The year 1941 saw a number of significant happenings in

radio broadcasting Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

history.

Events

*1 January –

Federal Communications Commission 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 ...

approval of commercial

FM radio 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 ...

in the United States takes effect.Cox, Jim (2008). ''This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 5. *29 March – 80 percent of North America's

AM broadcasting AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmis ...

frequencies are reassigned to new channels pursuant to the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement. *27 May – Fireside chat by the President of the United States: ''Announcing Unlimited National Emergency'' (longest fireside chat). *22 June – The invasion of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

is reported 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 ...

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 ...

(who in the autumn is evacuated to Sverdlovsk). *28 June – The first of four broadcasts from Berlin to the United States by English humorist

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

, interned in Nazi Germany, is made. The series, entitled ''How to be an Internee Without Previous Training'' and comprising anecdotes about Wodehouse's experiences as a civilian internee, including some gentle mocking of his captors, are in August broadcast to the United Kingdom by the German propaganda ministry. *3 July – Soviet premier

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

makes his first radio broadcast to his people following the invasion of their country. *6 August –

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

begins a series of

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

broadcasts that will be adapted as ''

Mere Christianity ''Mere Christianity'' is a Christian apologetical book by the British author C. S. Lewis. It was adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944, originally published as three separate volumes: ''Broadcast Talks'' (1942), ...

''. *11 September – Fireside chat: ''On Maintaining Freedom of the Seas'' following the

Greer Incident USS ''Greer'' (DD–145) was a in the United States Navy, the first ship named for Rear Admiral James A. Greer (1833–1904). In what became known as the "''Greer'' incident," she became the first US Navy ship to fire on a German ship, three ...

. *21 November – The live

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

radio program ''

King Biscuit Time :''"King Biscuit Time" is also the name under which ex-Beta Band frontman Steve Mason releases his solo work.'' ''King Biscuit Time'' is the longest-running daily American radio broadcast in history. The program is broadcast each weekday from ...

'' is broadcast for the first time on KFFA in

Helena, Arkansas Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phillips, an early settler of Phillips County and the n ...

; it will attain its 17,000th broadcast in 2014 making it the longest-running daily American radio broadcast. *7 December – At 2:26 p.m. EST (19:26

GMT Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, counted from midnight. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, including being calculated from noon; as a cons ...

), 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 ...

interrupts its play-by-play commentary on the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

NFL game to announce the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

. At around the same time,

NBC Red 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 ...

breaks into

Sammy Kaye Sammy Kaye (born Samuel Zarnocay Jr.; March 13, 1910 – June 2, 1987) was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era. The expression springs fr ...

's musical program,

NBC Blue The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the N ...

suspends ''National Vespers'', and

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

interrupts a concert by the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

for an announcement made by

John Charles Daly John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly (February 20, 1914 – February 24, 1991) was an American journalist, host, radio and television personality, ABC News executive, TV anchor, and game show, game show host, best known for his work on the CBS panel ...

. *8 December – The President of the United States,

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, delivers the '' Presidential Address to Congress of 8 December 1941,'' commonly referred to as the "

Infamy Speech The "Day of Infamy" speech, sometimes referred to as just ''"The Infamy speech"'', was delivered by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States, to a joint session of Congress on December 8, 1941. The previous day, the Em ...

" to a

Joint Session of Congress A joint session of the United States Congress is a gathering of members of the two chambers of the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Joint sessions can be held on ...

at 12:30 p.m. EST (17:30

). Transmitted live over all four major American radio networks, it attracts the largest audience ever measured for an American radio broadcast, with over 81 percent of homes tuning in. *9 December – Fireside chat: ''On the Declaration of War with Japan''.

Debuts

*2 January – ''City Desk'' debuts on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. *6 January – '' Home of the Brave'' debuts on CBS. *7 January – ''

Inner Sanctum Mysteries ''Inner Sanctum Mystery'', also known as ''Inner Sanctum'', is a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941, to October 5, 1952. It was created by producer Himan Brown and was based on the imprint given to the mystery novels ...

'' (1941–1952) debuts on the

NBC Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the National Broadcasting Comp ...

. *13 February – ''

Joe and Mabel ''Joe and Mabel'' is an American comedy series about a cab driver and his girlfriendTim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 – Present, 1st Edition'', pages 307-308, Ballantine Books, 197 ...

'' (1941–1942) debuts on NBC. *1 March – W47NV starts operations as the first commercial FM radio station. *1 March – ''

Duffy's Tavern ''Duffy's Tavern'' is an American radio situation comedy that ran for a decade on several networks ( CBS, 1941–42; NBC-Blue Network, 1942–44; and NBC, 1944–51), concluding with the December 28, 1951, broadcast. The program often featured ...

'' debuts on

. *5 March – ''

Author's Playhouse ''Author's Playhouse'' is an anthology radio drama series created by Wynn Wright, that aired on Mutual in 1940–1941,Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 31. ...

'' debuts on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. *28 March – '' Hollywood Premiere'', hosted by

Louella Parsons Louella Parsons (born Louella Rose Oettinger; August 6, 1881 – December 9, 1972) was an American movie columnist and a screenwriter. She was retained by William Randolph Hearst because she had championed Hearst's mistress Marion Davies and su ...

, debuts on

. *31 March – '' The Story of Bess Johnson'' debuts on

and

. *5 April – WFCI signs on from Pawtucket, Rhode Island. There was an earlier WFCI owned by the same company which signed on in April 1927. *7 April – ''The Amazing Mr. Smith'' debuts on Mutual. *13 April – ''

Bulldog Drummond Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who, ...

'' debuts on Mutual. *27 April – '' Ed Sullivan Variety'' debuts on CBS. *30 April –

WLAG WLAG (1240 AM, "Eagle Sports 1240 & 96.9") is a radio station broadcasting a sports format featuring programming from ESPN Radio. WLAG is licensed to serve the community of La Grange, Georgia, United States. The station is currently owned by Ea ...

, La Grange, Georgia, began broadcasting at 1240 kHz. *26 May – ''Buck Private and His Girl'' debuts on

. *31 May – ''

Stars over Hollywood ''Stars over Hollywood'' is a radio anthology in the United States. It was broadcast on CBS from May 31, 1941, to September 25, 1954, sponsored first by Dari-Rich, Carnation Milk and later by Armour and Company. (Note: This program should not be ...

'' debuts on

.Dunning, John. (1998). ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''. Oxford University Press. . *23 June – ''

Front Page Farrell ''Front Page Farrell'' is an American old-time radio program that was broadcast on Mutual from June 23, 1941 to March 13, 1942, and on NBC from September 14, 1942, to March 26, 1954. The episodes broadcast on Mutual originated at WOR, making th ...

'' debuts on Mutual. *26 June –

WINC Winc is a workplace support company operating in Australia supplying office essentials, furniture, safety equipment and IT solutions. The company is focused on supporting businesses through the delivery of everything a workplace needs to work - s ...

signs on in

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

, operating on 1400 AM. *1 July – ''

Bringing Up Father ''Bringing Up Father'' is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George McManus. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it ran for 87 years, from January 2, 1913, to May 28, 2000. The strip was later titled ''Jiggs and Maggie'' (or ''M ...

'' debuts on

. *2 July – '' The Adventures of the Thin Man'' debuts on

. *4 July – '' Claudia and David'' debuts on

. *18 July – '' The Avenger'' debuts on WHN in New York City. *29 July – ''

Harold Teen ''Harold Teen'' is a discontinued, long-running American comic strip written and drawn by Carl Ed (pronounced "eed"). Publisher Joseph Medill Patterson may have suggested and certainly approved the strip's concept, loosely based on Booth Tarkingt ...

'' debuts on Mutual.Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920–1960, 2nd Edition''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 145–146. *25 August – ''

Bright Horizon ''Bright Horizon'' is an old-time radio soap opera in the United States. It was broadcast on CBS August 25, 1941 - July 6, 1945. The program initially had an alternate title, ''The Story of Michael West''. Format ''Bright Horizon'' was a spinoff ...

'' debuts on

*31 August – ''

The Great Gildersleeve ''The Great Gildersleeve'' is a radio situation comedy broadcast in the United States from August 31, 1941 to 1958. Initially written by Leonard Lewis Levinson, it was one of broadcast history's earliest spin-off programs. The series was built a ...

'' debuts on the

NBC Red Network The 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 NBC Blue Network it was one of the first t ...

. *22 September – ''Helpmate'' debuts on

. *28 September – ''

Captain Flagg and Sergeant Quirt ''Captain Flagg and Sergeant Quirt'' is an American old-time radio situation comedy. It was broadcast on the Blue Network from September 28, 1941, until January 25, 1942, and on NBC from February 13, 1942, until April 13, 1942. Format ''Captain Fl ...

'' debuts on the

Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the N ...

.wpota *4 October – '' The Armstrong Theater of Today debuts on

. *4 October – ''

Hot Copy ''Hot Copy'' is an American old-time radio mystery drama. It was broadcast on NBC from October 4, 1941, until September 26, 1942, and on NBC-Blue from July 18, 1943, until November 19, 1944. It was also carried on stations in Canada. Format The pr ...

'' debuts on NBC. *22 October – ''

The American Melody Hour ''The American Melody Hour'' was an American old-time radio program. ''The American Melody Hour'' was designed as a musical variety show. The program showcased a half-hour playing and singing "the tunes of yesterday and tomorrow..." mostly sung by ...

'' debuts on the

. *2 November – '' Songs by Dinah Shore'' debuts on

-Blue. *30 December – ''

The Brains Trust ''The Brains Trust'' was an informational BBC radio and later television programme popular in the United Kingdom during the 1940s and 1950s, on which a panel of experts tried to answer questions sent in by the audience. History The series was ...

'' first broadcast under this title on

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 ...

radio. *31 December – ''Anchors Aweigh'' debuts on Mutual. *Undated **''Sincerely Yours'', presented by

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...

, debuts on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Events

Debuts

Closings

Programs

Stations

Births

Deaths

References