Profile America: Radio News

RADIO NEWS

Thursday, September 1 — One of the first daily news programs on the young medium of radio was launched on this date in 1922. It was called “The Radio Digest,” and was hosted by George Thompson over WBAY in New York City. At the time, there were just 30 radio stations in the entire U.S., and only 60,000 homes had receivers. Twenty-five years later, there were some 2,750, including nearly 960 in the new FM format. The number of homes with receivers swelled to 36-million. Now, there are around 15,500 radio stations, plus more than 1,500 low-power FM establishments. Industry research finds that on an average day, radio reaches 66 percent of Americans over 12 years old.

You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources: Kane’s Famous First Facts

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