Twin Cities Broadcasting in the Analog Age: A Presentation for the St. Paul Radio Club Annual Banquet
()
About this ebook
Author-historian Jeff R. Lonto's presentation on the history of radio and television in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area that he gave for the St. Paul Radio Club's annual banquet at the University of St. Thomas in 2014.
In his speech, he discussed the early experiments with radio at the University of Minnesota going all the way back to 1912, leading to the formation of station KUOM, the origins of legendary radio stations in the Twin Cities such as WCCO, KSTP, WDGY, WTCN and WLOL, the role Twin Cities stations played in the formation of the national networks such as NBC and CBS, early FM stations, the TV stations, the dominance of top-40 radio and other events, up to the 2009 conversion of all television stations to digital.
Presented is a full transcript of this detailed, colorful history. Lonto, founder of Studio Z-7 Publishing, is the author of local broadcasting realted books "Fiasco At 1280" and "It Happened On the Air," the writer of a regular column called "It Happened On the Air" for the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting Newsletter in the 1990s, and has written many online features about broadcast history and other pop culture-related subjects.
Jeff R. Lonto
Jeff R. Lonto is a writer, publisher, blogger and historian residing in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He likes music from the 1960s, B movies from the 1930s and '40s, cats, beer and sugared soft drinks. His first published article, a history of Minneapolis-St. Paul television stations, appeared in a small local tabloid called the Hornet (printed on yellow paper, of course) in September 1985, courtesy of his friend and mentor, Darrell Mulroy. In the 1990s he wrote a regular feature for the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting Newsletter called "It Happened on the Air," chronicling various aspects of broadcasting history. In 1997 he founded Studio Z-7 Publishing, and in 1998 he published his first book, Fiasco at 1280, a behind-the-scenes story of Minneapolis radio station WWTC. Springing off of that, he hosted panel discussions featuring former personalities from that station, and was invited to discuss the book on WCCO Radio's Tim Russell Show, and on, of all places, WWTC Radio. Soon he published a second book, a history of the Grain Belt brewery in Minneapolis called Legend of the Brewery. This lead to interviews on Minnesota Public Radio, KARE-11 News, the Fox 9 KMSP morning show, and even WWTC Radio. He has been invited to speak at events at or near the Grain Belt brewery from time to time as well. In 2007 he published a third book, It Happened on the Air, a compilation of his Pavek Museum Newsletter columns, and in 2010, his first version of Chronicles from the Analog Age, a book covering a wide range of 20th Century pop culture topics, was published. In addition to his books, Lonto has written and had published a number of print and web articles, which have been referenced in a number of places. In 2000, the original version of his web article "The Trading Stamp Story," published on a now defunct website, was referenced in the New York Times ("Clicks, Not Licks, as Green Stamps Go Digital" by Michelle Slatalla, March 9, 2000), and more recently, the revised version on studioz7.com has been referenced in the Rochester, New York Democrat & Chronicle ("What Ever Happened To...trading stamps?" by Alan Morrell, July 21, 2015) and in an ebook, "Let's Close a Deal: Turn Contracts into Paying Customers for Your Company, Product, Service or Cause" by Christine Clifford (2013), National Public Radio's "Planet Money," as well as Wikipedia. As a media historian, Lonto's published articles were referenced in the print book "Media Tales: Stories of Minnesota TV, Radio, Publications and Personalities" by Sheri O'Meara and Martin Keller (D Media, Inc., 2007), he was a contributor to a radio industry print book called "Ain't Misbehavin' Just Conclavin" (Billboard Radio Monitor, 2005) and in 2014 he was invited to give a presentation to the St. Paul Radio Club Annual Banquet at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, on the history of broadcasting in the Twin Cities area. The transcript of the speech was published in an ebook, Twin Cities Broadcasting in the Analog Age. More recently, Jeff Lonto has published an ebook collection of short stories (some of which he originally wrote years ago) called Old Snapshots--Quirky Short Stories from Out of the Past. He has been a contributing writer for the online Minneapolis Happening magazine, and Pixable.com, he has given presentations about brewery history and collectibles at the Minnesota State Fair and the Autum Brew Review (a craft beer show in Minneapolis) for the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild, and he occasionally posts something on Jeff R. Lonto's Chronicles from the Analog Age Blog (theanalogage.blogspot.com).
Read more from Jeff R. Lonto
Terror Alert: 1970--The Strange Summer of Bomb Threats in Minnesota Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOld Snapshots Volume 1: Quirky Short Stories from Out of the Past Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGoing New Wave: a short story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings"A Trip at Granny's": a short story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings"Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue": a short story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Twin Cities Broadcasting in the Analog Age
Related ebooks
Black Radio ... Winner Takes All: America's 1St Black Djs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThose Great Old-Time Radio Years Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBoston Radio:: 1920-2010 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Voice in the Box: My Life in Radio Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Birmingham Broadcasting Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Los Angeles Television Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCapital Region Radio: 1920-2011 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSeattle Radio Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Norman Corwin and Radio: The Golden Years Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5ZB: The Voice Of An Iconic Radio Station Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNew Orleans Radio Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKnoxville's WNOX Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRadio Radio: The Story of the Irish Radio Pirates Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPirate Gold: The Real Story Behind the Offshore Radio Stations of the 1960s Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMaking Waves: Fun and Adventure As a Young D J On Britain’s Offshore Pirate Radio Stations In the Mid-60’s Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPhiladelphia Television Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCincinnati Television Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLady of the Press: Radio's lost 1944 romantic-mystery serial Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings50 Favs of the '60S '70S '80S Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Life as a Great Lakes Broadcaster Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChattanooga Radio and Television Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRadio Memories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAugusta's WGAC Radio: The Voice of the Garden City for Seventy Years Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRocking America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSex and Broadcasting: A Handbook on Starting a Radio Station for the Community Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chicago's Radio and Television Industry: A Quest for World Class, #5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLouisville Television Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Just Remember This Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSoundies and the Changing Image of Black Americans on Screen: One Dime at a Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWho Invented the Television?: Sarnoff vs. Farnsworth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Performing Arts For You
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Macbeth (new classics) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Robin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hamlet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Whale / A Bright New Boise Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diamond Eye: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yes Please Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coreyography: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wuthering Heights Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unsheltered: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Importance of Being Earnest: A Play Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hollywood's Dark History: Silver Screen Scandals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For colored girls who have considered suicide/When the rainbow is enuf Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lucky Dog Lessons: From Renowned Expert Dog Trainer and Host of Lucky Dog: Reunions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Romeo and Juliet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Life in Parts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes: Revised and Complete Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book: The Script Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Best Women's Monologues from New Plays, 2020 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'm Your Huckleberry: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Count Of Monte Cristo (Unabridged) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Our Town: A Play in Three Acts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Strange Loop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Trial Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Midsummer Night's Dream, with line numbers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Twin Cities Broadcasting in the Analog Age
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Twin Cities Broadcasting in the Analog Age - Jeff R. Lonto
TWIN CITIES BROADCASTING IN THE ANALOG AGE
A Presentation for the St. Paul Radio Club Annual Banquet
at the University of St. Thomas
April 26, 2014
By JEFF R. LONTO
Copyright 2014, 2015 by Jeff R. Lonto. All rights reserved.
Published by Studio Z-7 Publishing, Minneapolis, MN, via Smashwords.
International Standard Book Number: 978-0-9660213-6-3
Forward
Introduction
Early Radio
Television and Early FM
Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio
The Sixties and Seventies
Changes in Television
Radio in the Eighties
The Long Road to Digital
Fun Stuff
FORWARD
"Jeff Lonto, local author and historian, has published articles on subjects as diverse as beer and brewery history to trading stamps. One of his main interests is media history, which lead to his first book, Fiasco At 1280--The Rise and Hard Fall of a Twin Cities Radio Station. Over the course of two decades he wrote a series of articles for the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting, which later formed his 2007 book, It Happened On the Air--Amusing Stories of Radio-TV History.
"For our program, Jeff will explore Twin Cities Broadcasting in the Analog Age.
He’ll go back to the early local radio stations in the 1920s, work into the television era, and get into the formation of the big networks and how Twin Cities stations played a role in it. He’ll point out the various changes in broadcast media, primarily from a consumer’s point of view with a few technical details thrown in, up to the television conversion to digital channels."
--From the St. Paul Radio Club website
*****
On April 26, 2014, I was invited to give a presentation at the St. Paul Radio Club Annual Banquet, held at the club’s headquarters at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, about the history of broadcasting in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. It was an honor to be given the opportunity. The