radio

Ed Bliss, Broadcast News Pioneer Recalls Radio’s Infancy

Bill Thompson

Tomorrow, August 20, is National Radio Day, the annual commemoration of the contributions the radio industry has made.

Commercial radio has actually been around for more than 100 years, and, as you might expect, has changed and evolved rather dramatically.

Radio in its infancy was a novelty, and it took years for the medium to begin realizing its full potential as an essential part of American life.

A young boy growing up in the early 20th century was among those we would now call “early adopters” – and he went on to a broadcasting career in which he helped shape what we now know as broadcast 5 news.

Like so many radio journalists of the time, Ed Bliss was a newspaper reporter for several years before landing a job, almost by chance, at CBS radio in 1943.

Get your copy of Ed Bliss’s book

For the next 25 years Bliss wrote for and produced Edward R. Murrow, and later, Walter Cronkite.

After leaving CBS in 1968 Bliss founded the broadcast journalism program at American University.

And in 1991 Bliss wrote a history of broadcast journalism in America, a book called Now The News.

That’s when I have the chance to spend a few minutes with this legend in my chosen profession.

So here now, from 1991, Ed Bliss.

Ed Bliss died in 2002. He was 90.

Barry Farber: The Quintessential Voice of American Talk Radio

Bill Thompson
Photo by David J Field

When you hear the expression “he has the gift of gab,” It might be Barry Farber they’re talking about.

Farber launched his on-air radio career in 1960, And over the next six decades became one of America’s most popular and best known talk show hosts and interviewers.

Get your copy of Barry Farber’s book

A world traveler who spoke several languages Farber seemed to know almost everyone who was anyone It

I spoke with him a few times over the years, including this conversation from 2012 when he put out a book called Cocktails with Molotov.

So here now, from 2012, Barry Farber .

Barry Farber maintained a talk show presence online until the day before his death in 2020. At age 90.

Rock and Roll 101: Cousin Brucie Shares His Insights

Bill Thompson

Over the last few decades, entire libraries full of books have been written about the history of rock and roll.

Where do you even begin? How do you wrap your arms around such an enormous subject? And how do you keep it in proper context of the culture and society?

Perhaps few people are as well qualified to do that as Bruce Morrow, otherwise known to millions of radio listeners as cousin Brucie.

When I sat down with him a few years ago, we talked about the music, the culture, the society, and the careers that he helped shape.

So here now from 2009 Cousin Brucie, Bruce Morrow.

Bruce Morrow is 86 now.

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Graham Nash

Wolfman Jack

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Wolfman Jack

Bill Thompson

Tomorrow, August 20th, is National Radio Day.

Yoday, we’re going to revisit my interview 25 years ago with one of the greatest radio personalities of all time.

And I’m going to let you hear the question I asked him that day, and the answer he gave me, that has haunted me to this day.

I’m talking about the great Wolfman Jack, one of the greatest figures in the history of the music business in America, as well as radio.

So here now, froim 1995, Wolfman Jack:

Now, about that question I asked him, and the answer he gave — Here it is:

Just hours later, after he finished his live show in Washington, Wolfman Jack drove back to his home in North Carolina, got out of his car, and collapsed and died. He was 57.

It turns out mine was the last interview we ever gave. And I asked him why he wasn’t dead yet. That haunts me.