August 20 – National Radio Day

nPosted on August 20, 2019

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nAugust 20, 1920, Detroit residents operating under an amateur radio license with the call sign “8MK” began daily broadcasts as the Detroit News Radiophone.

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nThat news broadcast grew into an all-news radio station WWJ, which is an AM radio station based in Detroit, Michigan. 

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n“All news” includes traffic and weather, which WWJ broadcasts every ten minutes, “on the eights.” On the eights means the times that end with the digit “8,” such as 7:08, 7:18, 7:28, 7:38, 7:48, and 7:58…and so forth. The exception to this frequent updating of traffic and weather is when the station is broadcasting a Detroit sports team’s game, live.

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nApparently WWJ claims it is “America’s Pioneer Broadcasting Station” where “commercial broadcasting began.” 

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nBut KDKA also claims to be the first. A ham radio operator named Dr. Frank Conrad, who lived in Pittsburg, was asked by a radio manufacturer, Westinghouse, to begin regular transmissions like the ones he made for his friends; Conrad’s radio broadcasts grew to be KDKA. 

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nHowever, I noticed that the first day of the Pittsburg broadcasts was election day, November 2, 1920 – more than two months after the WWJ broadcasts. I’m not sure if KDKA fans make the claim that the Detroit station’s news broadcast doesn’t count as commercial, or if they’ve never heard the claim, or…?

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nNo matter who was “first,” it wasn’t long before the amusing techie hobby of radio became a huge commercial success and then a virtual necessity…

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nRadio waves, of course, are super important in communication – including two-way communication like police radio and walkie talkies, space communication, and radio broadcasts – plus scientific research and remote control technologies and GPS and radar and and and and…

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nAlso on this date:

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• nAugust holidays

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• nAugust birthdays

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• nHistorical anniversaries in August

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• nSeptember holidays

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• nSeptember birthdays

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• nHistorical anniversaries in September

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