KDKA

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Early Radio Announcers Invented Their Profession in the 1920s

KDKA announcer H. W. Arlin on the air in 1921 Anyone who listens to the radio knows that the announcer or disc jockey has gone through some form of training to do the job right. But obviously in the early days of radio, there were not any schools to train people in the field of communications. So that meant anyone who wanted to do on the air work could just walk down to the local radio and ask for a job, and most likely they would get one. The first person who deserved to have the title ... (read more)

2022/12/10

KDKA in Pittsburgh Became the First Radio Station on Nov. 2, 1920

Logo used by KDKA in the 1920s Radio is so new to most of us that it seems incredible that anything connected with it could be having a sixth anniversary. But an interesting series of dates has been furnished by the Pittsburgh station, which will constitute the genesis of the history of broadcasting when it is written. It was Nov. 2, 1920, that KDKA first went on the air to do regular broadcasting, and the subject matter was the result of the Harding-Cox election. Other interesting first time ... (read more)

2022/11/15

When Radio Memories Was Heard on KDKA

Harold Peary and Jane Darwell in the movie The Great Gildersleeve (1942) An honorable mention-winning entry in the KDKA Radio Memories essay contest: About two years ago, a week before Christmas, I was putting up the Christmas decorations in my room and decided to listen to the radio. A little tired with the music on the FM band, I switched it over to AM. After twiddling around with the dial, I came upon KFKA and heard someone yell with what seemed like anger, "Leroy!" Which was followed ... (read more)

2020/07/21

H. W. Arlin: Broadcasting Radio in the 1920s

KDKA announcer H. W. Arlin on the radio in 1921 Announcing radio programs might be called the world's most recent profession, because announcers for broadcasting stations were introduced first about four years ago when KDKA, the world's pioneer station of the Westinghouse Company at East Pittsburgh, Pa., was started. H. W. Arlin, the world's pioneer radio announcer, made his debut early in 1921 and has been continuously "on the air" since. Thus his long service entitles him to the honors ... (read more)

2020/07/17

World's First Scheduled Radio Broadcast Came from Pittsburgh

Logo used by KDKA in the 1920s The National Broadcasting Company's Silver Jubilee celebration on November 15, 1951, brings to mind another, even earlier, November day when the world's first scheduled broadcast was heard over KDKA, Pittsburgh, pioneer radio station. Presentation of this inaugural broadcast on November 2, 1920, came about as the result of several strange and seemingly unrelated circumstances. It all began in 1915 with a Westinghouse engineer, Frank Conrad. Westinghouse had ... (read more)

2020/07/14