The year 1961 in radio involved some significant events.

Events

*March 7 – Los Angeles station

KLAC KLAC (570 AM) is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, serving Greater Los Angeles and much of surrounding Southern California. Owned by a joint venture between iHeartMedia, Inc. and the Los Angeles Dodgers bas ...

begins

FM broadcasting FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...

as KLAC-FM. *April 1 – The

Zenith Radio Zenith Electronics, LLC, is an American research and development company that develops ATSC and digital rights management technologies. It is owned by the South Korean company LG Electronics. Zenith was previously an American brand of consumer ...

FM Stereo standard is authorized for US FM stations by the

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

. *April 12: 07:00 UTC – Soviet announcer

Yuri Levitan Yuri Borisovich Levitan (russian: Юрий Борисович Левитан, 2 October 1914 – 4 August 1983) was the primary Soviet radio announcer during and after World War II. He announced on Radio Moscow all major international events i ...

broadcasts news of

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...

Vostok 1 Vostok 1 (russian: link=no, Восток, ''East'' or '' Orient'' 1) was the first spaceflight of the Vostok programme and the first human orbital spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA space capsule was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on Apr ...

mission, the first

human spaceflight Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...

, on

Radio Moscow Radio Moscow ( rus, Pадио Москва, r=Radio Moskva), also known as Radio Moscow World Service, was the official international broadcasting station of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics until 1993. It was reorganized with a new name ...

while it is still in progress. *October 8 – The

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

in the United Kingdom first broadcasts '' In Touch''; the world's first national radio programme for people who are blind; it will still be running in 2021.

Debuts

*February 11 –

KSHE KSHE (styled as K-SHE) is a Classic rock radio station licensed to Crestwood, Missouri which serves the Greater St. Louis area. KSHE transmits on 94.7 MHz and currently uses the slogan "KSHE 95, Real Rock Radio". Owned by Hubbard Broadcasti ...

debuts as a female-oriented rock station in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. *April 12 – WLKW/990-Providence, Rhode Island signs on as Rhode Island's only 50 kW A.M. station. *June 25 –

WPLM-FM WPLM-FM (99.1 FM broadcasting, FM, "Easy 99.1") is an adult contemporary music station licensed to Plymouth, Massachusetts. It is owned by Plymouth Rock Broadcasting Co. and has a sister AM broadcasting, AM station by the WPLM (AM), same callsign. ...

/99.1-Plymouth, Massachusetts signs on. * KHAK-AM and KHAK-FM,

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

, sign on at 1360 AM and 98.1 FM, respectively. Although formatting

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

, neither station is exclusively country until some point later in 1960s. * WIBC-FM in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

signs on the air. *

WNOR WNOR (98.7 MHz "FM99") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, serving the Hampton Roads (Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News) radio market. WNOR is owned and operated by Saga Communications. It airs an active rock ra ...

, an

Active Rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

station in the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

area of the United States, has its debut. *

WKFD WKFD (1370 AM) was a radio station which existed from 1961 until 2001 when its license was deleted after being silent for three years (the station last broadcast on July 29, 1998). WKFD was licensed to the village of Wickford, Rhode Island. The ...

/1370-Wickford, Rhode Island begins broadcasting. *''Lohman and Barkley'', a radio talk show featuring

Al Lohman Al Lohman (January 15, 1933, Sergeant Bluff, Iowa – October 14, 2002, Rancho Mirage, California) was a personality and comedian with a long career in American radio from the 1950s through the 1980s and into the 1990s. Among his early career sto ...

and

Roger Barkley Roger Barkley (September 11, 1936, Odebolt, Iowa, USA – December 21, 1997, Duarte, California) was an American radio personality, based in Los Angeles, California, best remembered for his work with Al Lohman as part of ''The Lohman and Barkley Sh ...

, begins on

in Los Angeles and runs on several stations until 1986. *October 23 –

WAMU WAMU (88.5 FM) is a public news/talk station that services the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It is owned by American University, and its studios are located near the campus in northwest Washington. WAMU has been the primary National ...

is established as a FM station and part of the Educational Radio Network, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Births

* February 25 –

Todd Blackledge Todd Alan Blackledge (born February 25, 1961) is a former American football quarterback in both the NCAA and National Football League. In college, he led the Penn State Nittany Lions to a national championship. A member of the famed Class of 19 ...

, American

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...

host, previously

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

player * March 4 –

Tom Churchill Thomas John Churchill (March 4, 1961 – July 5, 2020) was a native of Dubuque, Iowa, where he started in radio as on-air weatherman at WDBQ-AM Radio at the age of 13 in August 1974. Churchill gained notoriety for reportedly being more accurate ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

-based radio and television weatherman, inventor of the Digital Weatherman, a computer automation system * March 14 –

Gary Dell'Abate Gary Patrick Angelo Dell'Abate (born March 14, 1961), also known by the nickname Baba Booey, is an American radio producer who has been the executive producer of ''The Howard Stern Show'' since 1984. His autobiography, '' They Call Me Baba Booey'' ...

, American radio producer (''

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...

'') * April 26 – Anthony Cumia, American radio personality (

The Anthony Cumia Show ''The Anthony Cumia Show'' (TACS) is an American audio and video podcast hosted by radio personality and former ''Opie and Anthony'' co-host Anthony Cumia, which airs on Cumia's subscription-based online streaming platform, Compound Media. It ai ...

, previously of ''

The Opie and Anthony Show ''Opie and Anthony'' was an American radio show hosted by Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia that aired from March 1995 to July 2014, with comedian Jim Norton serving as third mic from 2001. The show originated in 1994 when Cumia took part in ...

'') * September 29 –

Stephanie Miller Stephanie Catherine Miller (born September 29, 1961) is an American political commentator, comedian, and host of ''The Stephanie Miller Show'', a Progressive talk radio program produced in Los Angeles, California, by WYD Media Management and sy ...

, American comedian and radio talk show host (''

The Stephanie Miller Show ''The Stephanie Miller Show'' is a syndicated progressive talk radio program that discusses politics, current events, and pop culture using a fast-paced, impromptu, comedic style. The three-hour show is hosted by Stephanie Miller and is syndicat ...

'') * October 25 –

Pat Sharp Patrick Sharpin, known professionally as Pat Sharp (born 25 October 1961), is an English radio presenter, television presenter and DJ. In the UK, he is known mainly for his work on the children's ITV programme ''Fun House'', and his extensive ...

, English radio DJ and children's television host * December 30 –

Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commentar ...

, American

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

host and conservative commentator

Deaths

* April 21 –

Wallace Greenslade Wallace Frederick Powers Greenslade (1 July 1912 – 21 April 1961), also known as Bill Greenslade, was a BBC radio announcer and News presenter, newsreader. He is best remembered for being the announcer—and frequently the Double act, straight ...

, English radio announcer (born 1912) * October 22 –

L. Stanton Jefferies Leonard Stanton Jefferies LRAM (4 September 1896 – 22 October 1961) was a British musician, composer, and conductor. He was the first director of music at the British Broadcasting Company, and pioneered techniques for broadcasting live musi ...

, English musician and radio producer (born 1896)

References

Radio by year {{year-stub