HIT: KDKA

["David A. Lindsey" <dlindsey@LWSD.WEDNET.EDU>]

So, why "KDKA"?
KDKA's license - the first radio license ever-was issued October 27, 1920.
The call letters "KDKA" were assigned from a roster maintained to provide
identification for ships and marine shore stations, these being the only
regular radio services then in operation under formal license by the
Federal Government.

Arrangements were made with the Pittsburgh Post morning newspaper to secure
election returns by telephone. The election night broadcast originated in a
tiny, makeshift shack atop one of the Westinghouse Electric and
Manufacturing buildings in East Pittsburgh. There was no studio, just a
single room which accommodated transmitting equipment, a turntable for
records, and the first broadcast staff mentioned above. The election
returns were relayed to about a thousand listeners, who learned through
this fantastic new medium, that Warren G. Harding defeated James M.Cox in
the race for the White House. The concept of "Broadcasting" had been born.

Interestingly enough, Frank Conrad was not present at that historic
broadcast. Still a bit fearful that the new equipment could fail, he was
standing by five miles away in Wilkinsburg at his experimental station,
8XK, ready to carry on the broadcast in the event of trouble at KDKA. To
meet the demands of a growing program service, KDKA, in January of 1921,
hired the world's first full-time radio announcer. He was Harold W. Arlin,
a young electrical engineer who was then employed at Westinghouse. Arlin
wandered over to inspect the operation of KDKA, just to satisfy his
curiosity. When he discovered the station was looking for an announcer, he
applied and got the job.

Radio's first studio is actually a tent
For the first six months of its existence, KDK A was a radio station
without a studio. There had been little need for one, since all programs
were originated either as phonograph records played in the "shack" atop the
Westinghouse plant, or churches, theaters, hotels, or other remote points.
However, in May of 1921, it was decided to pitch an experimental tent on
the roof next to the transmitter room. This tent-studio served admirably
all summer long and left its lessons to guide engineers in the use of
drapes and acoustical board in building future indoor studios. Early radio
listeners came to expect the whistle of a passing freight train which, in
the days of the tent studio, became a regular 8:30pm feature on KDKA, no
matter what the program.

In the next several years, KDKA had studios in Pittsburgh's William Penn
Hotel and in the Westinghouse building in East Pittsburgh. Starting in
1934, KDKA studios occupied the entire third floor of the Grant
Building-and in 1956, KDKA Radio moved to the newly-constructed Gateway
Center - where KDKA Radio and TV are still today.

In January of 1923, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company began
experiments that would link radio stations across the country, creating the
first radio network. KDKA Radio was one of four original stations on the
AT&T Network.

KDKA Radio also took part in an experimental trans-continental broadcast on
March 7, 1924. A banquet in the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria in New York
for MIT alumni was carried by WJZ in New York. KDKA picked up the program
by short wave and relayed the signal to KFKX in Hastings, Nebraska, which
relayed it in turn to KGO in San Francisco, California.

After NBC was established in 1926, KDKA Radio (which was found at 980 on
the dial at that time) was one of the first to join NBC's Blue Network. By
1939, there were 65 stations on the Blue Network and several programs from
Pittsburgh were carried on the whole network. In 1941, KDKA shifted to
NBC's Red Network.

Although our programs, format and personalities have changed, through the
years, one thing has remained the same: KDKA has been and is a source for
news and information -a constant companion for listeners.
David A. Lindsey
Librarian
Lakewood Middle and High School Libraries
Lakewood, WA 98259
dlindsey@lwsd.wednet.edu
ka7obu@gte.net
ka7obu@arrl.net

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