The year 1954 saw a number of significant happenings in

radio broadcasting Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio signal, audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a lan ...

history. __TOC__

Events

*20 January – The

National Negro Network The National Negro Network was a black-oriented radio programming service in the United States founded on January 20, 1954 by Chicago advertiser W. Leonard Evans, Jr. It was the first black-owned radio network in the country, and its programmin ...

is formed in the United States. *25 January – First broadcast of

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...

's radio play ''

Under Milk Wood ''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh people, Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. The BBC commissioned the play, which was later adapted for the stage. The first public reading was in New York City in 1953. A Under Milk Wood (1972 film), f ...

'', two months after its author's death, with

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

as 'First Voice', on the

BBC Third Programme The BBC Third Programme was a national radio station produced and broadcast from 1946 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 3. It first went on the air on 29 September 1946 and became one of the leading cultural and intellectual forces ...

. *1 February – KECA and KECA-FM, two Los Angeles stations, change their call letters to KABC and KABC-FM respectively, reflecting their new ownership by

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

United Paramount Theaters United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

. *1 April –

, owners of WENR-Chicago, purchase time-share counterpart WLS-Chicago from Sears, Roebuck and Co., and merge both stations under the WLS call sign ( their FM sister station would keep the WENR call sign until 1965). *15 July – The

Nippon Broadcasting System , or JOLF, is a Japanese radio station based in Yurakucho, Chiyoda ward, Tokyo, headquartered near the Tokyo Imperial Palace. It is also the main company of the Nippon Broadcasting Group. Nippon Broadcasting System is a subsidiary of Fu ...

initiates its first official regular broadcasting service in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. *18 October –

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American multinational semiconductor company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is one of the top 10 semiconductor companies worldwide based on sales volume. The company's focus is on developing analog ...

announces the development of the first commercial

transistor radio A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver that uses transistor-based circuitry. Previous portable radios used vacuum tubes, which were bulky, fragile, had a limited lifetime, consumed excessive power and required large heavy batteri ...

. The

Regency TR-1 The Regency TR-1 was the first commercially manufactured transistor radio, introduced in 1954. Despite mediocre performance, about 150,000 units were sold, due to the novelty of its small size and portability. Previously, transistors had only bee ...

goes on sale the following month. *17 November – WJW (AM) in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, Ohio (later

WKNR WKNR (850 AM) – branded as ''850 ESPN Cleveland'' – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland. Owned by Good Karma Brands, WKNR is the Cleveland affiliate for ESPN Radio and the AM flag ...

) is sold by William M. O'Neill to

Storer Broadcasting Storer Communications, known from 1927 to 1952 as the Fort Industry Company and from 1952 to 1983 as Storer Broadcasting, was an American media company that owned television and radio stations and cable television systems. Founded by George Butle ...

Debuts

*3 January – ''

Man's Right to Knowledge ''Man's Right to Knowledge'' was a radio program that ran from January 3, 1954 to December 26, 1954 on CBS. Created by Columbia University on the occasion of its bicentennial, the show consisted of two weekly lecture series, each episode featurin ...

'' debuts on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

. *3 January – WSTN debuts as a 1 kW daytimer at St. Augustine, Florida. *9 January – ''Roadshow'' debuts on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. Starring

Bill Cullen William Lawrence Cullen (February 18, 1920 – July 7, 1990) was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades. Known for appearing on game shows and later as a prolific game show host, he hosted 23 shows, ear ...

, the three-hour weekly program is considered a forerunner of the network's ''

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

'', which began a year later.Cox, Jim (2008). ''This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . *6 April – ''

Crime and Peter Chambers ''Crime and Peter Chambers'' is an American old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It beg ...

'' debuts on

. *2 September – ''

Dr. Sixgun ''Dr. Sixgun'' is an American Western radio drama that aired on NBC, September 2, 1954 – October 13, 1955. Plot summary Dr. Ray Matson, ( Karl Weber)Terrace, Vincent (1999).''Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. M ...

'' debuts on

.Dunning, John. (1998). ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''. Oxford University Press. . *25 October –

WMSN WMSN-TV (channel 47) is a television station in Madison, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station has studios on Big Sky Drive on the west side of Madison, ...

in Raleigh, North Carolina debuts as a 500 watt daytimer at Raleigh, North Carolina. *2 November – ''

Hancock's Half Hour ''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The radio series starred Tony Hancock, with Sidney James, Bill Kerr and,at various ...

'' debuts on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

radio.

Endings

*3 January – ''

Quiz Kids ''Quiz Kids'' is a radio and TV series originally broadcast in the 1940s and 1950s. Created by Chicago public relations and advertising man Louis G. Cowan, and originally sponsored by Alka-Seltzer, the series was first broadcast on NBC from ...

'' ends its run on network radio (

). *6 January – '' Dr. Christian'' ends its run on network radio (

). *15 January – ''Double or Nothing'' ends its run on network radio (

). *16 January – ''The Baron and the Bee'' ends its run on network radio (

). *5 March – '' Family Skeleton'' ends its run on network radio (CBS). *12 March – '' House of Glass'' ends its run on network radio (NBC). *26 March – ''

Front Page Farrell ''Front Page Farrell'' is an American old-time radio program that was broadcast on Mutual from June 23, 1941 to March 13, 1942, and on NBC from September 14, 1942, to March 26, 1954. The episodes broadcast on Mutual originated at WOR, making th ...

'' ends its run on network radio (

). *27 March – '' Twenty Questions'' ends its run on network radio. *28 March – ''

Bulldog Drummond Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who ...

'' ends its run on network radio ( Mutual). *30 March – ''

Rocky Fortune ''Rocky Fortune'' is an American radio drama that aired weekly on NBC Radio beginning in October 1953. The series ended its run in March 1954 after 25 episodes. The program was created by George Lefferts. Frank Sinatra voiced the title role of R ...

'', a half-hour detective drama starring

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

, aired its final episode on

. *22 May – '' The Armstrong Theater of Today'' ends its run on network radio (

). *27 May – ''

Time for Love ''Time for Love'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Freddie Jackson. It was released by Capitol Records on August 3, 1992, in the United States. The album includes the singles " Me and Mrs. Jones", "Can We Try" and the album's opener " ...

'' ends its run on network radio (

). *18 June – ''

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' is an American television sitcom that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 3, 1952, to April 23, 1966, and starred the real-life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was b ...

'' ends its run on network radio (

). *24 June – '' The Six Shooter'' ends its run on network radio (

). *9 July – '' Can You Top This?'' ends its run on network radio (

). *1 August – '' Broadway Is My Beat'' ends its run on network radio (

). *7 September – ''Crime and Peter Chambers'' ends its run on network radio (

). *25 September – ''

Escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Escape'' (1928 film), a German silent drama film * ''Escape!'' (film), a 1930 British crime film starring Austin Trevor and Edna Best * ''Escape'' (1940 film), starring Robert Taylor and ...

'' ends its run on

. *25 September – ''

Stars over Hollywood ''Stars Over Hollywood'' (also known as ''Armour Theatre'') is an American anthology television series of "original comedies and light dramas" produced by Revue Productions. Revue's first television series, it was a filmed in Hollywood and ai ...

'' ends its run on network radio (

). *30 September – ''

On Stage (radio show) ''On Stage'' is an American radio show also known as ''On Stage with Cathy and Elliott Lewis'' and ''Cathy and Elliott Lewis on Stage''. It was an anthology program that aired on CBS for two seasons from 1953 to 1954. Origin Elliott and Ca ...

'' ends its run on network radio (

). *3 September – ''The Lone Ranger'' ends its run of original radio shows. *27 November – '' The Falcon'' ends its run on network radio ( Mutual). *26 December – ''

'' ends its run on network radio (

). *(undated) – '' The Jack Berch Show'' ends its run on network radio (

Births

*12 January –

Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American broadcaster and media personality. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1 ...

, American

shock jock A shock jock is a radio broadcaster or DJ who entertains listeners and attracts attention using humor or melodramatic exaggeration that may offend some portion of the listening audience. The term is used pejoratively to describe provocative or ...

radio personality A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...

*22 August –

Kurt Andersen Kurt B. Andersen (born August 22, 1954) is an American writer, the author of novels and nonfiction as well as a writer for television and the theater. He was also a co-founder of '' Spy'' magazine, as well as co-creator and for its 20-year run ...

, American novelist, columnist and

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

host *26 August – Steve Wright, English DJ *27 August – Andrew Marshall, English comedy scriptwriter *8 September – Joe Cipriano, American

voice over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non-d ...

actor and radio personality *3 October –

Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights and social justice activist, Baptists, Baptist minister, radio talk show host, and TV personality, who is also the founder of the National Action Network civil rig ...

, American activist, minister, and radio talk show host *20 November –

Steve Dahl Steven Robert Dahl (born November 20, 1954) is an American radio personality. He is the owner and operator of the Steve Dahl Network, a Subscription business model, subscription-based podcasting network. Dahl gained a measure of national attention ...

, American radio personality and humorist *27 November – Arthur Smith, English comedian and radio presenter *5 December – Peter Arbogast, American sportscaster

Deaths

*10 January –

Chester Wilmot Reginald William Winchester Wilmot (21 June 1911 – 10 January 1954) was an Australian war correspondent who reported for the BBC and the ABC during the Second World War. After the war he continued to work as a broadcast reporter, and wro ...

, Australian war correspondent, killed in accident to

BOAC Flight 781 BOAC Flight 781 was a scheduled British Overseas Airways Corporation passenger flight from Singapore to London. On 10 January 1954, a de Havilland Comet passenger jet operating the flight suffered an explosive decompression at altitude and crash ...

(born

1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...

) *4 November –

Joy Hathaway Joy Hathaway (born Joy Hathaway Meeker; 1913 – November 4, 1954) was a Canadian-born American actress on stage, old-time radio, and television. Early years One of five children and the only daughter born to Bessie Ann Townsend and Henry Clem ...

, Canadian-born American actress of the

Golden Age of Radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

References

{{reflist Radio by year