1931 in radio

List of years in radio (table)
... 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 ... 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 ... 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 ...
In television 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 In music 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 In film 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934
Art Archaeology Architecture Literature Music Philosophy Science +...

The year 1931 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting history.

Events

• 23 April – Inauguration of the Swiss national medium-wave transmitter at Sottens by the French-language Société Romande de Radiophonie (SRR) and Radio-Genève.
• 30 April – In France the Poste Colonial (also known as "Radio Coloniale") begins broadcasting to the French colonies from a shortwave transmitter at Pontoise.
• 1 May – The Los Angeles Police Department's KGPL begins broadcasting.
• 11 May – The Pittsburgh Police begin broadcasting with "radio patrol cars" and the region's first emergency band.
• 24 May – Polskie Radio begins transmitting its national programme from a new long-wave station at Raszyn, outside Warsaw. It is the most powerful transmitter in Europe at the time.
• 24-30 July- Jehovah's Witnesses make the most extensive radio chain broadcast ever to air up to 1931. The broadcast was a portion of a convention held in Columbus, Ohio, USA. The convention was broadcast via more than 450 radio stations in Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States.
• 18 October - NBC replaces its NBC-Pacific nine-station network with two five-station networks, known informally as the Orange and Gold networks. Orange comprises KGO, Oakland; KFI, Los Angeles; KGW, Portland, KOMO, Seattle, and KHQ, Spokane. Gold comprises KPO, San Francisco; KECA, Los Angeles; KEX, Portland; KRJ, Seattle; and KGA, Spokane.^[1]
• 10 October - William Randolph Hearst buys WGBS, which was later named WINS after Hearst's International News Service.^[2]
• 1 November - NBC acquires half-interest in WMAQ, Chicago, Illinois, from the Chicago Daily News.^[3]
• (undated) November - KGKF, Little Rock, Arkansas, changes call letters to KARK.^[4]

Debuts

• (undated) - Harold Teen debuts on WGN, Chicago, Illinois. ^[5]
• 4 January - The Fred Waring Show debuts on NBC.^[6]
• 27 January – Clara, Lu, and Em, the first daytime radio serial, debuts on the NBC Blue Network as a late-evening program.^[6] On 15 February 1932, the show moves to its morning time slot.
• 5 February – Eddie Cantor has his first radio appearance on Rudy Vallee's The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour.
• 26 April - The Carnation Contented Hour debuts on NBC West Coast.^[7]
• 21 May - The Witch's Tale debuts on WOR (AM).^[7]
• 1 June - The Camel Quarter-Hour debuts on CBS.^[7]
• 2 September – Bing Crosby makes his solo debut on network radio and remains on air with at least one weekly show until the fall of 1962.
• 11 October - The American Album of Familiar Music debuts on NBC.^[7]
• 16 October - The Boswell Sisters program debuts on CBS.^[7]
• 26 October - Alice Joy, the Dream Singer debuts on NBC.^[7]
• 3 November - WJMS, Ironwood, Michigan, begins broadcasting.^[8]
• 25 December – The Metropolitan Opera begins broadcasting its regular Saturday afternoon performances on the NBC Blue Network.

Closings

• 30 October - The Federal Communications Commission ordered WJAZ and WCHI, both in the Chicago, Illinois, area, off the air in order to allow full-time operation for WCKY, Covington, Kentucky.^[9]
• 18 December - The Federal Communications Commission ordered WOQ, Kansas City, Missouri, and WMAK, Buffalo, New York, off the air -- WOQ "to make way for KFH, Wichita, Kansas" and WMAK "because of an unsatisfactory showing of public interest" as reported in Broadcasting.^[10]

Births

• 30 January - Conrad Binyon, who played the mayor's ward, Butch, in Mayor of the Town.^[6]
• 18 August – Bernard "Buddy" Diliberto, (died 2005), sports commentator in New Orleans for over 50 years.
• 2 September – Michael Dante, American radio talk show host, actor, stage and screen director and former professional athlete.

References

1. "Two Pacific Coast Networks Are Formed By the NBC After Buying Four Stations" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1 November 1931. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
2. "Hearst Buys WBGS Plans Improvement" (PDF). Broadcasting. 15 October 1931. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
3. "NBC Acquires WMAQ". Broadcasting in Chicato, 1921-1989. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
4. "KARK New Call" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1 December 1931. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
5. Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4. Pp. 145-146.
6. Cox, Jim (2008). This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-3848-8.
7. Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3.
8. "Voice of Iron Range" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 15, 1932. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
9. "Six More Stations Ordered Silenced" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 1, 1931. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
10. "Two More Stations Ordered Deleted" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1 January 1932. Retrieved 30 September 2014.