Dick Burden, credited with landmark FM stereo discoveries and as the father of AM Traveler’s Information Service, is among the eight posthumous inductees into the 2025 Radio Hall of Fame class.
The Museum of Broadcast Communications announced the selection of eight new “Legends” in all, a status reserved for on-air personalities, programmers and operators who have since passed away.
The Radio Hall of Fame will recognize its 2025 class of inductees at its induction ceremony on Oct. 30, at the Swissotel Hotel in Chicago.
Burden’s legacy
We were particularly pleased to see Burden’s induction, as the Hall of Fame is often reserved in radio for those in front of the microphone.
As told by Paul McLane in Radio World’s 2024 profile, he originated the concept of initiating a control carrier as a means of switching from FM mono to FM stereo when stereophonic programming was present. He also added an indicator that became known as the stereo light.
Burden was also lauded for his work on the original TIS facility at the Los Angeles International Airport and the establishment of 530 and 1610 kHz as the original TIS operating frequencies.
Well into the 21st century, he remained a visible presence at trade shows and an active supporter of organizations like the L.A. SBE Chapter 47.
Burden died at age 92 in June 2024.
Here are 2025’s seven other “legends,” with biographies as according to the Museum of Broadcast Communications:
Amos Brown
Best known as the host of “Afternoons With Amos” on 1310 WTLC(AM) in Indianapolis. Nominated for Marconi Awards in 2008 and 2013, Brown received honors for his leadership, advocacy and community impact.
Joanne Church
A research executive and played a significant role in public radio’s access to audience measurement. She worked with ratings firm ARbitron in the 1970s and co-founded the Radio Research Consortium with husband Tom in 1981, with the mission of making audience ratings affordable and actionable for noncom stations. She became RRC’s president in 2005.
Jed the Fish
Born Edwin Gould, who hosted afternoon drive on KROQ(FM) in Los Angeles from 1978–2012. An early supporter of New Wave and Alternative bands, he helped KROQ establish itself in the 1980s and ‘90s. He was named Billboard’s Modern Rock personality of the year in 1997 and 1999.
Steve Smith
A programming executive and consultant with a four-decade career in popular music formats in major U.S. radio markets. From 1990–1993, he took KKFR(FM) in Phoenix to a top-rated Arbitron position in the market before joining to Emmis Communications, where he oversaw flagship stations like WQHT(FM) in New York and KPWR(FM) in Los Angeles.
Dale Sommers
Or the “Truckin’ Bozo,” who informed and entertained “long haulers” overnights on WLW(AM) in Cincinnati from 1984–2004 before moving to Sirius/XM’s “Rod Dog” channel for afternoons.
Don Wade
He pent 55 years on the radio, including in Boston, New Orleans, Dallas, Philadelphia and Seattle. The “Don and Roma Show” on WLS(AM) was likely the longest lasting husband-and-wife radio team in Chicago history.
Irna Phillips
She was a pioneer of the American daytime soap opera genre. She created several radio shows including The Guiding Light, As the World Turns, The Edge of Night and Another World.
The Radio Hall of Fame was founded by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1998. The Chicago-based Museum of Broadcast Communications took over its operations in 1991.
