This is the eleventh installment in a recurring series that looks back at developments that have shaped radio broadcasting during the past 100 years, noting advancements and historical moments month by month. Read October’s story here.
100 Years Ago – November 1924: With the initial novelty of entertainment and information reaching homes wirelessly beginning to wear off, listeners are becoming more critical of noise and other interference impairing reception. The problem is now being addressed on several fronts, with the National Electric Light Association investigating power line noise radiation, and the Department of Commerce, which regulates U.S. broadcasting, starting to issue experimental licenses for higher power operation (up to 5 kw) to established broadcasters. WLW licensee Powel Crosley Jr., applauded the government’s power boost move, observing that “users of inexpensive radio sets and radio fans residing in the rural districts will benefit…”
RCA’s David Sarnoff also applauded the DOC initiative, stating that “It will be noticed that in every one of the cases of interference with reception… the crux of the situation lies in the feebleness of the signal, particularly the signals from distant stations. The problem, in brief, is to produce a strong signal from distant stations, and that means super-power broadcasting. At once the detrimental effects of natural and artificial electrical disturbances are largely eliminated.”
75 Years Ago – November 1949: It’s the end of the road as concerns relief from a new tax imposed on Little Rock, Ark. radio broadcasters. As first reported this past May, a Little Rock city attorney contrived a way to tax the city’s ratio stations, which had previously been considered exempt due to the long-established premise that as stations were engaged in interstate commerce, they were exempt from state and local taxes. Two Little Rock stations, KARK and KGHI, sought legal relief from the tax, with the Arkansas Supreme Court ultimately upholding the validity of the tax, which is based on “the generation of electromagnetic waves for radio broadcasting.” The final blow came this month, with the U.S. Supreme Court refusing to hear an appeal. Some fear that this will pave the way for other municipalities to follow suite with the imposition of city or state taxes on radio stations.
50 Years Ago – November 1974: In an unusual move, Dallas radio station KRLD-AM is offering to aid other AM broadcasters in countering the rising popularity (and revenue syphoning) of FM stations. “We sell protection — Your AM property is valuable. Protect it,” KRLD proclaimed in an ad in Broadcasting magazine. The ad further states that “FM stations have been stealing your audience,” amounting to revenue losses of 20 percent during the past four years. KRLD advised that it has brought in that “the best programmers that money can buy,” and will be making available — to a limited number of AMs — the services of its program, news and sports directors to AM operators interested in protecting their investments.
25 Years Ago – November 1999: The stage is now set for the introduction of U.S. digital radio broadcasting, with the FCC formally setting forth an initial “road map” for a digital service in the form of a Notice of Proposed Rule Making. The NPRM seeks comments on IBOC (in-band/on-channel) systems, as well as satellite-delivered DAB and the standard developed by the Eureka 147 group for European digital broadcasting. However, not all within the industry are applauding the FCC’s “fast track” approach, observing that “it’s just too reminiscent of the battle waged in the war to establish AM stereo.”
