National Radio Day, Thursday, August 20th

In honor of National Radio Day, posting one of the best air talents in San Diego radio broadcast history, Bill Moffit.

Here’s his air-check tape from circa 1974. What a pro. I listened to him on the radio when I was 14, in junior high school. Fourteen years later, I had the joy of being on the same radio station with him, at powerhouse radio station KCBQ! The best. Man I loved being on the radio. Miss it everyday.

Me, broadcasting live from Disneyland, circa 1991 on KBest 95.

“In radio, you have two tools. Sound and silence.” ~ Ira Glass

Each year on August 20th, National Radio Day recognizes the great invention of the radio. Celebrate the news, information, music, and stories carried across the airwaves.

‘Entertainment and music didn’t always fill the airwaves. In fact, the radio’s first function was much more practical. First, the wireless radio served the military. The radio also provided a regular public service role. Much like the dits and dots of a telegram, the wireless transmitted information. Aboard the Titanic at the time of its sinking, a Marconi wireless broadcast the ship’s distress signal. In 1906, the first radio broadcast of voice and music purely for entertainment purposes aired. Reginald Fessenden transmitted the program from Brant Rock, MA for the general public to hear. The Canadian born scientist would go on to many more successes in his lifetime.

An American contributor to the radio, Lee de Forest invented the Audion vacuum. This invention made live broadcasting possible. Born in Iowa in 1873, de Forest would become the chief scientist for the first U.S. radio firm, American Wireless Telephone, and Telegraph.

The 1920s brought the first broadcast stations to the forefront. Around the world, listeners tuned in for news and world events for the first time. Other radio facts include:

• Radio ownership grew. In 1931, two out of five homes owned a radio. By 1938, four out of five owned a radio.  
  
• According to FCC statistics, at the end of 2012, more than 15,000 licensed broadcast radio stations were operating in the U.S.’

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-radio-day-august-20/