Documents and publications chronicling
radio's first 60 years.
Broadcasting Magazine, Broadcasting Yearbook,
Radio Annual, Radex, White's Log, Jones Log

1935 to 1980 - 37 editions available
Most issues of the "Sourcebook of Radio & Television" available for viewing online. Issues include FCC rules, facilities of each licensed station, directories of professional services, Equipment manufacturers, NAB and NAB Codes, Canadian stations, some foreign stations, FCC Financial reports, etc., all depending on the issue date. A number of issues are highlighted in yellow; I do not have these and would like to buy them or obtain them on loan for scanning. Please e-mail me if you have one!

1936 to 1980 - Over 400 issues available
I am beginning to put all my collected issues on this page.
Check back from time to time to see what years and issues
have been added. Eventually all issues 1800 I have in my library will be added. Nearly 400 issues now viewable... 1500 more to come.

1939 to 1966
From the publisher of Radio Daily, later Radio TV Daily.

1943 edition added February 2010

Includes interesting sections on the talent of radio and many one-page articles by industry figures. In the 40's and 50's issues, many of the radio and TV stars ran ads, ranging from Red Skelton to Bob Hope. I have started rescanning some of these books in color so the illustrations can be appreciated and enjoyed. Click on the cover to view a list of available issues.

1990's till R&R closed in 2009 - 17 available
The Directories, issued in Fall and Spring, had ratings summaries and directories of programming suppliers, consultants, etc. Only the ratings summaries are included here. Also included... Inside Radio Directory issues. First one now posted.

1960's - 3 catalogs available
Catalogs from major broadcast equipment manufacturers
showing typical radio gear from the era.

1930's and 1940's - 34 issues available
Communications Magazine details the technical side of radio and related fields with particularly interesting articles on stations and the development of FM in the 40's. Wonderful pictures of antennas and studios, and much about the "new thing" called "FM." 34 Issues are now available. Another 12 are pending scanning.

1926 to 1969 - 90 issues available
White's Logs from 1926 to 1969. Here you will find AM stations by frequency, location and call letters. In later editions, FM and TV were added. Whites was purchased by Radio TV Experimenter which continued to issue the logs as part of RTE for more than a decade. White's began as the Rhode Island Radio Call Book in 1924, then being named the White's Mileage, Log and Radio Call Book, the White's Air Line Mileage Book and Triple List of Radio Broadcast Stations, and then the White's Radio Log. After 1958, it was folded into Radio TV Experimenter and after 1971, into Communications World. 90 Issues are available.

1926 to 1942 - 67 issues available
Radex was the radio listener's guide for several decades.....
when there were fewer local stations and most listening was at night to skywave signals. Click on any link below to open 4 to 7 megabyte PDF file. All AM, FM and TV in US, Canada, Mexico and Caribbean are listed. Some editions show international short-wave, too.

Each issue is more than an old DX log book... it also contains articles on radio, DXing, receivers, programs and famous announcers. They are snapshots of radio from the late 20's into the 40's. Several of the issues have complete listings of Medium and Shortwave stations worldwide.

1957 to 1985 - 10 available here
The DXer's and station owner's favorite list of all US Radio and TV stations. Here are several of these hard to find listings prepared by Vane Jones from the late 50's onwards. Up to 1963, Jones published the directory himself; It became a Sams publication in 1963. I have one of the pre-Sams editions.

Follow this link for more editions: http://www.amlogbook.com/jones/jones.htm
This link goes to a complete collection of Jones Log editions posted and collected by Lee Freshwater. Lee also has an excellent AM station locator / information / log site you will find at  http://www.amlogbook.com/  and visit Lee at Broadcaster's General Store.

1926 to 1951 - 12 available

Similar to White's various publications, Stevenson's (Stevenson's Directory of Radio Stations, Stevenson's Bulletin of Radio Stations, Stevenson's Radio Bulletin were among the names) was issued beginning in about 1924 as a monthly and ending publication in the early 50's with annual editions.

1920-1980
Burgess Index
Duplex Radio Guide
Federal Radio Act 1927
Communications Act 1934 (Beginnings of FCC)
1962 RCA Broadcast Audio Equipment Catalog
FBIS (Foreign Broadcast Information Service, i.e. CIA) list of all stations worldwide.

1963
A collection of pictures of radio stations in Mexico, Central America
and Colombia which I visited in 1963. To the left is a sample picture.
That's me inside one of the XEW 900 AM 250,000 watt transmitters
in 1963. For more like this, click on the picture. Pictures include stations  in Mexico City, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panamá and Colombia.

1920 to 1970
A year-by-year narrative of the history of radio in the United States. Many wonderful and interesting features and ads from the industry. 11/02/1970

1931-1981
Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the industry's leading publication. Top news stories of each year in condensed forma and many interesting ads and features. 25 Megs, full color scan.

For just the anniversary section, 9 Megs,, click HERE

1923 & 1924
US And Canadian Lists from the Canadian regulatory authority.
Oldest list on this site.

Post your comments, suggestions and memories of radio.
Discuss Radio History and comment on this page. Click on the clipboard icon.

An excellent and highly detailed and researched site.
A wealth of material ranging from why there are "K" calls east of the Mississippi to the development of the technology that "created" radio. Oh, and you can answer the question of "what does 'radio' mean?"

1920 to present.
What did the letters originally mean? Click on the "K & W" to see some explanations. Please submit any documentable call letter meanings and they will be added.

Contribute to www.americanradiohistory.com
There are many issues of the publications listed here that I do not have. If you have any of them, I will purchase them if you wish to sell. I will also provide a guarantee and / or payment if you wish to allow me to scan and return. Do not donate money, please. My tax guy does not need the extra work. Click icon to e-mail me!

Please submit your favorite links.
Information and links about the history of radio in the US and Latin America.

Hardware

How these pages are prepared and why I do it...

All magazines, guides and Broadcasting yearbooks are cut at the binding on a printer's guillotine paper cutter (most were library copies, already bound and "mutilated"). Then the sheets are scanned by a Fujitsu 5530C2 or a Fujitsu Fi6130. These are a high speed sheet fed scanners of different sizes which can process batches of 200 pages on both sides in just a few minutes. An array of Canon flatbeds is used for delicate or mutilated pages.  The coated paper used in the late 50's and early 60's is now very brittle and these additions must be hand fed or flatbed scanned. Fortunately, these ageing books are now preserved... unlike the few remaining copies at university libraries and the like, which are crumbling and being thrown out.

The deterioration of the old yearbooks and magazines is just one factor in my decision to try to preserve the heritage of radio's premier publication. The other is the fact that most libraries are short on space and funding. This means that seldom used publications are sold to eBay merchants and every day that passes there are fewer places where this information can be obtained.  Most of these specialized publications were not microfilmed... and who has a film reader at home, anyway?

"Broadcasting," the magazine, is now focused on cable and syndication; the new publisher has not offered any service for the students and devotees of radio's history and heritage. As library access is now nearly non-existent and no alternative exists I have tried to fill in this very obvious void. Hopefully, at some time the publisher will create an electronic archive. Until such time, I will share my collection and attempt to keep building it. White's and Radex are long gone, as is the SAMS / Jones log. I am attempting to build a full archive of these publications.

Since this is a free site, as it always will be, many have asked, "why do you do it?" since some of the Yearbooks have cost as much as $1,000 on eBay. Simply put, I celebrated 50 years in radio in 2009, and this is a small way to preserve the memories, the heritage and the events of that industry, particularly at a time when the death of our medium is so broadly predicted. It's my little contribution to the business that has given me challenges, joy, frustration and, of course, an income for half a century

David E. F. Gleason, Los Angeles, CA, September, 2009

Book Cutter