1943 in radio explained
The year 1943 saw a number of significant happenings in radio broadcasting history.
Events
- 6 January: BBC reporter Richard Dimbleby makes a live recording from a Royal Air Force nighttime bombing raid on Berlin piloted by Guy Gibson.
- 2 May: Fireside chat by the President of the United States: On the Coal Crisis.
- 10 May: NBC, Inc. v. United States is decided, allowing the Federal Communications Commission broad power to regulate the operations of broadcast networks, which results in National Broadcasting Company being forced to sell off their secondary NBC Blue Network. Gradually, any and all references to "NBC" will be removed from all Blue Network programming or promotions, and "NBC Red" will become known just as NBC Radio.
- 13 May: In the Netherlands, an ordinance issued by the German occupiers requires the surrender to the authorities of all radio sets.
- 26 July: American propaganda broadcasters for the Axis powers Jane Anderson ("the Georgia Peach"), Robert Henry Best, Douglas Chandler, Edward Delaney, Constance Drexel, Fred W. Kaltenbach, Max Otto Koischwitz and poet Ezra Pound are indicted in absentia by a District of Columbia grand jury on charges of treason.[1]
- 28 July: Fireside chat: On Progress of War and Plans for Peace.
- 8 September: Fireside chat: Opening Third War Loan Drive.
- 12 October: Edward Noble's American Broadcasting System offer to purchase the Blue Network and its O&Os from NBC gets approval from the FCC; Noble's lone station prior to the purchase, WMCA in New York, is sold off.
- Late October: Gustav Siegfried Eins, a British black propaganda station, ceases broadcasting to German troops in Western Europe on the short wave, ostensibly because of a Gestapo raid.[2]
- 4 November: Abbott and Costello resume their NBC Radio programme after a six-month hiatus for health reasons, Lou Costello having battled a severe case of rheumatic fever. While rehearsing, Costello learns that his youngest son accidentally drowned in the family pool, just two days before his first birthday. The show goes on as scheduled, with no one in the audience having any knowledge of what has happened until the end, when Costello abruptly rushes from the stage in tears. Partner Bud Abbott delivers the tragic news live over the entire network to the shocked audience.[3]
- 14 November: Soldatensender Calais, a British black propaganda station, begins broadcasting to German troops in Western Europe from a studio at Milton Bryan in Bedfordshire through the powerful medium wave Aspidistra transmitter in southern England, purporting to be an official German military station.[2]
- 23 November: British Forces Broadcasting Service begins operation serving forces overseas.[4]
- 3 December: Edward R. Murrow delivers his classic "Orchestrated Hell" broadcast over CBS describing a Royal Air Force nighttime bombing raid on Berlin.
- 24 December: Fireside chat: On Tehran and Cairo Conferences.
Debuts
Closings
- 1 January: Don Winslow of the Navy ends its run on network radio (Blue Network).[6]
- 8 January: Are You a Genius? ends its run on network radio (CBS).[6]
- 30 January: An American in Russia ends its run on network radio (CBS).[6]
- 28 February: Anchors Aweigh ends its run on network radio (Mutual).[6]
- 23 April: In Person, Dinah Shore ends its run on network radio (Blue Network).[6]
- 10 June: The Busy Mr. Bingle ends its run on network radio (Mutual).[6]
- 4 July: Unlimited Horizons ends its run on network radio (NBC).[6]
- 31 August: WRTD, Richmond, Virginia, ceased to exist as a result of the merger of the company owning it with the owner of WRNL, Richmond.[8]
- 14 September: Johnny Mercer's Music Shop ends its run on network radio (NBC).[6]
- 21 September: The Billie Burke Show ends its run on network radio CBS.[6]
- 3 October: Calling America ends its run on network radio (CBS).[6]
- 9 October: Chips Davis, Commando ends its run on network radio (CBS).[6]
- 26 December: Songs by Sinatra ends its run on network radio (CBS).[6]
Births
- 29 January: Tony Blackburn, English radio disc jockey.
- 6 April: Roger Cook, Australasian-born British investigative reporter.
- 6 May: Milton William Cooper (died 2001), American writer and shortwave broadcaster.
- 30 May: Charles Collingwood, Canadian-born actor.
- 31 July: William Bennett, American conservative pundit, politician and radio talk show host.
- 17 August: John Humphrys, Welsh-born news broadcaster.
- 11 September: Brian Perkins, New Zealand-born radio newsreader.
- 28 September: Mike Dickin (died 2006), English radio disc jockey and presenter.
- 23 October: Roger Scott (died 1989), English radio disc jockey.
- 26 November: Paul Burnett, English radio disc jockey.
- 27 December: Cokie Roberts (died 2019), American broadcast political journalist.
- Jaye Michael Davis (died 2006), American radio disc jockey and voice of Memphis's WDIA starting in 1977.
- Geoffrey Smith, American jazz percussionist and radio presenter in the UK.
Deaths
- 23 October: Ben Bernie, 52, American jazz violinist and radio personality.
References
Notes and References
- News: The Propaganda Front. William L.. Shirer. William L. Shirer. The Washington Post. 1943-02-14. 2023-12-10.
- Book: Taylor, John A.. Bletchley Park's Secret Sisters: Psychological Warfare in World War II. Dunstable. The Book Castle. 2005. 1-903747-35-X.
- Web site: The laughter dies. 15 July 2007.
- Web site: Historical Events in 1943. www.historyorb.com.
- Cox, Jim (2008). This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History. McFarland & Company, Inc. .
- Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. .
- News: CBS Sustainers On Lighter Side . 21 July 2015 . Broadcasting . June 28, 1943 . 49 .
- News: WRTD, Richmond, Quits Operation; WRNL Full-Time. 16 January 2015. Broadcasting. September 1, 1940.
