)
... that
Dottie Ray interviewed 32,397 guests over 55 years on more than 14,000 broadcasts of her daily show on KXIC radio in
Iowa City? (14 Apr 2021)
... that the owner of Oregon radio station KLOO offered $10,000 to anyone who could bring an extraterrestrial lifeform to the station's studios? (16 Apr 2021)
... that after
Ted Turner asked for viewers' money to keep WRET-TV afloat, he was able to repay thousands of lenders four years later—with interest? (18 Apr 2021)
... that radio station WMLB in
Cumming, Georgia, earned national acclaim as an
Americana music station in the 1990s? (21 Apr 2021 — US station #200)
... that San Francisco's "KYOU Radio" was the first terrestrial radio station to broadcast a program format consisting of
podcasts? (24 Apr 2021)
... that Indiana radio station WFML was bought so that the new owner could use the station's transmitter site to expand his hotel? (26 Apr 2021)
... that a
new-age music format called "The Breeze" was a ratings failure for Nebraska radio station KLMS, causing a precipitous decline in listenership? (27 Apr 2021)
... that the founding owner of Minnesota radio station WVAL would climb the 300-foot (91 m) transmission tower himself and change the light bulbs on the mast? (5 May 2021)
... that confusion over time zone changes in the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan resulted in technical violations at WCKD radio and almost cost the owner an opportunity to build a station in Illinois? (7 May 2021)
... that two utility companies fought in court over who would supply electricity to
North Dakota radio station KBMR? (13 May 2021)
... that the founder of
New Orleans radio station WHIV-LP chose those call letters to help reduce the stigma surrounding
the virus? (20 May 2021)
... that the owner of a radio station in Hawaii changed its call letters to KIMO because the
Hawaiian name Kimo translates to Jim, the owner's name? (21 May 2021)
... that financial troubles at
a television station in Florida led to the bankruptcy that caused the 1994 demise of Mississippi radio station WHSY? (22 May 2021)
... that a man who threatened to blow up Alaska radio station KIAK unless he was put on the air was startled to find the station completely automated? (2 Jun 2021)
... that a former DJ at radio station WKOP in
Binghamton, New York, was convicted of
arson for setting fire to the studios? (3 Jun 2021)
... that West Virginia radio station WHIS made the first broadcast of a murder trial in the United States—and was broadcasting when the first on-air death occurred? (4 Jun 2021)
... that the four-year history of radio station WUCI-FM included the revelation of the founder as a convicted felon and a station staffer threatening another with a revolver? (6 Jun 2021)
... that
Sonny Bloch invested $500,000 in improvements to Connecticut radio station WCNX, only to be unable to complete the purchase after he was arrested on federal fraud charges? (8 Jun 2021)
... that radio station WADK debuted its first talk show after a local businessman told the owner that "the great pastime of
Rhode Island ... is talking politics"? (9 Jun 2021)
... that Massachusetts radio station WAAF pulled off an "unprecedented radio concert promotion coup" by organizing a concert by
The Rolling Stones for 300 locals? (10 Jun 2021)
... that WMEB-FM had to move its transmitter because its signal was interfering with equipment in physics laboratories at the
University of Maine? (10 Jun 2021)
... that the manager of WVSS at the
University of Wisconsin–Stout spent about $6,000 of his own money to buy more than 500 classical music CDs to program the station? (12 Jun 2021)
... that the seven-year-old son of the first owner of Maryland radio station WPTX was sometimes allowed to spin
big band records on the air? (13 Jun 2021)
... that Don Mullally, a DJ at Vermont radio station WSTJ between 1952 and 2016, was still playing vinyl records when he retired just two weeks before his death? (13 Jun 2021 — ends 8 queues straight of DYKs, 50 states for 2021)
... that a jury awarded $225,000 to the prospective owners of Florida radio station WODX because of poor record-keeping and breaches of their lease agreement? (16 Jun 2021 with
User:Thomas H. White)
... that Christian radio station KIXL near
Austin, Texas, pulled an
anti-pornography program off-air in mid-transmission because of its graphic descriptions of gay sex? (16 Jun 2021)
... that
Homestead, Florida, radio station WOIR was credited with saving the lives of hundreds of farmworkers in a labor camp before the arrival of
Hurricane Andrew? (9 Jul 2021)
... that after losing his job at KBIF when his father was convicted on
tax-withholding crimes, future California politician
Jim Patterson bought
Fresno's KIRV and turned it into a Christian radio station? (19 Jul 2021)
... that KICU-TV in Visalia, California, claimed to be the most powerful TV station west of the Mississippi River after a transmitter upgrade—and closed for good two years later? (5 Aug 2021)
... that South Carolina radio station WBAW received a
Peabody Award for public-service programming just six months after signing on the air? (5 Aug 2021)
... that after starting Los Angeles Spanish-language television station KVEA, a group led by
Saul Steinberg bought other Spanish-language stations to form the
Telemundo network? (9 Aug 2021)
... that mixed-use stadium districts around major sports venues often include
public squares, office space, hotels and residential units? (11 Aug 2021)
... that within a decade, KTVK in
Phoenix went from being a "blot on
ABC's affiliate ledger" to a station the network only gave up reluctantly? (11 Aug 2021)
... that an
FCC hearing examiner scolded the owner of California radio station KCTY for having a "cavalier attitude" and at times being too lazy to put the station on the air? (12 Aug 2021)
... that Dallas television station KDAF abandoned plans to launch a local newscast in 1994, after having already hired 20 staff, because it was to
lose its Fox affiliation and be sold? (15 Aug 2021)
... that radio station KCON in
Conway, Arkansas, shut down twice on March 10? (24 Aug 2021)
... that when Texas radio station KNUE was sold to another station in 1982, the new owners added a second story to their newly constructed studios to accommodate the addition? (2 Sep 2021 with
User:Dma37dude)
... that
South Carolina's first television station, WCOS-TV, "could not stand the economic gaff" and folded less than three years after starting up? (14 Sep 2021)
... that even the manager of Indiana radio station WMCZ confused it with
WMEE, leading a federal judge to order the former to change its
call sign? (2 Oct 2021)
... that Indiana's WTAF-TV fought for more than six years to obtain a network affiliation and reached an agreement with
NBC just ten days before shutting down for good? (18 Oct 2021)
... that when
Gene Scott was forced to close
San Francisco TV station KVOF-TV, he called
its successor "the Tower of Babel religious brigade"—then proceeded to buy air time on it? (23 Oct 2021)
... that watching
Tacoma, Washington's KTVW "used to be worse than no TV at all"? (26 Oct 2021)
... that radio station KWKC dropped its application for a TV station in order to speed the arrival of television to
Abilene, Texas, which would otherwise have been 89th in line? (31 Oct 2021)
... that KMXO near
Abilene, Texas, aired the region's first Spanish-language radio program and later became its first full-time Spanish-language station? (10 Nov 2021)
... that a complaint over an allegedly illegal transmitter move led to Texas radio station KFQX-FM being forced off the air for four hours in 1988? (11 Nov 2021)
... that
Phoenix radio station
KTAR bought television station KTYL-TV to avoid a conflict with former U.S. senator
Ernest McFarland? (18 Nov 2021)
... that Montana television station KOPR-TV brought forward its start date by several months, only to last just one year? (22 Nov 2021)
... that California radio station KNCR was fined by the
Federal Communications Commission for moving its transmitter site without permission after being evicted? (27 Nov 2021)
... that one owner of Montana radio station KXGF went from owning the Plush Pillow to liquidating his assets in a span of six months? (28 Nov 2021)
... that a "
North Dakota joke of the mornin'" was a feature on Montana radio station KGRZ because the station's owner and morning show host hailed from that state? (8 Dec 2021 — DYK #100 for 2021)
... that when the founder of New Mexico television station KBIM-TV was told on the morning of
April Fools' Day that his station's tower had collapsed, he initially wrote it off as a joke? (15 Dec 2021)
... that WNJU, a Spanish-language television station serving
New York City, was the first in the United States to air a hard-liquor advertisement? (18 Dec 2021)
... that the last edition of The Knoxville Journal was printed 30 years ago today after a 106-year run? (31 Dec 2021)
2022 (140)
... that New Mexico television station KIVA-TV received angry phone calls and a bomb threat after switching away from a tied football game? (1 Jan 2022)
... that WTVK in
Knoxville, Tennessee, won a years-long battle to move from
UHF to a VHF channel, only to be sent by new management to "that big TV station in the sky"? (6 Jan 2022)
... that a federal marshal seized a car and a truck because there was no other way to satisfy a debt owed by Arkansas television station KRZB-TV? (9 Jan 2022)
... that the owner of Mississippi radio stations WGUF and
WGUF-FM purposefully fell behind on his
royalty payments because he did not like copyright fees? (10 Jan 2022)
... that
Roswell, New Mexico, radio station KBIM was so successful that its owner was able to start two other stations with its profits? (13 Jan 2022)
... that Georgia radio station WMGA was so "atrocious" that its announcers would invite listeners to donate their records? (14 Jan 2022)
... that Colorado public television station KTSC operates from two studios named for
the same benefactor? (15 Jan 2022)
... that the street from which Mississippi radio station WMPR broadcasts was renamed in honor of the station's longtime owner and general manager, former politician
Charles Evers? (17 Jan 2022)
... that after it broadcast for the last time, KHAT became Rock Steady and was part of a Triathlon? (20 Jan 2022)
... that Lifetime Medical Television, "the network for physicians only", charged the highest advertising rates on cable? (24 Jan 2022)
... that after a dispute emerged over the terms of its lease, the owner of its broadcast tower forced Wyoming radio station KNWT off the air by disconnecting its power? (26 Jan 2022)
... that one radio station owner's decision to bring a "country cousin" to
Tallahassee, Florida, turned out to be a miscalculation? (27 Jan 2022)
... that after going off the air due to financial issues, the control room of Texas radio station KBIL was set ablaze by an arsonist? (30 Jan 2022)
... that a would-be buyer of
San Angelo, Texas, radio station KBIL-FM had no knowledge of the transaction? (5 Feb 2022)
... that just four years after starting up, the president of Satellite Television & Associated Resources commented that his entire industry had "gone down the drain"? (9 Feb 2022)
... that a 1971 format change and firing of three Black disc jockeys contributed to the Mississippi radio station WSWG losing its
broadcast license? (10 Feb 2022 — DYK #450)
... that Catalena Productions had a
Monty Hall problem when the host, unpaid, forced the company into bankruptcy? (12 Feb 2022)
... that in its final years, Mississippi radio station WKXG allegedly attempted to maintain its broadcast license by "taking turns" with another station in their transmitter facility? (13 Feb 2022)
... that Nathan Safir, general manager of Texas radio station
KCOR for 44 years, was credited with being a pioneer in Spanish-language broadcasting in the United States? (18 Feb 2022)
... that at WSTA, the first radio station in the
U.S. Virgin Islands, goats and chickens sometimes wandered in during broadcasts? (22 Feb 2022)
... that when Florida television station WITV ceased broadcasting in May 1958, its owner was reported to be on a yacht at sea and thus unavailable for comment? (2 Mar 2022)
... that an executive of Florida station WFTL-TV declared that he had "faith in its future", only to sell it within months and for the station to close within three years? (3 Mar 2022)
... that Alabama radio station WTQX was picketed over the alleged systematic firing of its existing staff by new management? (5 Mar 2022)
... that the day employees of Boston television station WLVI received new business cards, they learned the station would be sold and they would lose their jobs? (11 Mar 2022)
... that out of desperation, Pennsylvania radio station WMAJ took its call letters from the scrambled initials of its first program director? (15 Mar 2022)
... that Iowa radio station KFQC was said to change programming and ownership "almost as regularly as dental check-ups are recommended"? (17 Mar 2022)
... that
Red Blanchard, the owner of Iowa radio station KSMN, commuted 800 miles (1280 km) by plane from
Mason City each week to host a radio show in
Chicago? (19 Mar 2022)
... that North Carolina television station WNAO-TV operated from a converted
supper club? (20 Mar 2022)
... that after
Los Angeles Spanish-language TV station KMEX-TV discovered that 15 percent of its viewers did not know the language, it added Spanish courses to its programming? (26 Mar 2022)
... that in the early days of news at KPHO-TV in
Phoenix, Arizona, one employee processed newsfilm in his bathtub? (31 Mar 2022)
... that on this day in 1966, California radio stations KAHR and KVIP switched frequencies, leading to "mass confusion"? (1 Apr 2022, first April Fools DYK)
... that at WOPR, a high school radio station in
Michigan, DJs were forced to change the music styles they played every two weeks? (4 Apr 2022)
... that WBAA, the radio station of
Purdue University, received its
broadcast license 100 years ago today? (4 Apr 2022 — replaced above hook after 5 hours due to promoter error)
... that radio station WIQT near
Elmira, New York, was co-owned with a regional group of clothing, furniture, and shoe stores? (7 Apr 2022)
... that the owner of
Phoenix's KNXV-TV "[held] a gun to
ABC's head" – and it paid off? (8 Apr 2022)
... that in 1982, a news anchor for
Phoenix television station KOOL-TV was held hostage on set for five hours? (9 Apr 2022)
... that one of the original co-owners of New York state radio station WAQX-FM did much of the construction himself? (11 Apr 2022)
... that when WGPR-TV in Detroit was converted from a station serving Black and ethnic audiences to a
CBS affiliate, it experienced ratings increases of 11,000 percent? (12 Apr 2022 with
Nathan Obral)
... that
Washington state TV station KTRX went on the air in January 1958—and failed to make it to the end of the year? (12 Apr 2022)
... that KLEF in
Anchorage, Alaska, is one of just three remaining commercially operated
classical-music radio stations in the United States? (13 Apr 2022)
... that the owners of
North Carolina radio station WBIG justified shutting it down by noting that
the metropolitan area had outgrown its signal? (20 Apr 2022)
... that to convince Canadian regulators that
Vancouver could support a new ethnic radio station, the founder of CJVB documented local restaurants and Sikh temples? (25 Apr 2022)
... that a mobile production unit served as the first studios of
Washington state public TV station KTNW? (30 Apr 2022)
... that Iowa radio station KTFC was partially powered by a wind turbine that the owner had bought from an Arizona wind farm? (13 May 2022)
... that even though plans to convert the studio building of station KITN in
Olympia, Washington, into a courthouse were soon changed, county taxpayers still paid its moving expenses? (14 May 2022)
... that the first studio of
Indiana high school radio station WETL was a cedar closet that once stored furs? (16 May 2022)
... that half the students of
Northern Arizona University left for Christmas early after campus radio station KNAU was pranked? (19 May 2022)
... that US radio regulators sought to shut down Ohio station WEBE, which was said to operate from the owner's bedroom using "parts of a questionable nature"? (20 May 2022)
... that the 1988 closure of WLEE, once one of the top radio stations in
Richmond, Virginia, also took WBBL, a church station in existence for nearly 65 years, off the air for good? (22 May 2022)
... that Sunday-school classes were once held in the transmitter building of New Mexico radio station KCLV? (25 May 2022)
... that when a fire broke out next to studios of Oklahoma radio station KVSO, reporters had to rush in to report the blaze and then out to breathe fresh air? (27 May 2022)
... that the staff of a Georgia TV station thought they were "really something" for shooting the moon? (29 May 2022)
... that local dairy farmers credit morning broadcasts of
polka music from a Wisconsin radio station for relaxing their cows? (6 Jul 2022)
... that a Louisiana radio station went to a
satellite-fed music format because it had more control than with its previous "18- and 20-year-old jocks"? (9 Jul 2022)
... that two state representatives got into a fight in the parking lot of Miami's Radio Mambí after one's father insulted the other's on the air? (18 Jul 2022)
... that a founder of a Tennessee radio station bought it back from the same group he had sold it to, who in turn had bought it back themselves? (23 Jul 2022)
... that the defiant owner of a Miami TV station kept its marquee lit for 18 months after losing its
license? (24 Jul 2022)
... that the administration of
Carlos Salinas de Gortari barred El Financiero from the Mexican presidential press plane for its reporting on foreign debt negotiations? (2 Aug 2022)
... that in 1969, unknown persons dynamited the tower of a Kentucky TV station, leaving it leaning at a 15-degree angle? (3 Aug 2022)
... that among the special events broadcast by the Maine Television Network during its brief existence were a fashion show, a basketball tournament, and an
ordination ceremony? (3 Aug 2022)
... that
Kurt Cobain gave a Seattle radio station a copy of his first single, then called from a pay phone to request it after it went unplayed? (1 Nov 2022)
... that the studios of a California TV station were converted back into a movie theater after it went out of business? (4 Nov 2022)
... that J. Elroy McCaw feigned losing his wallet to make women pay for meals at restaurants? (5 Nov 2022)
... that the opening day of a California TV station was affected by a strike when workers refused to cross a two-man picket line? (7 Nov 2022)
... that an attempt by six employees of a California TV station to remain on the air by working unpaid lasted just three days? (13 Nov 2022)
... that by the time he became Governor of Arizona,
John Howard Pyle's appearances on a Phoenix radio station made him "as familiar in Arizona homes as the family radio"? (16 Nov 2022)
... that a woman hitchhiked from
Indiana to Washington, D.C., to protest the sale of the radio station where she worked? (28 Nov 2022)
... that an apparently jobless man wearing a cardboard box who taped himself to a lamppost was actually a new DJ for a Vermont radio station? (12 Dec 2022)
... that Atlanta's "quicker picker-upper" aired martial arts movies, professional wrestling, jazz music, and Japanese-language programming? (6 Jan 2023)
... that the general manager of a West Virginia TV station called changing its network affiliation "the hardest decision I've ever had to make"? (7 Jan 2023)
... that a Washington state radio station turned to "professional bikini watchers"—military recruiters—to report on crowds at local beaches? (8 Jan 2023)
... that the president of his own party criticized the speed at which members of the
Congress of Puebla moved to appoint Sergio Salomón Céspedes as the substitute governor? (18 Jan 2023)
... that Governor Miguel Barbosa Huerta said that his predecessor's death in office was a punishment from God – and then died in office himself? (20 Jan 2023)
... that nearby homeowners believed the tower of a TV station in Arkansas was responsible for "a bad effect on the peace and health of the citizens"? (21 Jan 2023)
... that employees claimed to have temporarily shut down an Arkansas radio station over not receiving paychecks? (25 Jan 2023)
... that the launch of a Florida TV station was brought forward nearly two months because the local
ABC affiliate stopped airing more than half of its
prime-time shows? (1 Feb 2023)
... that a media columnist in
Columbus, Georgia, opined: "If TV-16 was a horse, it would have been shot long ago"? (1 Mar 2023)
... that
Comcast removed a Florida TV station from its lineup for allegedly broadcasting home shopping in prime time instead of its normal
UPN programming? (2 Mar 2023)
... that even though an
FCC examiner recommended denial of an application for a radio station in Illinois after approving it twice, the commission granted it anyway? (5 Mar 2023)
... that the
FCC's criteria for comparative hearings did not pass the Bechtel test? (3 Apr 2023)
... that a Kansas City TV station had so many children's shows to air that the station manager talked of "fit[ting] so many ten-pound turnips into a five-pound sack"? (4 Apr 2023)
... that in 1979, Vermont ETV received more donations from viewers in
Quebec than it did from
Vermonters? (11 Apr 2023)
... that The Vision of God sparked controversy in Mexican radio? (12 Apr 2023)
... that in the same year, an Illinois radio station lost its station manager in a car crash and its advertising revenue to flooding? (29 Apr 2023)
... that one of the longest civil trials in Utah history, with 1,000 exhibits, concerned the alleged coerced purchase of a Salt Lake City TV station? (7 May 2023)
... that programs at a Cleveland public TV station had to be recorded in between school bells and fire drills? (30 May 2023)
... that the owner of a Tennessee TV station denied that he had named it after himself, telling a reporter, "I'm not that much of an egotist"? (4 June 2023)
... that the studios of Basin PBS had once been a movie theater, a church meeting space, and a nightclub? (23 June 2023)
... that in the 1980s, "Sherman Bonner, The Human Thermometer" presented the weather on an Arkansas TV station? (24 June 2023)
... that volunteers at a Florida public TV station forced its chief fundraiser to resign by accosting him in the hallway? (25 Jun 2023)
... that staff of a California public TV station were unaware it was broadcasting in color until a viewer called to compliment their color signal? (30 Jun 2023)
... that even though syndicated talk show Karamo generally replaced Maury, its host promised it would feature "no baby mama stuff"? (14 Jul 2023)
... that weeks after its CEO said the chain had no plans to open or close stores, Store of Knowledge filed for bankruptcy and initiated a liquidation? (24 Jul 2023)
... that in the span of three days, a Florida man was approved by bankruptcy courts to buy TV stations in Roanoke and Lynchburg, Virginia, and then arrested on charges of laundering millions in drug money? (30 Aug 2023)
... that today is independence day for Philly 57? (1 Sep 2023)
... that a Maine TV station was so protective of its evening newscast that it preempted nearly 40 percent of all
NBC Sports programming in 1994? (25 Sep 2023)
... that one reviewer described a TV station in St. Louis as appearing to be "not serious about the news"? (27 Sep 2023)
... that MI-5 had trouble finding people to interview? (1 Oct 2023)
... that a retired man with no previous broadcasting experience was offered a job by a Wyoming TV station after winning an "Anchorman for a Day" contest? (10 Nov 2023)
... that in its first full month on the air, an Idaho TV station had the highest prime-time viewing share of any independent station in the United States? (17 Nov 2023)
... that a Nebraska radio station chartered an aircraft to search for motorists stranded after a blizzard? (8 Dec 2023)
... that a reception was held for civic leaders of
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, to promote a forthcoming TV station that never launched? (10 Dec 2023 — first DYK in Puerto Rico, last missing US territory)
... that police were stationed on the new Kansas Avenue Bridge to prevent streetcar rails from being laid down? (12 Dec 2023)
... that one of the founders of a public TV station in California gave 92 speeches in 90 days during a fundraising drive? (14 Dec 2023 — DYK #666 on channel 6)
... that each station in the TVX Broadcast Group had exactly 37 employees? (15 Dec 2023)
... that a Connecticut radio station left the FM band for good after it was out of service for a week and only one person wrote a letter to complain? (9 Jan 2024)
... that 25 years after an attempt to
explode a whale went awry, the Oregon TV station that filmed it regularly fielded requests for its footage? (25 Jan 2024)
... that years after it closed, the studios of an Iowa TV station became the headquarters for the state police radio network? (27 Jan 2024)
... that following a
boycott orchestrated by church groups, a Texas TV station ceased airing the controversial NYPD Blue after just a month? (30 Mar 2024)
... that an Arkansas TV station apologized for not being on the air by sending local media a drawing of ducks? (3 Apr 2024)
... that an
Edmonton politician began mouthing his words when he saw a cameraman for A-Channel walk in, mocking the frequent audio difficulties on its newscasts? (4 Apr 2024)
... that a Minneapolis TV station had newscasts that were "about as popular as the measles" with "sickening theme music"? (6 Apr 2024)
... that shareholders of UDC Homes received two settlements over claims that executives sought to inflate its stock price and conceal financial information? (14 Apr 2024)
... that the planned sale of a Texas TV station was the subject of a lawsuit more than seven years after it closed for the last time? (19 Apr 2024)
... that employees of a Florida TV station joked that their studio building would survive "as long as the termites don't stop holding hands"? (9 May 2024)
... that Ground Round attempted to diversify its meat-heavy menu with such dishes as swordfish and Mexican pizza? (13 May 2024)
... that a North Carolina TV station broadcast from a "residential showplace" that was considered to be "one of [the] finest" houses in town? (19 May 2024)
... that a California TV station wondered whether it had the "World's Longest Pregnancy"? (20 May 2024)
... that one of the "plushest" nightclubs in northern Florida turned into studios for a TV station in Jacksonville? (7 Jun 2024 — DYK #700)
... that the operators of a Wisconsin radio station received unsolicited checks and food deliveries? (20 Jun 2024)
... that a Utah radio station read books to listeners, a Chapter a Day? (23 Jun 2024)
... that Black Sheep Radio dedicated its first day of programming to a fallen pirate? (28 Jun 2024)
.. that a U.S. Navy plane piloted by
Michael Wettlaufer clipped the tower of a Florida TV station while on a training mission, forcing it off the air for nearly five years? (29 Jun 2024, double DYK with
CommissarDoggo)