National Radio Day August 20th

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National Radio Day August 20th

Postby paterson » Mon Aug 19, 2019 6:23 pm

National Radio Day is celebrated on August 20th in the US. The reason for August 20th looks like this was the date generally accepted of the first radio station in the USA, August 20, 1920.

In Detroit 8MK which was an amateur radio license (later to become WWJ) first broadcast on this date. The station billed itself as the world's first radio station in the mid 1940's.

Doesn't look like we have a National Radio Day in Canada, however we could possibly celebrate on the same day as our American cousins, or maybe even better, celebrate either on the first of December or May 20th. Radio XWA in Montreal (later to become CFCF) first started testing in the fall of 1919, and played music on December 1st 1919. The first regular broadcasting began on May 20th 1920 with a musical concert that was heard as far away as the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa which was 110 miles away from the transmitter in Montreal. The sound in Ottawa was clear, but somewhat weak or fuzzy in downtown Montreal.

National Radio Day first came about in the mid 90's in the US but didn't get any national traction until 2011 when NPR radio gave it some national exposure. The day is designed to celebrate one of the world's great inventions, the business that we all love, RADIO!

Anyway, happy National Radio Day everyone! It might be worth looking at our own day on May 20th? Any thoughts on this? Actually wouldn't be a bad date since it will always fall somewhat near the May 2-4 weekend, and what could be more Canadian than that?
paterson
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