All news on FM in the late 1960's?

[secondchoice]

Some time around 1967, I saved up my lawn mowing money to purchase an AM VHF (aircraft) radio. The aircraft band was 108 + but I could tune in one FM station in Libertyville at 107.5*. IIRC it was all news. Fast forward almost 5 decades, I wonder was it really all news? If so, how long did all news last?

No digital readouts back in the day, so I assume it was 107.5

 

[frankberry]

I believe that you're correct. From Wikipedia:

107.5 signed on in 1958 with the original call letters WFMQ-FM. In late 1964, the station was purchased by broadcaster Gordon McLendon and its calls were changed to WNUS-FM; it was at that point that 107.5 FM was first paired with 1390 AM, then known as WNUS and programming all-news.

 

[radioman148]

WNUS was the first all news station in the US. Previously XTRA out of Baja California serving San Diego & LA was the first all news station in world. At least that's the way they advertised it.

 

[cyberdad]

Gordon Maclendon (sp?) launched and ran all-news WNUS after he threw in the towel on WYNR. I believe he also owned (and/or ran) XETRA. My memory is that WNUS did a pretty decent job and attracted quite a bit of attention when it hit the airwaves, but couldn't compete with WBBM when it flipped to all news in 1968. This in the wake of WYNR turning out to be no match for WLS earlier in the decade.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

WNUS-FM used to come in quite often in SE Michigan when it was like 33 kW, as long as you were far enough away from WGPR. WCCW-FM moved from 92.1 to 107.5 25 years or so ago, which complicated the 107.5 situation. There were times I could get WWWW, WYEN, and WWRM just by turning the rotator on 106.7 because all had a relatively high ERP.

WNUS 1390 I remember mainly during the era of "There are seven fulltime Chicago radio stations. Only one plays Beautiful Music." I think they continued the bells between news stories during this era. As I recall, they did that when they were all news also. I could always tell I had WNUS when I heard the bells.

 

[1L6E6VHF]

If the Wikipedia page is correct, XETRA did not go all-news until 1961, and had given up that format in the intervening years between then and now.

I guess that would leave Cuba's Radio Reloj with its claim of being the oldest all-news station, citing 1946 as their start.

Reloj, of course, is not what we think of when we think of a news station. They are known most for their continous time transmission with Second clicks (like WWV) and their famous "RR" Morse code signature (didahdit didahdit) every minute (making them very easy to DX).

Within those minutes, is talk that falls somewhere between news and announcements.

 

[Gregg.]

Unfortunately in countries with controlled media, most newscasts do wind up sounding like something between news and announcements, because pre-scripted stories are easier to control. I remember watching XEWT 12 news from Tijuana in my motel room in San Diego a couple of decades ago. Modern looking set, professional anchors. But every story was from a press release. Ribbon cutting at new government office, new highway extension opened, new wing at a school. But no crime, no strikes, no demonstrations. I sometimes wondered, if a XEWT camera crew were on their way to a ribbon cutting and there was a fire in a big apartment building, would they drive AROUND the fire to get to the photo op?

Radio Reloj probably is the world's oldest All-News station. I find it interesting how they do 50 second stories so they can always be finished before the next minute starts with the time signal and morse code. They use two anchors in the daytime, but one anchor solos at night. Sometimes the anchor is slow and steps on the time signal, or must rush to finish the story.

And there are no actualities or spots. It's almost all talk from the anchors, only getting a break for the morse code or an occasional prerecorded announcement.

 

[davideduardo]

I guess that would leave Cuba's Radio Reloj with its claim of being the oldest all-news station, citing 1946 as their start.

Actually, it was in 1949 when Goar Mestre inaugurated Reloj on the roof of the CMQ building in La Habana. The format was the same with a time check and the "code" ID every minute. That was an imperative in the era when a watch cost more than a week's salary in Cuba.

Reloj, of course, is not what we think of when we think of a news station. They are known most for their continous time transmission with Second clicks (like WWV) and their famous "RR" Morse code signature (didahdit didahdit) every minute. Within those minutes, is talk that falls somewhere between news and announcements.

And that, today, is a hold-over from the era when time announcements were as valuable as news items; Mexico City had a station that only gave the time once a minute along with 11 5" commercials

 

[davideduardo]

Unfortunately in countries with controlled media, most newscasts do wind up sounding like something between news and announcements, because pre-scripted stories are easier to control. I remember watching XEWT 12 news from Tijuana in my motel room in San Diego a couple of decades ago. Modern looking set, professional anchors. But every story was from a press release. Ribbon cutting at new government office, new highway extension opened, new wing at a school. But no crime, no strikes, no demonstrations. I sometimes wondered, if a XEWT camera crew were on their way to a ribbon cutting and there was a fire in a big apartment building, would they drive AROUND the fire to get to the photo op?

This is more likely a case of the local news in Tijuana not being a very important priority for that station (local news in Latin America, with highly centralized governments, is not prioritized).

If you listen to radio in the larger Mexican markets, particularly Mexico City, you will find criticism and analysis of the government and politicians on more stations and with more different points of view than even in the US.

 

[davideduardo]

WNUS was the first all news station in the US. Previously XTRA out of Baja California serving San Diego & LA was the first all news station in world. At least that's the way they advertised it.

XETRA was more than a decade late to the all-news finish line.

 

[Unregistered]

iroxa

WAVA, Arlington, VA began all news in January, 1961, which makes it the first all news station.

 

[davideduardo]

WAVA, Arlington, VA began all news in January, 1961, which makes it the first all news station.

WAVA, an AM daytimer, began all news in early 1962. It did not go 24 hours until 1968, when WAVA-FM began simulcasting the AM.

XETRA covering nearly all of Southern California, began on May 6, 1961. That was the first All News station in any US market, although the format was about 12 years old outside the US at the time.

The first two items at http://www.americanradiohistory.com...=xetra+all+news&zoom_cat[]=3&zoom_per_page=10
will show some details of the launch.

 

[Gregg.]

David said >>>This is more likely a case of the local news in Tijuana not being a very important priority for that station (local news in Latin America, with highly centralized governments, is not prioritized). If you listen to radio in the larger Mexican markets, particularly Mexico City, you will find criticism and analysis of the government and politicians on more stations and with more different points of view than even in the US.<<<

I should have made it clear that I'm talking about maybe 25 years ago, when the PRI controlled everything. XEWT 12 did an hour of news at 6 and an hour at 10pm. But there was no news that might in any way be considered negative in general or critical of authority. Clearly the station did NOT want to rock the boat with the government. For instance, all the San Diego stations were leading with a sewage release from a water treatment plant on the Tijuana River on the Mexican side of the border. Yet XEWT didn't mention it, not even as a wire copy story, let alone sending a camera crew.

I'd imagine from looking at Tijuana newspapers that they were covering the real news. But with XEWT owned by Televisa, Mexico's biggest broadcasting network, and the only Spanish language VHF in the market (XETV 6 broadcasts in English and the other stations were all UHF) they weren't going to tell us anyone was murdered or any business was robbed or the sewage plant is spilling thousands of gallons of raw sewage into the river.

The only negative story I saw was when police had found someone who killed a police officer. The man lay shot and dead on a Tijuana street. The TV cameras got video of his body and face from all angles, something you'd never see on U.S. TV. This was one negative story authorities clearly wanted XEWT to broadcast. Then it was right back to ribbon-cuttings and men in suits holding government meetings.

I'm sure today, with Mexico's competitive elections and the end of one-party democracy, XEWT is freer to broadcast the real news.

 

[semoochie]

From March 18 through May 4 1959, KLIQ Portland OR ran an All News format and was credited as being the first in the nation but it was a daytimer.

 

[davideduardo]

David said >>>This is more likely a case of the local news in Tijuana not being a very important priority for that station (local news in Latin America, with highly centralized governments, is not prioritized). If you listen to radio in the larger Mexican markets, particularly Mexico City, you will find criticism and analysis of the government and politicians on more stations and with more different points of view than even in the US.<<<

I should have made it clear that I'm talking about maybe 25 years ago, when the PRI controlled everything. XEWT 12 did an hour of news at 6 and an hour at 10pm. But there was no news that might in any way be considered negative in general or critical of authority. Clearly the station did NOT want to rock the boat with the government. For instance, all the San Diego stations were leading with a sewage release from a water treatment plant on the Tijuana River on the Mexican side of the border. Yet XEWT didn't mention it, not even as a wire copy story, let alone sending a camera crew.

I'd imagine from looking at Tijuana newspapers that they were covering the real news. But with XEWT owned by Televisa, Mexico's biggest broadcasting network, and the only Spanish language VHF in the market (XETV 6 broadcasts in English and the other stations were all UHF) they weren't going to tell us anyone was murdered or any business was robbed or the sewage plant is spilling thousands of gallons of raw sewage into the river.

The only negative story I saw was when police had found someone who killed a police officer. The man lay shot and dead on a Tijuana street. The TV cameras got video of his body and face from all angles, something you'd never see on U.S. TV. This was one negative story authorities clearly wanted XEWT to broadcast. Then it was right back to ribbon-cuttings and men in suits holding government meetings.

I'm sure today, with Mexico's competitive elections and the end of one-party democracy, XEWT is freer to broadcast the real news.

I worked in Mexico starting with an internship in 1963 and consulting well into the 80's, as well as dealing with news and sports correspondents in the 90's and beyond. While Televisa was well connected with the PRI, I still would not say that there was any fear of rocking the boat, either.

It's hard to explain the extremely different focus on localism in the media in Mexico and the differences in the kinds of stories that are of interest to listeners and viewers. You have to keep in mind that so much of the government is centralized in the national government, unlike the US where states, counties and cities have independent and powerful control over things like law enforcement and education. So the things that affect people's lives mostly originate in Mexico City... and in most markets in Mexico there is little local TV news coverage at all with nearly everything coming from the Televisa or Azteca network in the Capital.

A good example of this is found in the US in Puerto Rico where all TV originates in San Juan, with only a few of those infamous "Sunday Shows" being dedicated to the city of license. There are no regular local newscasts. And on radio, the San Juan stations simulcast on additional stations out on the Island to complete coverage of the whole market; they don't cover local news unless it is of "national" interest. And for many decades there have been no significant newspapers any place outside of San Juan. And, like Mexico and Latin America, most government is centralized. PR has police, education, and most services such as public health all located in San Juan.

It's also important to note that subjects like the environment are not of as great an interest as in the US where we have several decades of focus on such issues. Unless it directly affects residents, such as the pollution in Mexico City, you won't hear much about oil spills, contamination, product labeling and such as it's less of a concern to the bulk of the population... so by comparison, news content will differ due to societal and national values and interests.

 

[Oscar Madison]

Wait a minute...

I also checked Wikipedia.

WNUS went all news in September, 1964.

WAVA, Arlington, VA went all news in January, 1961.

That makes them first and makes Arthur W. Arendel the originator of the all news format (not McClendon).

 

[K.M. Richards]

Wait a minute...

I also checked Wikipedia.

WNUS went all news in September, 1964.

WAVA, Arlington, VA went all news in January, 1961.

That makes them first and makes Arthur W. Arendel the originator of the all news format (not McClendon).

I've read and re-read this thread and I come to these conclusions:

1. If we are talking about the first station in the U.S. to adopt an all-news format, even though limited to daytime hours by the terms of the station license, the Portland station semoochie mentioned wins.

2. If we are talking about the first 24/7 all-news format for a U.S. market, McLendon wins in Tijuana (serving San Diego).

3. If we are talking about an all-news format anywhere in the world, CMQ in Havana wins hands down.