1956 in radio

List of years in radio (table)
... 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 ... 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 ... 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 ...
In television 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 In music 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 In film 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
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Events

• February 13 – NBC and Westinghouse Broadcasting consummate a station ownership trade which saw NBC attaining owned-and-operated AM and TV stations in Philadelphia (renamed WRCV), and Westinghouse receiving NBC's AM, FM and TV stations in Cleveland (all of which took the KYW callsign). A later legal battle found that NBC engaged in extortion to make the trade happen, even threatening to pull the NBC-TV affiliation off of both Westinghouse's TV stations in Philadelphia and Boston. The swap was reversed by the FCC in June 1965.
• September 24 - Manila Chronicle owners Eugenio Lopez, Sr. and Fernando Lopez of the Philippines established Chronicle Broadcasting Network and launches AM stations DZXL 960 (The Voice of the People), DZQL Radio Reloj, and the first FM station DZYL-FM 102.1 MHz (now MOR 101.9).
• November 9 – The Pittsburgh Police "emergency band" frequency goes wild receiving Cuban police dispatches and squawks from a Sheffield, England public safety band. The transmissions are never explained but cease by nightfall.

Debuts

• January 22 – Fort Laramie debuts on CBS.
• January 27 – CBS Radio Workshop debuts on CBS.
• January 29 – Indictment debuts on CBS.
• 19 May – First edition of the popular record request programme Sveriges bilradio (1956–1973) on Sveriges Radiotjänst (forerunner of Sveriges Radio).
• August 15: WWRI-West Warwick, Rhode Island begins broadcasting.

Closings

• February 4 - True or False ends its run on network radio (Mutual)
• April 7 - ABC Dancing Party ends its run on network radio.
• June 29 - The Brighter Day ends its run on network radio (CBS).
• June 30 – The Guiding Light officially ends its 19-year run on CBS radio, having spent the previous four years on both radio and television. It continues on television until September 2009.
• July 1 - America's Town Meeting of the Air ends its run on network radio (ABC).
• November 16 - Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories ends its run on network radio (CBS).

Births

• February 22 – Hugh Hewitt, American lawyer, academic, and radio host
• February 27 – Tim Brando, radio host and sportscaster.
• March 27 – Dale Arnold, American sportscaster
• July 4 – Mark Belling, radio talk-show host for WISN in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• July 16 – Jerry Doyle, American actor and radio talk show host.
• September 1 – Bernie Wagenblast, American editor and broadcaster
• October 6 – Jimmy Cefalo, American sportscaster, game show host and former NFL player. Currently does play-by-play for the Miami Dolphins.
• December 17 – Joe Postove, radio host WNIS Radio, Norfolk, Virginia.
• December 31 – Shelagh Rogers, Canadian radio host
• Steve Buckley, Boston Herald sports columnist, joined Boston, Massachusetts sports radio station WEEI in 1993
• Christopher O'Riley, American classical pianist and host of the weekly NPR program From the Top