The year 1992 in radio involved some significant events. __TOC__

Events

* January - KUBE/

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

completes its shift from Mainstream Top 40 to

Rhythmic CHR Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics * Rhythmic (chart) The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, a ...

. * January 15 - AC-formatted KZOL/Salt Lake City flips to modern rock as KXRK * January 22 – Rebel forces occupy

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

's national radio station in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of ...

and broadcast a demand for the government's resignation. * February -

WPLJ WPLJ (95.5 FM) is a non-commercial Christian adult contemporary music radio station licensed to New York City. It is owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF) and broadcasts EMF's flagship programming service, K-Love. WPLJ's transmi ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

completes its shift from

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

Hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

. In addition, the station rebrands from "Mojo Radio" to the current "95-5 PLJ." * February 12 – Washington, D.C. area Top 40 radio station

WAVA-FM WAVA-FM (105.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Arlington, Virginia, and serving the Washington metro area. The station is owned and operated by the Salem Media Group, and airs a Christian talk and teaching radio format. Religio ...

changes to a religious format, which continues to this day. * February 18 – After over two decades as

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

's premier Top 40/CHR outlet (including a brief stint with

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

and a few name and call letter changes), WBSB flips to Gold-based

Hot AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet sto ...

as "Variety 104.3." * February 18 - The "Young Country" format debuts with KRSR 105.3 in Dallas dropping its hot AC format to become KRRM. The KRRM calls stood for "The Armadillo," but were just a placeholder for the KYNG calls, which it would acquire from a station in

Coos Bay, Oregon Coos Bay ( Coos language: Atsixiis) is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one ent ...

. * February 21 -

ABC-5 TV5 (also known as 5 and formerly known as ABC) is a Philippine free-to-air television network based in Mandaluyong, with its alternate studios located in Novaliches, Quezon City. It is the flagship property of TV5 Network, Inc. with Cignal ...

radio station " Kool 106" (later 106.7 Dream FM) launched. * April 20 - KKDJ/Fresno flips from album rock to modern rock * May 22 - KMMK/Las Vegas flips from adult contemporary to modern rock as KEDG * June 22 –

Radio Wimbledon Radio Wimbledon was the official radio station to the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the AELTC in Wimbledon. Their contract finished in 2011. It has now been replaced by the similar Live@Wimbledon station. About Radio Wimbledon broa ...

, the Official Radio Station of the

Wimbledon Tennis Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...

is launched. * August 1 - The FCC relaxes its longstanding rule allowing ownership of only one station per service per market. The new rules allow two stations per service per market and spur a big round of consolidation that would cash out owners like Noble Broadcast Group, Malrite Communications, Shamrock Communications and TK Communications. * September 8 – KJJO in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origi ...

flips from

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

. * October - Dallas/Ft. Worth gets its first duopoly as Alliance Broadcasting and KYNG take over KODZ "Oldies 94.9." The station is promptly flipped to a soft-leaning country format as KSNN "Sunny 95." * October 26 – WAPW/

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

flips from CHR to

Modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

as " 99X". * November 1 – KOAI/Dallas-Fort Worth drops its smooth jazz format as "106.1 The Oasis" to bring top-40 back to the market as KHKS "106.1 Kiss FM." (KEGL had left the format in the summer.) In response, KCDU "CD 107.5" switched from

Classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...

Smooth Jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the ...

a day later, picking up the KOAI call letters and "Oasis" moniker and firing PD Gary Reynolds, who had been hired just two weeks earlier. * November 9 - WIBF/

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

flipped from ethnic to

as "WDRE". * Late November -

WHTE-FM WHTE-FM is a contemporary hit radio formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Ruckersville, Virginia, serving Charlottesville and Central Virginia. WHTE-FM is owned and operated by Monticello Media. History Ridge Broadcasting Corporation ...

's new branding went live and became 101.9 FM in the Charlottesville, Virginia Area. * December 25 - KQLZ/

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

drops their "Pirate Radio" branding, and the album rock format, for

as "100.3 FM."

Debuts

*January 4 —

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN ...

debuts as a weekend service (under the name "SportsRadio ESPN"), with

Keith Olbermann Keith Theodore Olbermann (; born January 27, 1959) is an American sports and political commentator and writer. Olbermann spent the first 20 years of his career in sports journalism. He was a sports correspondent for CNN and for local TV and ...

Tony Bruno Anthony Joseph Bruno (born June 13, 1952) is an American sports talk radio host. He has worked for national American sports broadcasters including ESPN Radio, Fox Sports Radio, Premiere, and Sporting News Radio. Early life His father served in ...

and Chuck Wilson among the first group of hosts for the flagship program '' GameNight.'' * April —

Country Countdown USA ''Country Countdown USA'' is a nationally syndicated weekly country music top-30 chart countdown program hosted by Lon Helton. Debut The show premiered on the Mutual Broadcasting System in April 1992. The program began as the brainchild of We ...

, a countdown program spotlighting the top 30 songs of the week, as reported by ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

'' magazine. The show is hosted by Lon Helton, country editor for R&R, and features an in-studio interview with a currently popular country music singer or act. * October 10 – Billboard reintroduces the Crossover chart publishing its last chart after nearly 22 months. This time it is renamed the Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover chart, which would later be christened as the

Rhythmic Contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...

chart in 1997.

No dates

* WTCX in

Lakeville, Minnesota Lakeville is an exurb of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and the largest city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. It is approximately south of both downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul along Interstate Highway 35. Starting as a flourish ...

signs on the air with a

format. * Armstrong & Getty show debuts

Closings

* December 30 – English service of

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

closes down after 59 years of broadcasting.

Deaths

*February 2 -

Bert Parks Bert Parks (born Bertram Jacobson; December 30, 1914 – February 2, 1992) was an American actor, singer, and radio and television announcer, best known for hosting the annual Miss America telecast from 1955 to 1979. Early life Parks was bor ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

announcer (born 1914)Cox, Jim (2008). ''This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . *February 4 -

John Dehner John Dehner (DAY-ner) (born John Dehner Forkum, also credited Dehner Forkum; November 23, 1915February 4, 1992) was an American stage, radio, film, and television actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performan ...

, American actor in

, and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

s (born 1915) *February 15 - Marcos Rodriguez, Sr., Spanish radio pioneer, founder of KESS and Cuban entrepreneur (65) *March 18 - Ed Prentiss, American actor in

, perhaps best known for portraying the title role on the radio version of ''

Captain Midnight ''Captain Midnight'' (later rebranded on television as ''Jet Jackson, Flying Commando'') is a U.S. adventure franchise first broadcast as a radio serial from 1938 to 1949. The character's popularity throughout the 1940s and into the mid-1950s e ...

'' (born 1909?)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 219. *May 17 -

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the '' The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, te ...

, American musician, radio and television personality (born 1903) *July 9 -

Eric Sevareid Arnold Eric Sevareid (November 26, 1912 – July 9, 1992) was an American author and CBS news journalist from 1939 to 1977. He was one of a group of elite war correspondents who were hired by CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow and nicknamed " Murrow's ...

, American news reporter (born 1912) *October 16 -

Shirley Booth Shirley Booth (born Marjory Ford; August 30, 1898October 16, 1992) was an American actress. One of only 24 performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, Booth was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and three Tony Awa ...

, award-winning American actress and radio personality (born 1898)

References