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December 30, 2019 5:39 pm  #1


Don't Touch That Dial! Radio Officially Turns 100 In 2020

Having grown up with a radio seemingly growing out of my ear, it's hard to believe that the medium has only been around for a century. 2020 marks exactly 100 years since the first radio station officially began, although as the linked article notes, it's nearly impossible to determine who really was first. 

Some say it was 8MK, which is now WWJ Detroit, whose start date is said to be the end of August 1920. KDKA Pittsburgh was around that same year and was the first officially licenced. And don't forget about the now defunct CFCF (was it ever totally funct?) in Montreal, which always boasted a 1919 start date, but didn't began regular programming until - you guessed it - 1920.

The days of radio being more than a radio - it was once a piece of furniture in a home - are long gone. And as someone who still consumes a lot of it, I have trouble imagining what it was like 100 years ago when it didn't exist. And given the technological advancements that the early pioneers couldn't have dreamed of, it's hard to know if it will still be here 100 years from now. But what an amazing run it's been. And it doesn't look a day over 99!

New Year will mark 100 years of broadcast radio