Talk:Radio
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- America's growing interest in high-quality programs spurred further AT&T development of networking capabilities. As public interest in high quality programming grew, many local stations joined one of the two NBC radio networks, but the NBC monopoly in network broadcasting was not to last for long. A small upstart, United Independent Broadcasts, was formed when Arthur Judson decided to establish a new radio network. In early 1927 Judson tried to secure telephone lines for the newly formed network, but AT&T refused to provide connections because it had signed an exclusivity agreement with RCA. By mid-1927 AT&T, under pressure from the Federal Trade Commission, agreed to provide network connections to the new network. That fall, the newly named Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) began operations with 12 affiliated stations. Soon, chain broadcasting revolutionized radio in the United States.
- Christopher H. Sterling; Cary O'Dell, "The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio", (9 February 2011), Routledge, p. 51.
- Instituted in 1951, CONELRAD served as America's first mandated nationwide emergency broadcast notification program. It was a direct result of official fears that Russian planes might try striking the United States with atomic bombs.
Only a decade earlier, Japanese aircraft had devastated Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, thus pulling the United States into World War II. Later, members of the Japanese attack force admitted that they had easily navigated to their target by simply homing in on the AM radio signal of Honolulu station KGMB. American military leaders and civil defense planners would not soon forget such a modus operandi, and so they sought to develop a way to keep local broadcast communication flowing without providing a beacon for an enemy.- Christopher H. Sterling; Cary O'Dell, "The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio", (9 February 2011), Routledge, p. 179.
- Contemporary hit radio grew out of Top 40, which was developed in the late 1950s by Todd Storz and Gordon McLendon, who found success in playing the 40 most popular records. By the mid-1960s, the rise of rock music and FM led to audience fragmentation and a revitalized, tighter format with less chatter, refined by programmed Bill Drake. The format was successful but was also criticized for being too slick and dehumanized. The move to FM was initially met with resistance, because FM was regarded as an alternative listening medium. As a result, Top 40 underwent another face-lift and became known as contemporary hit radio. The trade periodical Radio & Records (R&R) began using the term contemporary hit radio in 1980. The retitling of the format was orchestrated by consulting pioneer Mike Joseph. Joseph's CHR format featured a tight playlist of about 30 records with up-tempo sounds, fast rotations, limited recurrence, chart hit countdowns, and no more oldies and declining records.
- Christopher H. Sterling; Cary O'Dell, "The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio", (9 February 2011), Routledge, p. 185.