Published: August 19, 2010

U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for August 20

Share This Story

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO)

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO)

FRIDAY, AUGUST 20: FIRST RADIO STATION

Profile America -- Friday, August 20th. One of the nation's first radio stations began broadcasting in Detroit on this date in 1920 -- station 8MK, now operating as WWJ. The station was owned by the Detroit News, and its daily program was called "Tonight's Dinner." For some reason, the station was granted an amateur license, which soon changed to commercial. The first station granted a commercial license was KDKA in Pittsburgh, which began broadcasting in October of 1920. Radio soon caught the public's fancy, and the number of stations grew rapidly. Now, there are more than 11,000 radio stations across the U.S. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 6294

The Radio and Television Museum

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2010, t.1095

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau