Library of American Broadcasting

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The Library of American Broadcasting was founded in 1972. LAB occupies the third floor of Hornbake Library, easily accessible to students and scholars.

The Library of American Broadcasting (LAB) is part of the larger Broadcasting Archives at the University of Maryland - College Park. Formerly known as the Broadcast Pioneers Library, LAB was founded in 1971 and was housed at the headquarters of the National Association of Broadcasters in Washington, DC. The Library was transferred to the University of Maryland Libraries, College Park, in 1994 and the name change took place in 1996. Visiting scholars can take the Green Line Metro to College Park and catch the shuttle to campus. For more information, please call or email.

10/13/2026

You Don't Say! was a game show where two teams competed to guess the names of famous people and places, by using verbal clues that hinted at similar-sounding words. The program aired on NBC daytime from 1963, to 1969, with revivals on ABC in 1975 and in syndication from 1978 to 1979.

You Don't Say! began as a local series on Los Angeles station KTLA in 1962 with Jack Barry, still in exile from the networks in the wake of the 1950s quiz show scandals, as host. When You Don't Say! moved to NBC's afternoon lineup in 1963, Tom Kennedy replaced Barry. Kennedy hosted during the original network run (1963-1969) and the 1975 revival while Jim Peck hosted the 1978 series.

For most of its NBC run, the show placed a solid second against the CBS soap The Edge of Night and numerous ABC game shows and soap operas. A nighttime version in 1964 was not as successful, lasting only five months. (Wikipedia)

10/12/2026

Debra OConnell, Chairman, ABC News Group and Disney Entertainment Networks, and David Donovan, President and executive director, New York State Broadcasters Association, will be among those honored at the 23rd Annual Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts awards luncheon on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026, at Gotham Hall in New York City. https://www.tvradiolibrary.org/giants-2026

10/09/2026

WAMS in Wilmington, Delaware, was owned by the Wilmington Tri-State Broadcasting Company and signed on in 1948. It was a network affiliate of the Mutual Broadcasting System and carried its dramas, comedies, news, and sports. An advertisement in the 1949 Broadcasting Yearbook called WAMS "Delaware's home owned and operated station."

In the 1960s and 70s, WAMS was a popular Top 40 hit music station but also, at various times, a country music station and adult contemporary outlet. Due to financial problems, the station went dark in 1986. Its original transmitter site was sold because of the land's value.

AM 1380 stayed off the air until 2000, when the Delaware Department of Transportation purchased the license for its travelers' information service, now with the call sign WTMC.

10/07/2026

Skip Finley, broadcast owner, operator, award-winning author, and Deborah Norville, host of The Perfect Line and veteran broadcaster, will be among those honored at the 23rd Annual Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts awards luncheon on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026, at Gotham Hall in New York City. https://www.tvradiolibrary.org/giants-2026

10/06/2026

Triple Threat, hosted by Jim Lange, was a short-lived musical game show (1988-89) that aired in syndication. (Sam Riddle, pictured here, hosted the pilot.) Two teams of three players representing three generations were tested on their knowledge of music, movies & television.

Television Program Enterprises (TPE) produced the program and distributed other popular first-run syndicated programs and game shows in the 1980s and 1990s, most notably Star Search.

The show returned, in a slightly revised format, on the BET cable network from 1992 to 1993.

10/03/2026

Jane Pauley, respected broadcast journalist, anchor, CBS News Sunday Morning, and Kelsey Grammer, Emmy Award-winning actor, director and producer, will be among those honored at the 23rd Annual Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts awards luncheon, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026, at Gotham Hall, New York City. https://www.tvradiolibrary.org/giants-2026

10/02/2026

“In its unhalted march from a whispering ‘fifty-watter’ to its present power, radio station WRBL has left some colorful tracks. As Columbus’ first radio station, WRBL began as a sideline business by Roy Martin in 1928 – a time when there were but seven radio stations in all Georgia.

“With studios behind the Rialto theater, and with transmitting facilities in the old kitchen house at Sherwood Hall, WRBL used its relatively feeble wattage to broadcast recorded music to the relatively few radio owners of Columbus.

“Today, WRBL wields a 5,000-watt voice over the entire Columbus trade area, presents FM broadcasts as well as AM, and is a Columbia Broadcasting System affiliate.” – The Columbus Ledger, Sep 28, 1947

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09/29/2026

The Big Payoff was a 1950s game show in which husbands answered four general-knowledge trivia questions to win prizes for their wives. Answering a final question correctly won the grand "big payoff": a mink coat, a trip to Europe, or both. Former Miss America Bess Myerson, seen here with host Robert Paige, was the "Lady in Mink," modeling the grand prize mink coat and introducing guests and prizes.

In October 1959, CBS removed the show, along with all of its other high-stakes quiz shows, out of an abundance of caution; it stated it could not ensure the shows were produced honestly in the wake of the quiz show scandals of the late 1950s.

09/25/2026

KVNI is a commercial radio station licensed to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, serving the Spokane metropolitan area of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. KVNI first signed on the air on November 1, 1946, as one of the three most powerful radio stations in the entire state.

The station had offices and studios in the Desert Hotel, an historic 1905 Spanish mission-style building, located downtown on the corner of First Avenue and Sherman Avenue. KVNI would operate as a regional independent station with no network affiliation, “featuring musical programs, news, specialty programs, and the broadcasting of sports whenever possible...

“The station has subscribed to the extensive World Broadcasting Company and Langworth transcribed libraries, which give KVNI one of the largest transcribed libraries in the entire Inland Empire… News broadcasts will feature worldwide coverage by United Press, arriving at the station via teletype…” The Coeur d'Alene Press, 11/01/1946

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https://www.tvradiolibrary.org/

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