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KDKA (1020 kHz) is a radio station licensed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Created by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation on November 2, 1920, it is the world's first commercial radio station, a distinction that has also been challenged by other stations, although it has claimed to be the "world's first commercially licensed radio station". KDKA is currently owned and operated by CBS Radio and its studios are located at the combined CBS Radio Pittsburgh facility on Foster Drive in Pittsburgh; its transmitter is in Allison Park.

Overview

KDKA operates on a clear channel and broadcasts a news/talk radio format. News and spoken word programming has been a central feature of its programming from its beginning. The station's 50 kilowatt (or 50,000 watt) signal can be heard throughout central and western Pennsylvania, along with portions of Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, New York, Virginia and Kentucky, and the Canadian province of Ontario during the day. At night, it reaches much of the eastern half of North America. KDKA enjoys grandfathered status as one of five remaining stations east of the Mississippi River that have call letters beginning with K. Three of them are in Pittsburgh, the other two being KDKA-FM, KDKA's sister station, and KQV, as well as KDKA's longtime sister station KYW in Philadelphia (though the KYW callsign has in the past been used in Chicago and Cleveland) and KFIZ in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

History

The very beginnings

"This is KDKA, of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We shall now broadcast the election returns."

— Leo Rosenburg, on the very first radio broadcast by KDKA, November 2, 1920.

KDKA's roots began with the efforts of Westinghouse employee Frank Conrad who operated KDKA's predecessor 75 watt 8XK from the Pittsburgh suburb of Wilkinsburg from 1916. Conrad, who had supervised the manufacturing of military receivers during WWI, broadcast phonograph music and communicated with other amateur radio operators via 8YK. On September 29, 1920, the Joseph Horne department store in Pittsburgh began advertising amateur wireless sets for $10, which could be used to listen to Conrad’s broadcasts.

Westinghouse vice president and Conrad’s supervisor, Harry P. Davis, saw the advertisement and recognized the economic potential of radio. Instead of it being limited as a hobby to scientific experimenters, radio could be marketed to a mainstream audience. Consequently, Davis asked Conrad to build a 100-watt transmitter, which would air programming intended to create widespread demand for Westinghouse receivers. The KDKA callsign was assigned sequentially from a list maintained for the use of US-registry maritime stations, and on November 2, 1920, KDKA broadcast the US presidential election returns from a shack on the roof of the K Building of the Westinghouse Electric Company East Pittsburgh Works in Turtle Creek. There is some indication that the new license had not been received by that date, and the station may have gone on the air with the experimental call sign of 8ZZ that night. The original broadcast was said to be heard as far away as Canada. KDKA continued to broadcast from the Westinghouse building for many months.

The 1920s

Soon after its successful election coverage, KDKA upgraded to a 100-watt transmitter. Early programming often featured live musical performances from a Westinghouse band. KDKA provided its first remote broadcast by airing a choir, live, from the Pittsburg Calvary Baptist Church in January 1921. On January 15, 1921, at 8 p.m., KDKA broadcast a speech on European relief by Herbert Hoover from the Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh that was transmitted ten miles down a telephone line to Westinghouse's East Pittsburgh Works and broadcast on 330 meters. On July 2, 1921, the station featured the first national broadcast with live commentary of the Jack Dempsey - Georges Carpentier fight via teletype from New Jersey. Also in 1921 the station had the first broadcasts of major league professional baseball games and the first broadcast college football game. KDKA hosted political comedian Will Rogers in his very first radio appearance in 1922. KDKA played popular music and advertisers began sponsoring special radio programs like The Philco Hour, The Maxwell House Hour and The Wrigley Party.

1930s and '40s

In the 1930s, KDKA began the long-running (1932–1980) Uncle Ed Schaughency show. It carried up-to-the-minute coverage of the 1936 St. Patrick's Day flood that submerged downtown Pittsburgh as far as Wood Street. KDKA also played popular big band and jazz music every morning as well as hosting the KDKA Farm Hour. From 1941 to 1959, the Farm Hour was built around farm reports along with music by Slim Bryant and his Wildcats, who eventually became the top local country music act in the Pittsburgh area.

In 1946, KDKA provided live coverage of the inauguration of David L. Lawrence as Pittsburgh Mayor as well as presidential and governors' inaugurations. By the end of the decade, the musical and comedy team of Buzz Aston and Bill Hinds, billed as "Buzz & Bill", aired.

1950s

In the 1950s, Ed Shaughnessy was moved from mornings to an afternoon slot, losing his partner, Rainbow (Elmer Walters) in the process. KDKA, impressed with the success Rege Cordic had on WWSW, hired Cordic away. He started his KDKA run on Labor Day, 1954. The Cordic & Company morning show, featuring a team of bright and innovative personalities, gave birth to today's "morning team" radio format, but in an unconventional way. Cordic and his group played a bit of music, but mainly created on-air mayhem in the form of skits, recurring characters such as "Louie The Garbageman" and space alien "Omicron." When Ed Shaughnessy did the news and read a commercial for a local brand of bacon, a sound effect of frying usually ran with it. One day, Cordic substituted a sound effect recording of explosions, and Shaughnessy barely kept his composure. Cordic's crew included Karl Hardman and Bob Trow, later known for portraying "Bob Dog" on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

The 1950s saw a shift to local programming at KDKA as national radio shows were moving to television. Art Pallan, also hired away from WWSW, and Bob Tracey became household names on the KDKA airwaves, playing the popular music of the day. For some years, announcer Sterling Yates, also a musician, played hip, progressive jazz on a Sunday morning broadcast. On January 1, 1951, a couple named Ed and Wendy King launched Party Line, the station's first radio talk show. Phone lines were flooded with calls to "Party Line" for its 20-year run, which ended with Ed King's death on November 18, 1971. Unlike most talk shows, callers were not heard but the couple took turns relating what they heard on the line. In 1956, newsman Bill Steinbach, began his 36-year career at KDKA. Within 10 years, Steinbach was anchor of the award-winning 90-to-6, Pittsburgh's popular news program. KDKA gradually embraced rock and roll music with artists such as Bill Haley, the Everly Brothers, Fats Domino, and Elvis Presley, in addition to popular vocalists including Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Peggy Lee. However, the station's sound remained much more conservative than most Top 40 stations.

1960s

By 1960, KDKA leaned more toward rock and roll as competitor KQV made ratings gains. "Your Pal" Pallan played the hit songs and KDKA carried the sounds of screaming crowds as the Beatles arrived in Pittsburgh in 1964. The major exponent of rock on KDKA radio was disc jockey Clark Race, who also hosted "Dance Party" on KDKA-TV, a local version of Dick Clark's American Bandstand. Other artists featured on the station included The Four Seasons, The Vogues, Lou Christie (the latter two Pittsburgh-bred), The Beach Boys, The Hollies, The Supremes, Four Tops, and The Turtles.

After 11 years of waking Pittsburghers with laughter, Rege Cordic moved on to new opportunities at KNX in Los Angeles. Pallan and Bob Trow did a two-man show that kept some of the Cordic & Company flavor. "Pallan and Trow, Two For the Show", lasted two and a half years. In April 1968, Jack Bogut moved from Salt Lake City to become the KDKA morning host, a position he held for 15 years. One of Bogut's most memorable contributions to KDKA was his introduction to Western Pennsylvania of the word Farkleberry, which is now a staple of the annual Children's Hospital fund-raising campaign. Other notable personalities included Big Jack Armstrong, Bob Shannon and Terry McGovern, the latter two would go on to enjoy lucrative careers in the Film/TV industry as actors.

Also in the 1960s, KDKA was there to cover the highs and lows, from the Pirates' improbable 1960 World Series win, to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Sen. Robert Kennedy. In local news reporting, the station pioneered with "on the scene" reports of Mike Levine, the peripatetic former newspaper man whose mobile-unit broadcasts from Tri-State-area fires, floods, bank robberies, and coal mine disasters won numerous journalism awards. His nightly "Contact" show (later "Open Mike") was KDKA's initial venture into the news-based talk radio that would become the station's basic format. In the summer of 1969, KDKA debuted overnight talk with Jack Wheeler launching an anything-goes talk show that ran from midnight to 6 a.m. six nights a week.

1970s

By the early 1970s, KDKA moved to more of an adult contemporary sound mixing the rock and roll hits of the 1960s with what is now considered soft rock. Artists such as America, The Carpenters, Doobie Brothers, Paul Simon, Dawn, and Neil Diamond became core artists. The morning show featured less music because of the news and commercial content. In 1973, KDKA found its new direction for the old "Party Line" slot. It was a completely different approach with the bombastic John Cigna moving over from WJAS to anchor the night talk and urge listeners to "buy American!" In 1974 Perry Marshall replaced Wheeler in the overnight slot, which became known as the "Marshall's Office." In 1975, Roy Fox signed on as the 6 to 9 pm talk host. By now, KDKA was considered a full service adult contemporary radio station.

In 1979, a newsman Fred Honsberger joined the KDKA team and went on to host a successful evening talk show and a top-rated afternoon drive program. Also in 1979, KDKA covered the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, which was first reported by Harrisburg newsman Mike Pintek. By 1982, Pintek joined the KDKA News staff and later became one of KDKA's most popular talk hosts. He was fired at the end of 2005 in a programming overhaul. In 2007, Pintek became the host of Night Talk on the Pittsburgh Cable News Channel. As of January 2009, Pintek was rehired at KDKA to host a talkshow in the 6pm to 10 pm slot. Pintek then took over the Fred Honsberger shows 12 PM-3 PM slot as of January 2010 following the death of Honsberger in December 2009.

1980s

On July 23, 1982, KDKA claims to have become the world's first radio station to broadcast in AM stereo although experimental AM stereo broadcasts were conducted as early as the 1960s on Mexico's XETRA 690.

KDKA's commitment to news and information remained as strong as ever. KDKA kept listeners up-to-the minute on stories such as the 1986 Space Shuttle disaster, the Iran Contra hearings, the deaths of R. Budd Dwyer and Mayor Richard Caliguiri and a large oil spill on the Monongahela river. Through it all, KDKA Radio was the winner of four Joe Snyder awards for outstanding overall news service in Pennsylvania, an honor bestowed by the Associated Press. Throughout the 1980s, KDKA continued an information and news intensive adult contemporary music format, playing four to six songs per hour at drive times and 10 to 12 songs an hour during middays and weekends. At night, the station continued its talk format.

1990s

One of KDKA's biggest changes was in the 1990s. KDKA made the decision to build upon its strengths and switch from a full-service format, which included music, to a news/talk format. The historic moment came in April 1992 when Larry Richert played the last song aired as a regular part of KDKA Radio programming: Don McLean's "American Pie". For many listeners, it was "the day the music died." Rush Limbaugh was added to the noon to 3:00 p.m. slot. All-news blocks were added in the 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. and the 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. slots. KDKA also offered extensive coverage of the 1991 Gulf War and the crash of USAir Flight 427 in September 1994.

In 1997, Bob DeWitt was hired as news director, serving for two years. His award-winning team included Bob Kopler, Dave James, Bob Kmetz, Barbara Boylan, Mike Whitely and Beth Trapani.

Westinghouse merged with CBS at the start of 1996, so KDKA would soon become an Infinity Broadcasting station, after that chain (a previously separate entity from CBS and Westinghouse) was acquired by Westinghouse. Westinghouse would later turn itself into CBS Corporation in 1997. Viacom bought CBS Corporation in 1999, but five years later transformed itself into CBS Corporation, thus making KDKA now a part of CBS Radio.

2000 and beyond

In September 2001, KDKA offered listeners "wall-to-wall" coverage of the attacks on America and provided the KDKA airwaves to listeners who felt the need to talk about the events.

On October 1, 2006, after 52 seasons, KDKA aired its final Pirates game. The Pirates beat the Reds 1-0.

On April 26, 2007, the East Pittsburgh building that was the birthplace for KDKA was razed to make way for an industrial complex.

Future

After the Hearst Corporation sold off the former WTAE-AM in 1997 (in effect, splitting the station from WTAE-TV, though the two stations still share many news-related resources), KDKA and KDKA-TV became the last remaining heritage TV-radio cluster in the Pittsburgh market, and, until 2010, tied themselves together with both studios located one floor apart from each other in Pittsburgh's Gateway Center.

However, on July 31, 2008, CBS Corporation announced that it was going to sell off stations in 12 mid-sized markets so that it could concentrate on larger markets. With Pittsburgh being ranked 24 in Arbitron's national radio rankings (it is, however, ranked 22nd in Nielsen ratings for television), this has led to speculation that CBS may sell off KDKA as well as its three other sister stations (WBZW-FM WZPT-FM, and WDSY-FM); however due to the history of KDKA it is that station that has garnered the most concern.

Although CBS has not announced which stations are for sale, CBS has announced on the day of first-round bids (September 22, 2008) that KDKA will not be on the auction block. This was reassured on February 15, 2010, when WBZW-FM switched from a CHR format to a sports radio format and changing its call sign to KDKA-FM, with the sports director from KDKA also running KDKA-FM.

"90 Years of Serving You"

On Tuesday, November 2, 2010, KDKA celebrated its 90th anniversary on the air with its special election coverage, exactly the same way that they had every Tuesday, November 2, since its beginning in 1920. The 90th anniversary celebration was primarily sponsored by Westinghouse Electric Company, a nuclear power company which had its roots going back to the original Westinghouse.

Historical controversy

The world's first commercially licensed radio station?

By 1921, the Westinghouse publicity department was asserting that KDKA was the world's first radio station, despite the fact that XWA (later CFCF) in Montreal, Canada had preceded it. In his seminal book on broadcasting history, Eric Barnouw noted that 8MK (today WWJ in Detroit, Michigan) went on the air before KDKA, on 20 August 1920, and it also broadcast the 1920 presidential election returns. Inventor Lee DeForest claims to have been present during 8MK's earliest broadcasts, since the station was using a transmitter sold by his company.

Furthermore, the assertion that KDKA was the first commercially licensed station is also incorrect, as commercial licenses were not issued until the summer of 1921. The first station to receive the commercial license was WBZ, then in Springfield, Massachusetts . Lists provided to the Boston Globe by the U.S. Department of Commerce showed that WBZ received its commercial license on 15 September 1921; another Westinghouse station, WJZ, then in Newark, New Jersey, received its commercial license on November 7, the same day as KDKA did. What separates WJZ and WBZ from KDKA is the fact that neither of the former stations remain in their original city of license, whereas KDKA has remained in Pittsburgh for its entire existence.

No matter which was the first licensed station, KDKA, since its beginning, continues to use its famous tagline: the "Pioneer Broadcasting Station of the World".

Challenging stations

Although KDKA claims to be the world's true first radio station, this is disputed. Contenders for initial broadcasts include:

• KCBS, currently licensed to San Francisco, California: Charles Herrold of San Jose, California started broadcasting voices (as opposed to Morse Code) in 1909. He used several different call signs over time (FN, SJN, 6XF, and 6XE), but had to shut down during World War I. After the war, he started up again as 6XF/6XE. The station received a commercial license in 1921 and became KQW. The station broadcasts today as KCBS.
• 2XG: Launched by Lee De Forest in the Highbridge section of New York City, that station began daily broadcasts in 1916. Like most experimental radio stations, however, it had to go off the air when the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, and did not return to the air.
• 1XE: Launched by Harold J. Power in Medford, Massachusetts, 1XE was an experimental station that started broadcasting in 1917. It had to go off the air during World War I, but started up again after the war, and began regular voice and music broadcasts in 1919. However, the station did not receive its commercial license, becoming WGI, until 1922.
• 2XN, broadcasting from the City College of New York
• 2ZK, broadcasting in New Rochelle, New York
• WWJ in Detroit, Michigan, formerly known as 8MK, which had regular scheduled daily broadcasts since August 1920.
• WWV, the U.S. Government time service, which had believed to have started 6 months before KDKA.
• XWA, Marconi's broadcast station in Montreal, Canada, since 1919 (was CFCF, later CINW and shut down in February 2010)
• WRUC, located on Union College in Schenectady, New York; was launched as W2XQ
• WHA (AM), located at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin; was launched as 9XM.
• KQV, one of Pittsburgh's five original AM stations, signed on as amateur station "8ZAE" on November 19, 1919, but did not receive a commercial license until January 9, 1922.
• On August 27, 1920 the Argentina Station started the first transmission from Coliseo Theatre at Buenos Aires, Argentina. Later that station received the name LOR Radio Argentina, and finally LR2 Radio Argentina. That station was in service until 31 December 1997 at 1110 kHz. Further information: Enrique Telémaco Susini

Programming

KDKA is the area's predominant news talk radio station. KDKA's program lineup is predominantly local talent: Marty Griffin, Mike Pintek and Robert Mangino in addition to news blocks in morning and afternoon drive. KDKA also has a local Tradio program on weekends, one of the largest stations in the country to offer such a service, which is traditionally a staple of small-town radio.

• Monday - Friday
• 5:00-9:00 am

KDKA Morning News with Larry Richert and John Shumway. News: Paul Rasmussen. Sports: Rob Pratte.

• 9:00-12:00 pm

The Inside Story with Marty Griffin

• 12:00-3:00 pm

The Mike Pintek Show

• 3:00-6:00 pm

KDKA Afternoon News. News: Rose Ryan-Douglas.

• 6:00-10:00 pm

The Robert Mangino Show

• 10:00-12:00 am

The Jim Bohannon Show

• 12:00-5:00 am

Overnight America with John Grayson

During the weekend,

12:00 midnight to 3:00 am Dr Knowledge (also has Knowledge in a minute Syndicating over the country daily)

References

1. United States Callsign Policies, United States Early Radio History.
2. ^ Barnouw, Eric (1990). Tube of plenty : the evolution of American television. New York: Oxford University Press.
3. "Milestones:Westinghouse Radio Station KDKA, 1920". IEEE Global History Network. IEEE. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
4. Indiana Evening Gazette, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Jan. 14, 1921, pg. 1
5. Fisher, Marc. Something in the Air. Random House. xiv. ISBN 978-0-375-50907-0. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |nopp= ignored (|no-pp= suggested) (help)
6. KDKAradio.com, KDKA Firsts
7. "DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-201". World of Radio.com. 2005-11-22. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
8. "NRC/DXAS Pittsburgh 2008 August 29-31". Retrieved 2011-07-21.
9. Speculation mounts on KDKA radio sale - PostGazette.com
10. "First bids on CBS Radio selloffs due today". Radio-Info.com. September 22, 2008. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
11. A Tower in Babel, pp. 62-64
12. Larry Wolters, "Radio Illusions Dispelled By DeForest." Chicago Tribune, 13 September 1936, p. SW 7
13. "Radio's Anniversary," Boston Globe, 30 September 1928, p. B27.
14. "Kdka".
15. "KDKA History". KDKA. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
16. AM Broadcasting History
17. Highbridge Station Reports (1917)
18. The Boston Radio Archives: The Rise and Fall of WGI

Melhuish, Martin. (1996). Oh What a Feeling: A Vital History of Canadian Music. Kingston, ON, Quarry Press.

External links

• Official website
• KDKA on Twitter
• Listen live
• Facility details for Facility ID KDKA ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
• "Satellite View of KDKA (AM)'s Transmit Facility and Tower" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
• "Remarks at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois". Retrieved 2011-07-21.

• HD Radio stations
• CBS Radio stations
• Radio stations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Westinghouse Broadcasting
• News and talk radio stations in the United States
• Radio stations established in 1920