Library of American Broadcasting

09/01/2026

On the short-lived "Magnificent Marble Machine," contestants partnered with celebrities to answer trivia questions and gain control of an oversized pinball machine. The set with the giant pinball machine took 60 days to build, taking over 2,000 work-hours. The marbles were repainted after each taping session.

The program, hosted by Art James, premiered on NBC on July 7, 1975, and its last first-run episode aired April 9, 1976, with reruns airing until June 11. A brief clip from "The Magnificent Marble Machine" appears in the 1979 film "The China Syndrome" as the "regularly scheduled programming" that the TV station interrupts to air the main character's report from inside the power plant. (Wikipedia)

08/28/2026

After Harry H. Bliss, the owner of The Janesville Gazette, acquired the license for WCLO and moved operations to Janesville, Wisconsin, studios were constructed on the third floor of the Gazette Building, and the station began broadcasting on August 1, 1930. Governor Walter J. Kohler Sr. spoke on the inaugural program.

Broadcasts from the studios were supplemented by remote broadcasts that reached listeners throughout southern Wisconsin. For nearly nine decades, WCLO was a cornerstone of Bliss Communications (Southern Wisconsin Broadcasting), anchoring local media alongside sister station WJVL-FM.

(WCLO has an earlier history dating back to 1925, but it’s complicated. See Wikipedia.)

08/26/2026

“Like many country singers of her generation, Dolly Parton’s career began in local television, and TV has continued to be the place to get to know her… At the age of 10, she was appearing on the ‘Cas Walker Farm and Home Hour,’ sponsored by a local grocery chain, out of Knoxville, Tenn. At 21, in 1967, with the song ‘Dumb Blonde’ on the country charts, she began appearing on the weekly Nashville-based ‘Porter Wagoner Show,’ becoming, at the same time, his singing and touring partner… With the show syndicated in as many as 100 markets, it afforded many their first glimpse of Parton; it wasn’t necessary to be a country music fan to pass an idle half an hour there…” – Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times (8/26/2026)

08/25/2026

Queen for a Day was a radio and television program that originated on the Mutual radio network in 1945 and ran until 1957. The show then ran on NBC Television from 1956 to 1960 and on ABC Television from 1960 to 1964.

Each contestant was asked to talk about the recent financial and emotional hard times she had been through. The winning contestant was selected by the audience using an applause meter.

She would then be draped in a sable-trimmed red velvet robe, given a jeweled crown to wear, placed on a velvet-upholstered throne, and handed a dozen long-stemmed roses to hold while her list of prizes was announced. (Wikipedia)

08/24/2026

"It’s why we wake up at 3 am to be on the air by 6 am. It’s why we are on the constant hunt for local businesses that need a helping hand and a spotlight. It’s fundraisers, remotes, and ribbon cuttings. It’s times of urgency, tragedy, and healing. Few industries get to be this much fun and this essential at the same time."

For National Radio Day, Radio Ink asked industry leaders why radio is still worth celebrating. Here is what they said.

08/21/2026

WOMI made its debut at 7 pm on Monday, February 7, 1938, becoming the seventh radio station in the state of Kentucky, with a live celebratory broadcast from the Hotel Owensboro. A modern two-story Art Deco building had been constructed on Frederica Street, just south of Byers Avenue, to house the new broadcast operation.

Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer publisher Lawrence Hager formed Owensboro Broadcasting Company as owner and operator of the station. Hager placed the newspaper's city editor, Hugh Potter, as the station’s general manager, and Potter's wife, Cliffordean, became the program director. The couple moved into the station's second-floor apartment, where they remained until their retirement in 1972.

08/20/2026

National Radio Day has been celebrated informally since the 1990s by radio fans and broadcasters. The date, August 20, is partly tied to the 1920 debut broadcast of Detroit's 8MK station (now WWJ), one of the country's oldest radio stations. National Public Radio helped drive mainstream public awareness of the unofficial holiday starting around 2011.

On August 20, National Radio Day recognizes the great invention of the radio. Celebrate the news, information, music, and stories carried across the airwaves.

08/18/2026

Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) board member Walter Podrazik is featured in "UIC Today" for his work curating exhibits at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. (Link in comments.)

The Museum will receive LABF's Preservation Award at the Foundation's Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts Luncheon on November 17th in New York City.

08/18/2026

The Big Surprise was a television quiz show broadcast by NBC from 1955 to 1957. NBC hastily created it in response to the ratings success of CBS's The $64,000 Question, and the program quickly became a hit.

In February 1957, fading star Errol Flynn appeared as a guest and contestant, seen here being questioned by host and rising star Mike Wallace. In late 1959, The Big Surprise was one of the shows admitted to being controlled by its producers and staff, amid the 1950s quiz show scandals.

08/14/2026

WJJD (now WYLL) first signed on October 13, 1924. The station was owned by the Loyal Order of Moose and was located in Mooseheart, Illinois. It was powered at 500 watts. By 1926, the station's power had been increased to 1,000 watts. Also in 1926, auxiliary studios were established in the Palmer House in Chicago. For most of its history, WJJD was a daytimer, required to sign off at sunset in Salt Lake City to protect the clear-channel station, KSL.