Special Collections in Mass Media & Culture @UMD

#QSLfriday WDAN in Danville, Illinois, went on the air in October 1938, with studios in the basement of the Hotel Welford. WDAN programming included CBS Radio and locally produced programs. One such local program was the first job for a young Dick Van Dyke. #otr

#quizshows "Quiz Kids" was a radio and TV series originally broadcast in the 1940s and 1950s (left). In the 1980s, there was a revival, "New Quiz Kids," hosted by Norman Lear (right).

#QSLfriday WMBH (now KQYX) was initially licensed in January 1927. The station adopted the slogan "Where Memories Bring Happiness" based on its call sign.

#gameshows "Double or Nothing" (1940-1953) was quoted in the Congressional Record. "John Reed King, emcee, asked a contestant how far one billion one-dollar bills would reach. Rep. Frank Carlson (R-KS) tied the answer into the debate on the national debt." – Owensboro Messenger, 5/11/45 #otr

The warehouse, which formerly housed a Washington Post printing facility, is shared among several university departments for storage. Containing over 180,000 shelves, in rows that stand 35 feet tall, the facility helps the libraries store materials securely and efficiently. 2/2

Severn Library is the University Libraries' high-density storage facility, located just north of campus. This enormous warehouse holds thousands of books from the library's circulating collections, as well as archival materials from Special Collections and University Archives. 1/2

#QSLfriday KFTI in Wichita is one of the oldest stations in Kansas, dating to 1923, when it was founded as KFKB by the notorious "goat gland doctor," J. R. Brinkley. In late 1929, Radio Digest reported that "The Sunshine Station in the Heart of the Nation" was KFKB's new slogan.

Magazine caption: "Here's a partially completed sketch of silent-screen star Ben Turpin, which won a trip around the world for one contestant on 'Dotto.' Both studio and home audience compete for prizes, guessing dot-by-dot until the subject is identified." – TV-Radio Mirror (June 1958)

#gameshows "Dotto" was a television game show that aired in 1958, combining a general knowledge quiz with the children's game of "connect the dots." The program, hosted by Jack Narz, quickly became the highest-rated daytime show of that year. Later, the press revealed that the show had been rigged.

New Letterpress Studio in Hornbake Library Features 2 Donated Antique Presses today.umd.edu/to-experienc...

#QSLfriday KOMO (now KNWN) first broadcast on December 31, 1926. The studios moved to Downtown Seattle in 1927. The station began a long-running affiliation with NBC Radio that year, primarily with the Red Network, as well as with the short-lived West Coast NBC Orange Network from 1931 to 1933.

The 2025 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts luncheon and awards ceremony, an annual event of the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation, will take place tomorrow, Friday, November 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Gotham Hall in New York City. www.tvradiolibrary.org/giants-2025

How Fleischmann's Yeast created both CBS and The New Yorker magazine An odd media history story about big media and yeast, from the 1920s.

Little-known media history oddity: The Fleischmann's Yeast company started both The New Yorker magazine & the CBS broadcast network... and Theranos?

It's a strange story.

The Latest in The Lint Trap.

linttrapofhistory.substack.com/p/how-fleisc...

#gameshows "Video Village" was a daytime show on CBS from 1960 to 1962. It was notable for its unique "living board game" concept. Monty Hall served as host ("the Mayor"). The format reappeared as a Saturday-morning kids' show, "Shenanigans," on ABC from 1964 to 1965, hosted by Stubby Kaye.

The 2025 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts awards ceremony will take place this Friday at Gotham Hall in New York City. For complete details about tickets, please contact the 2025 Giants of Broadcasting Event Producer at debbie@giantsofbroadcasting.org or (732) 245-7799.

#QSLfriday This Cleveland, Ohio, radio station was known as WKYC from 1965 to 1972. The station first carried the call letters WTAM from 1923 to 1956. The station re-adopted the WTAM call letters in 1996 to reinforce the station's position on the AM band. #otr

Before SNL Made Late-Night TV Cool, Horror Hosts Made It Scary Fun These late-night horror hosts weren’t just introducing monster movies—they were inventing a whole new kind of TV.

"In the 1950s, many local stations simply signed off at midnight or filled their schedules with live wrestling and stock car races. That changed in 1957, when Universal’s Screen Gems released its “Shock” package of classic horror films." latenighter.com/features/bef...

Just dropped: Two new episodes of "Chachi Loves Everybody," an original podcast featuring Rick Dees, internationally syndicated host of "The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown," and Gary Sandy, acclaimed actor known for his iconic role on "WKRP in Cincinnati." To listen, visit: bit.ly/ChachiLovesE...

#GameShows Alan Thicke hosted the game show "Pictionary" (top) in syndication during the 1997-98 television season. A similar show, "Win, Lose or Draw" (bottom), premiered in 1987 and aired in both syndication and on NBC. The syndicated series, hosted by Bert Convy, ran until 1990.

The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation and the Broadcast Education Association Unveil Grant Initiative to Preserve Broadcast History radioink.com/2025/11/03/l... via
@radioink

The 2025 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts awards ceremony will take place next Friday at Gotham Hall in New York City. For complete details about remaining tickets, please contact the 2025 Giants of Broadcasting Event Producer at debbie@giantsofbroadcasting.org or (732) 245-7799.

A Peek Inside ... Special Collections and University Archives at the University of Maryland. From student protest photos to the flag of Syrian independence, staffers share objects with meaning. (Also Halloween decorations.) today.umd.edu/a-peek-insid...

#QSLfriday In 1965, WINS underwent a radical (at the time) format change. It became the third radio station in the United States to adopt all-news programming, implementing the new format around the clock.

#GameShows Family Feud's original run from 1976 to 1985 aired on ABC and in syndication, with Richard Dawson as host. The series was revived in 1988, airing on CBS and in syndication. Dawson returned as host from 1994 to 1995.

The series was revived in first-run syndication in 1999.

Anchor and Managing Editor of ABC World News Tonight, David Muir, and ABC News Radio National Correspondent, Steven Portnoy, will be honored during the 2025 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts awards ceremony in New York on Friday, November 14. tvradiolibrary.org/giants-2025

#QSLfriday In March 1968, KMOX-AM and TV moved into the pictured Gateway Tower building — "in the shadow of the dramatic 630-foot Gateway to the West arch." The radio station had offices and studios on the promenade level. This QSL card was sent to a DX-er in Örebro, Sweden, in February 1971.

#GameShowWednesday National Public Radio launched its weekly news quiz, "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me," in January 1998, with Carl Kasell as official judge and scorekeeper. Playwright and actor Peter Sagal joined the program as its host a few months later. It became one of NPR's most popular shows.

Talking With Giants of Broadcasting: Gary Sandy - Radio Ink Gary Sandy reflects on his role as Andy Travis on WKRP, being honored as a 2025 Giant of Broadcasting, and preserving the heart of radio.

"Though best known as Andy Travis on WKRP in Cincinnati, Gary Sandy never set out to become America’s favorite Program Director, but he brought him to life on TV in such a way that he inspired a generation of aspiring radio talent and managers. radioink.com/2025/07/11/t...

The 2025 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts luncheon and awards ceremony will take place at Gotham Hall in New York City from on Friday, November 14. For complete details, please contact the 2025 Giants of Broadcasting Event Producer at debbie@giantsofbroadcasting.org or (732) 245-7799.

#QSLfriday WBT made its first broadcast in March 1922. The next day's Charlotte Observer described, "the first station that has been erected and put in active operating condition in the Carolinas."

This QSL card was sent to a DX-er in Waterloo, Iowa, in October 1954