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On Air: 80
Years of Commercial Broadcasting in the Mahoning Valley
With the opening of
this new exhibit, Mahoning Valley residents have an opportunity
for a close-up look at the history of radio and television in the
region. The exhibit has several interactive stations to enjoy
audio and video recordings from the Business and Media Archives
collection and other sources. Artifacts and photographs bring to
life the many sounds and sights that represent the past 80 years
of Mahoning Valley broadcast history.
An introduction space sets the
stage for two larger galleries. One is dedicated to the history of
radio broadcasting in the Valley and the other focuses on local
television and newer technologies that broadcast entertainment and
information into our lives in the 21st century. The radio history
gallery includes the original transmitter used by Warren P.
Williamson, Jr. and Creed Chorpenning for their first live
broadcast on September 26,1926. Listening stations in this
gallery include President Franklin D Roosevelt's speech to
congress asking for a declaration of war against Japan after the
bombing of Pearl harbor on December 7, 1941, and part of an
interview by WKBN Radio 570's Pete Gabriel with his cousin, Andrea
Hanson, and eyewitness to the terrorist attack in New York City on
September 11, 2001.
The television history gallery
contains a video presentation of clips from a variety of local
news stories over the past 50 years from the Business and Media
Archives collection. Television recording and editing equipment
from WFMJ-TV 21 and WKBN TV-27 demonstrate the various methods
used to produce and transmit programs from the studios to home
television sets over the years. The staff of the Business and
Media Archives co-produced a digital video program with MultiMedia
Farms featuring oral histories with local radio and television
figures.
Hours of operation for the museum are Tuesday through Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. For more information call 330-743-2589 or send e-mail to
mvhs@mahoninghistory.org
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