1978 In Radio

The year 1978 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.
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Events

* February 8 – Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
* April 8 – Proceedings of the Parliament of the United Kingdom are broadcast on radio regularly for the first time.
* May 6 – Bob Kingsley, producer of the syndicated "American Country Countdown," takes over as host. He replaces Don Bowman, who had hosted for the first 4½ years. Kingsley will helm the program for 27 years.
* July – WHTT of Moline, Illinois but with studios in Davenport, Iowa switches call letters to WXLP and changes its format from country to album-oriented rock. The station adopts the nickname "97X."
* September 18 – In television, American situation comedy ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' (1978–1982), featuring the misadventures of the staff of a struggling radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio.
* October 7 – " American Top 40" expands from three to four hours. Several new features are added to the program, which is reaching its peak in popularity.

No dates

* Likely fall – WEMO (101.3 FM) of East Moline, Illinois switches its adult contemporary/MOR format to country music, and changes its call letters to WZZC. The new station, an ancestor to WLLR, stabilizes an FM country music format, which – except for a brief run in 1977-1978 on WHTT-FM (96.9 FM) – had been absent from the Quad Cities market for more than five years.
* Bill Ballance leaves KGBS for KFMB in San Diego, where he is to remain for fifteen years.

Debuts

*8 March – The first episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - the radio series later to be turned into a book, a television programme, a game, and a film - is broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
*3 July – The radio play ''Pearl'' by John Arden is first performed.
*24 December – In Sweden, pirate radio station ''Radio FM in Stockholm'' goes on air.

Closings

*29 January – ''Adventure Theater'' (a children's program, not to be confused with ''Adventure Theater'', a 1956 anthology series on NBC) ends its run on network radio.Dunning, John. (1998). ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''. Oxford University Press. .
*31 December – In Sweden, ''Frukostklubben'' ends.

Births

* March 23 – Simon Gärdenfors, Swedish cartoonist and radio host
* May 18 – Carolina Bermudez, radio personality on the syndicated ''Elvis Duran and the Morning Zoo'' program originating from New York on WHTZ (Z100)
* June 8 – Imad Kotbi, Moroccan radio presenter and DJ
* June 29 – Charlamagne tha God, American radio personality on The Breakfast Club
* July 18 – Annie Mac(Manus), Irish-born radio DJ
* October 31 – Ella McSweeney, Irish broadcast producer and journalist
* December 25 – Paula Seling, Romanian singer and radio DJ

Deaths

* March 27 – Wilfred Pickles, English radio presenter (b. 1904)
* June 29 – Bob Crane, American actor, drummer, radio host and DJ (b. 1928)
* Donald McCullough, British broadcaster (b. 1901)

References

Radio by year

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