NATIONAL RADIO HALL OF FAME ANNOUNCES CLASS OF 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2011
 

The National Radio Hall of Fame Gallery will open on Saturday, November 5 at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. The black-tie opening gala and national broadcast will include the induction of the Hall of Fame's Class of 2011,

Radio Hall of Famer and TV legend Larry King will emcee the broadcast that will feature an all star line-up of presenters, including television icons Jerry Springer and Bill Kurtis, legendary sportscaster Jon Miller of the San Francisco Giants, Radio Hall of Famers Susan Stamberg of National Public Radio and Orion Samuelson of WGN Radio, renowned mystery writer Sara Paretsky and country singer Rex Allen, Jr.

The Alan Gresik Swing Shift Orchestra will provide live dance music and join is celebrating the big band era - an era that will be recreated as part of the evening's celebration.

The 2011 inductees into America's only National Radio Hall of Fame inductees are:

The Alan Gresik Swing Shift Orchestra will provide live dance music and join is celebrating the big band era - an era that will be recreated as part of the evening's celebration.

The 2011 inductees into America's only National Radio Hall of Fame inductees are:

Graham McNamee
A sports casting legend, McNamee gained national prominence and was radio's most recognized national personality in its inaugural decade.

H.V. Kaltenborn
The premier news commentator of radio's first great era, Kaltenborn, a Wisconsin native, was on the air for more than 30 years. He was America's first national radio commentator and was one of the first newsreaders to provide analysis and insight into current news stories.

Ronald Reagan
The 40th president of the United States who was born in Tampico, Illinois and who began his storied career in broadcasting as an Iowa radio sportscaster where be once announced Chicago Cubs games for WOC/Davenport, Iowa and WHO/Des Moines, Iowa.

Gangbusters
The iconic radio crime drama series that dramatized FBI cases and was produced in close association with Bureau director J. Edgar Hoover during the great American crime wave of the 1930s.

The Great Gildersleeve
One of radio's earliest spin-off programs, it was built around Throckmorton Philharmonic Gildersleeve, a bombastic character with a remarkable ensemble cast that was first introduced to radio audiences as a staple on the Fibber McGee and Molly show, also a Radio Hall of Fame inductee (1989).

WLS National Barn Dance
First broadcast in 1924, it was the first acclaimed country music show in radio history -a direct precursor of the Grand Ole Opry. Because of the powerful clear-channel signal of WLS/Chicago, the program was heard throughout the Midwest and the South where its popularity launched many music careers and led to a music format that has dominated radio for over eight decades.

Suspense
One of the most compelling radio dramas of all time, this program from the Golden Age of Radio was subtitled "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" and focused on suspense, thriller-type scripts and featured the leading Hollywood actors of the era.

Extended biographies of the inductees as well as audio clips of inductees can be found at www.RadioHOF.org

The 2011 selections were made by the 27 members of the National Radio Hall of Fame Steering Committee, a diverse group of radio executives, historians, academics and civic leaders.

"America will finally have a place to honor the great radio broadcasters who have defined the medium ---a shining beacon in the heartland that recognizes the significant role radio has played in our society. Inductees into the National Radio Hall of Fame Gallery represent a diverse group from every region of the country and every radio format ---the talented men and women who took us to far away places, captured historic moments and introduced us to new sounds," said Bruce DuMont, Founder of the Museum of Broadcast Communications and Chairman of the NRHOF Steering Committee.

Arbitron is the lead sponsor of the 2011 National Radio Hall of Fame. Premiere Radio Networks has underwritten the event and will produce and distribute the national broadcast starting at 10PM (ET). Promotional support provided by American Airlines, the Official Airline of the National Radio Hall of Fame.

Radio Hall of Famer Jim Bohannon of Westwood One will serve as the announcer for the thirteenth year. Bohannon and Chicago civic leader Kathy Posner will host Backstage at the Radio Hall of Fame featuring interviews with VIP guests following the presentations. WGN-AM 720 and WLS-AM 890 will carry the show in Chicago, as they have done since 1992.

Tickets to the opening reception and dinner are $250 each - and VIP tables-of ten are available for $15,000--$10,000-and $5,000 at www.RadioHOF.org. The National Radio Hall of Fame is a part of the Museum of Broadcast Communications which is a 501 (c-3) tax-exempt organization.

This year will mark the first time the induction broadcast will originate from the new Museum of Broadcast Communications at 360 N. State Street in Chicago, which will now house America's only National Radio Hall of Fame Gallery.

Media Contact:
Marc Glick, MBC, 312-822-0512