The year 1952 saw a number of significant happenings in
radio broadcasting history.
Events
17 February – An abridged version of
Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot is performed in the studio of the
Club d'Essai de la Radio and broadcast on French radio, a year prior to its theatrical premiere.[1]
4 March – The Courier, the first seagoing radio station, is dedicated by United States president
Harry Truman.
21 March – The
Moondog Coronation Ball is hosted by star deejay
Alan Freed and WJW (AM) in
Cleveland, Ohio (modern-day
WKNR) at the
Cleveland Arena. Among those scheduled to perform at the event were
Paul Williams and the Hucklebuckers,
The Dominoes,
Varetta Dillard and
Tiny Grimes, but only the Hucklebuckers are able to perform before the concert is shut down by officials. So many tickets were counterfeited that the 12,500 seat Arena now had 25,000 people in attendance, alarming Cleveland Police Capt. William Zimmerman, who stopped the show. A near riot ensues when close to 7,000 additional fans, unable to buy tickets, rush the gates and storm into the arena. Freed and WJW gain national attention and prestige, and the event is now universally recognized as the first
rock 'n roll concert.
28 August –
DXCC in
Cagayan de Oro, Philippines officially signs on the air, and becomes the first radio station of what becomes known as
Radio Mindanao Network.
^Cox, Jim (2008). This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History. McFarland & Company, Inc.
ISBN978-0-7864-3848-8.