The year 1989 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting. __TOC__

Events

* KMEZ breaks away from its FM sister station to adopt a business-oriented

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...

talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

format as KDBN. * ABC Radio has acquired

Satellite Music Network Satellite Music Network was the first satellite delivered network to provide complete live 24-hour-a-day music programming to local stations, under several different formats. History Affiliate stations, mostly in small and medium markets, co ...

. This division is now known as "ABC Music Radio". *The

NBC Radio Network The NBC, National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network it was ...

ceases to operate as a separate programming service; owner

Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and ...

merges it with the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

, moving the networks' news and engineering departments from New York to Mutual's facilities in Arlington. The lone non-news program that remains on NBC Radio, the Sunday-morning religious program ''

The Eternal Light ''The Eternal Light'' was an American radio and television program on the NBC Radio Network, produced in conjunction with the Jewish Theological Seminary, that was broadcast between 1944 and 1989. Featuring interviews, commentary, and award-winn ...

'', is also canceled. *January – KSTT (1170 AM) of

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

switches from a solid gold oldies format (which had been in place since 1986) to

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

ing

WXLP WXLP (96.9 MHz FM) is a commercial radio station, licensed to Moline, Illinois, and serving the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and broadcasts a classic rock radio format. Its radio studios and ...

(96.9 FM), in addition to increasing its sports broadcasts. *January 19 –

WIOQ WIOQ (102.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station broadcasts a Top 40 (CHR) radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia. The studios and offices are on Presidential Boulevard in Bala Cynwyd. The station c ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

switches from oldies to a Top 40 format becomes

Q102 Q102 may refer to: * Quran 102, the 102nd chapter of the Islamic Holy book Transportation * Q102 (New York City bus) Radio stations * Q102 (Pirate Station) in London, United Kingdom; the precursor to XFM London * Q102.9 in Derry, Northern Irelan ...

. *March 17 – 100.3 FM in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

becomes KQLZ (Pirate Radio). *May 1 – At the grand opening of the

Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by Ma ...

, the most attended studio-park in the world, it chooses

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

KDKA-AM KDKA () is a Class A, clear channel, AM radio station, owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. and licensed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Its radio studios are located at the combined Audacy Pittsburgh facility in the Foster Plaza o ...

as its inaugural guest broadcaster in its interactive radio studios. *May 1 –

KIIK-FM KIIK-FM (104.9 FM) is a commercial radio station located in DeWitt, Iowa, broadcasting to the Quad Cities, Iowa area on 104.9 FM. Established in 1977 as WRSQ-FM, KIIK-FM is owned by Townsquare Media and broadcasts a country music format. Studio ...

switches from a

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

format (which had been in place since 1972) to

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

, and its call letters to KUUL-FM. The station's signature "KUUL Red Radio" is unveiled shortly thereafter and appears at the station's live remote broadcasts. *May 24 – The last NBC Radio owned-and-operated station,

KNBR KNBR may refer to: * KNBR (AM), a radio station (680 AM) licensed to serve San Francisco, California, United States * KNBR-FM KNBR-FM (104.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to San Francisco, California, serving the greater San ...

680-AM in San Francisco, is sold off to Susquehanna Broadcasting (which merges with

Cumulus Cumulus clouds are clouds which have flat bases and are often described as "puffy", "cotton-like" or "fluffy" in appearance. Their name derives from the Latin ''cumulo-'', meaning ''heap'' or ''pile''. Cumulus clouds are low-level clouds, gener ...

in 2005). KNBR changes from an adult contemporary format to all-sports the following year, a format it continues to hold. *July 17 – DZBB 594,

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

's flagship AM station in Metro Manila, Philippines, officially rebrands as ''Bisig Bayan DZBB 594'' Their new identity makes the station more popular to radio listeners in Metro Manila. Rafael "Paeng" Yabut,

Bobby Guanzon Roberto "Bobby" Samar Guanzon (June 20, 1948 – December 18, 2016) was a Filipino radio and television broadcaster and politician. Career Guanzon started as an anchorman and one of the pioneering members of DZAQ Radyo Patrol of ABS-CBN from ...

, Lito Villarosa, Rene Jose, Rey Pacheco, Raul Virtudazo, Jimmy Gil, Arman Roque, Rose "Manang Rose" Clores,

German Moreno German Molina Moreno (; October 4, 1933 – January 8, 2016), also known as Kuya Germs ( or ) and dubbed as "The Master Showman", was a Filipino television host, presenter, actor, comedian, talent manager, producer, writer, and director. Early ...

Inday Badiday Maria Lourdes Jimenez Carvajal (August 6, 1944 – September 26, 2003), popularly known as Inday Badiday, was a Filipino TV host and journalist who was known as Philippine television's "queen of showbiz talk shows" and "queen of intrigues". B ...

Helen Vela Helen Vela (October 31, 1946 – February 14, 1992) was a Filipina actress and radio/TV personality. Early life She was born on October 31, 1946, in Manila, Philippines. Career Vela started her career in broadcasting as a radio announcer. She a ...

and Pol Caguiat are the personalities of the Bisig Bayan era. *July 29 – KCPW/Kansas City drops its top-40 format as "Power 95" and becomes KCMO-FM "Oldies 95." *October 9 – KSJN (AM) in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

becomes KNOW. *November – WQXI flips callsigns to WSTR, becoming Star 94 in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. *November 9 – A news conference broadcast live across East Germany announces opening of the Berlin Wall. *November 13 –

London Greek Radio London Greek Radio (LGR) is an Independent Local Radio station for London's Greek community, most of which forms part of the ethnically diverse Cypriot community. It broadcasts in both Greek and English on 103.3 FM in London and is also ava ...

, one of the United Kingdom's first all-ethnic radio stations, begins broadcasting. *December – Kayla Satellite Network purchases

Chuck Harder i.e. America Radio Network was a Detroit-based radio network consisting primarily of liberal talk and lifestyle talk shows, shows. They were owned by the United Auto Workers (UAW) and broadcast nationally from 1996 in radio, 1996 to 2004 in radio, ...

's Sun Radio Network (forerunner to

I.E. America Radio Network i.e. America Radio Network was a Detroit-based radio network consisting primarily of liberal talk and lifestyle shows. They were owned by the United Auto Workers (UAW) and broadcast nationally from 1996 to 2004, via radio stations and a webca ...

. Harder's show was soon dropped from the network and he later started a new radio network, the Peoples Radio Network. *December 11 – Dallas/Ft. Worth's heritage rocker KZEW 97.9 "The Zoo" flips to Christmas music. *December 26 – 570 AM and 97.9 FM in Dallas/Ft. Worth flip to soft AC as "Warm 97.9." The change will not bring a complete simulcast, however, as some college sports programming on the now-former KLDD 570 "K-Oldie" will remain on 570. Call letter changes to KKWM and KKWM-FM will follow.

Debuts

* March –

Mark Belling Mark Belling (born July 4, 1956) is an American conservative talk radio host for 1130 WISN in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is also a local newspaper columnist, former television host, and was a guest host for Rush Limbaugh. A native of Wisconsin's ...

joins WISN in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. *

KDWN KDWN (720 AM) is a commercial radio station in Las Vegas, Nevada, owned and operated by Audacy, Inc.. The station pronounces its call letters as "K-Dawn." The station's studios are located in the unincorporated Clark County area of Spring Vall ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

offers Art Bell a five-hour radio talk show time slot in the middle of the night, which later evolved into ''

Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 19 ...

''.

Deaths

*January 10:

Herbert Morrison Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, (3 January 1888 – 6 March 1965) was a British politician who held a variety of senior positions in the UK Cabinet as member of the Labour Party. During the inter-war period, he was Mini ...

, American radio reporter (born 1905) *January 29:

Mandel Kramer Mandel Kramer (March 12, 1916 – January 29, 1989) was an American actor. As a voice actor, he is best known as the last Johnny Dollar from ''Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar'' radio show. Early years Kramer grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where his f ...

, American radio actor (born 1916)Cox, Jim (2008). ''This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . *January 30:

Pegeen Fitzgerald Pegeen Fitzgerald ( Margaret Worrall; November 24, 1904 – January 30, 1989)Cox, Jim (2007). ''Radio Speakers: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys, Tattletales, Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples Who Verbalized the Jargon of the ...

, American radio talk-show host (both alone and with her husband, Ed) on WOR and WJZ in New York City and

Norcatur, Kansas Norcatur is a city in Decatur County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 159. History Norcatur was founded in 1885 near the Nebraska border. Norcatur was named from its location near the border between ...

(born 1904) *July 10:

Tommy Trinder Thomas Edward Trinder CBE (24 March 1909 – 10 July 1989) was an English stage, screen and radio comedian whose catchphrase was "You lucky people!". Described by cultural historian Matthew Sweet as "a cocky, front-of-cloth variety turn", he was ...

, English radio, stage and screen comedian (born 1909) *August 22: Lord Hill, British physician, medical and broadcast executive, politician and "The Radio Doctor" (born 1904) *September 20: Ruth Bailey, American radio actress (born 1913) *October 22:

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...

, British folk singer-songwriter, actor and labour activist, co-creator of the

radio ballad The radio ballad is an audio documentary format created by Ewan MacColl, Peggy Seeger, and Charles Parker in 1958. It combines four elements of sound: songs, instrumental music, sound effects, and, most importantly, the recorded voices of those wh ...

(born 1915)

References

{{clear Radio by year

Events

Debuts

Deaths

See also

References