The following is a list of events affecting radio broadcasting in 2011. Events listed include radio program debuts, finales, cancellations, and station launches, closures and format changes, as well as information about controversies.
Events
January Date Event1Radio and Television of Slovakia, a new state-funded organisation based in Bratislava, is formed by a merger of Slovenská televízia (Slovak Television) and Slovenský rozhlas (Slovak Radio). 2KELI/San Angelo flip from Adult Hits to AC as Magic 98.7. Urban AC WPHR-FM/Syracuse became News/Talk WSYR-FM. from Radioinsight (January 2, 2011)3More post-New Year's Day format flips occurred, with Spanish Christian KSAC-FM/Sacramento changing to a Business Talk format,"KSAC To Talk 'Money' On January 3rd" from All Access (December 31, 2010) likewise with Talk sister station KVCE/Dallas-Ft. Worth,"Business Talk Comes To Dallas" from All Access (January 3, 2011) Adult Top 40 WBZZ/Albany changing to 90s hits as "Crush 105.7,""Albany's Buzz Gets Crushed; Mike Morgan Named PD" from All Access (January 3, 2011) WMVX/Cleveland dropping Adult Top 40 in favor of Adult Hits as "106.5 The Lake","WMVX Drops Hot AC For Adult Hits As 'The Lake'" from All Access (January 3, 2011) KCKC/Kansas City shedding Adult Contemporary for Classic Alternative as "Alice 102.1", KFYX/Texarkana flipping from CHR to Talk as Freedom 107, and Spanish Christian moving from WNSW/Newark to WNYH/Huntington as WNSW flipped to Russian.4Toyota unveiled the Entune, a multimedia in-car communications and entertainment system that would be available on selected 2011 models. The device featured Bing searching, Pandora, HD Radio, XM, and iHeartRadio, a CD player, and Bluetooth and USB connectivity."New Toyota Entune System Includes Pandora, HD Radio, iHeartRadio" from All Access (January 4, 2011)5Inspired by a story that appeared in The Columbus Dispatch,"A homeless voice has the sound of a fairy tale" from The Columbus Dispatch (January 4, 2011) Top 40 WNCI morning hosts Dave Kaelin and Jimmy Jam helped Ted Williams, a homeless man with a troubled past,"Meet The Felon With The Golden Voice" from The Smoking Gun (January 6, 2011) seek job offers and attract attention from the national media."WNCI Helps Homeless Ted Williams Score Several Jobs" From All Access (January 5, 2011)6President Barack Obama signed into law The Local Community Radio Act, which paved the way for Low-power FM stations to start operations without unnecessary restrictions."LPFM Bill Signed By Pres. Obama, FCC Chairman Calls It 'A Win'" from All Access (January 6, 2011)Seven African-American account executives filed a joint discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Clear Channel/New Orleans, claiming that station management were giving them less pay and fewer sales leads while their White counterparts got more pay, better leads and better advertisers."Clear Channel/New Orleans Hit With Discrimination Charges" from All Access (January 6, 2011)Classic Hits WQTX/Lansing flipped to Country as "92.1 Big Country". from Radioinsight (December 30, 2010)from Radioinsight's Twitter feed (January 6, 2010)7United States Congressman Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado 5th) introduced a bill that would eliminate all funding for NPR."Colorado Congressman Looks To Cut NPR Funding" from All Access (January 7, 2011) The news came a day after NPR SVP Ellen Weiss resigned in the wake of her decision to fire commentator Juan Williams in October 2010."NPR Executive Who Fired Juan Williams Resigns" from New York Times (January 6, 2011)10Australian Radio Network added On Air with Ryan Seacrest to its evening lineup, where it would be heard on Adult Top 40 outlets Mix 106.5/Sydney and Mix 101.1/Melbourne."Ryan Seacrest Goes Down Under" from All Access (January 7, 2011) TV/radio personality and singer Michelle Visage was named the new morning co-host at Rhythmic Hot AC WMIA/Miami."Michelle Visage Joins WMIA For Wakeups" from All Access (January 7, 2011)10CBS Radio reacquires the WBZZ calls from WQSH, planning to use them to replace the WZPT calls in Pittsburgh, where the WBZZ calls were once heard and retain the Adult Top 40 direction once the calls return to Pittsburgh, following the merging of the current format with WBZW's Top 40 format in 2010."WBZZ Returns To Pittsburgh" from RadioInsight (January 10, 2011) However, the WZPT calls could end up on another Pittsburgh station."100.7 Shedding WZPT Calls ... Who's Next?" from All Access (January 14, 2011)11Clear Channel sold KUFX/San Jose to Entercom"Entercom Buys KUFX" from All Access (January 11, 2011)13In the wake of the 2011 Tucson shooting, a series of outdoor ads from News/Talk KNST promoting Rush Limbaugh with the banner "Straight Shooter" riddled with bullets was removed by co-owned Clear Channel Outdoor. Ironically, one of the ads had been located near the aforementioned crime scene."Rush Limbaugh's totally inappropriate billboard stirs outrage" from Salon.com (January 13, 2011)14CKRK/Edmonton protested a ruling from the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council by playing an unedited version of Dire Straits' 1985 song "Money for Nothing" every hour for a month after the CBSC ruled the song as too offensive for Canadian broadcasts."Dire Straits Ban – Canadian Programmers Ask, Eh?" from All Access (January 14, 2011)"Dire Straits Song Runs Afoul Of Canadian Standards Council" from All Access (January 13, 2011) WWTJ flipped to a simulcast of WCHV.17Sirius XM Radio received Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval to place 1,800 watt repeaters in Alaska and Hawaii, paving the way for the satellite service to now cover all 50 states."Sirius XM moving to offer service in Alaska, Hawaii" RBR.com (January 17, 2011)"Satellite Radio Coming to Hawaii" from Hawaii Blog (January 17, 2011) The expansion in Alaska had been long opposed by Alaskan broadcasters, who feared that satellite radio would hurt their stations;"Alaska broadcasters object, but Sirius satellite radio may finally be within range" from Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (January 17, 2011) the situation was similar in Hawaii."FCC OKs local airing of satellite radio" from Honolulu Star-Advertiser (January 19, 2011)18WKJI/Long Island would flip to Country as My Country 96.1, and Talk KBYO/Monroe would flip to an undetermined format as Fun Radio 92.7. A duopoly was formed in Pittsburgh, with the owners of WYEP buying Duquesne University's WDUQ."WYEP And Public Media Co. to Acquire WDUQ" from All Access (January 18, 2011) The University of San Francisco moved the Alternative format of KUSF/San Francisco to online and replaced it with programming from Classical Public Radio Network."KUSF Moves to Online Only Format Radio Broadcast Rights Sold to Classical Public Radio Network" from University of San Francisco News from the Campus (January 18, 2011) It was announced that Entercom had sold the format and intellectual property of KDFC to CPRN parent University of Southern California and would make KDFC's 102.1 signal the new home of KUFX with KUFX's 98.5 signal a simulcast."KDFC moves up the dial as a nonprofit, KUSF dies" from San Francisco Chronicle (January 18, 2011)19Bonneville International sold 17 stations to Hubbard Broadcasting. The deal meant that Bonneville would exit the Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Washington, D.C., radio markets."Hubbard Buys 17 Stations From Bonneville" from All Access (January 19, 2011)21Active Rock WLUP/Chicago evolves to Classic Rock."WLUP Returns To Its Classic Rock Roots" from All Access (January 24, 2011)22Clear Channel/Memphis GSM Jeffery Jones is arrested on extortion charges."On Clear Channel (Jeffery Jones)" from Mediaverse Memphis (January 22, 2011)"Two Memphis Men Charged With Extortion" from WPTY-TV (January 22, 2011)24WQJQ/Jackson, Mississippi, drops Urban Oldies for Classic Hits and takes the call letters of its AM sister, WJDX."After Weekend Stunting, Jackson, MS Gets A New Oldies Station" from All Access (January 24, 2011)26KZMG/Boise drops Top 40/CHR for a simulcast of Sports Talk KTIK."KZMG/Boise Flips To Sports Simulcast With KTIK-A" from All Access (January 26, 2011)27Spirit Radio, an Irish Christian and religious radio station, begins broadcasting on 89.8–92.2 MHz, covering the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Bray, Greystones, Dundalk, Naas Athlone, Carlow, Kilkenny and Newbridge. The station originally broadcasts from Hume House, Ballsbridge, using a studio formerly belonging to FM104.Spirit Radio by Ann Marie Foley, Thursday, August 13, 2009. 28The CRTC revokes the license of Ryerson University's campus radio station, CKLN-FM."CRTC yanks licence of Ryerson's CKLN radio". The Globe and Mail, January 28, 2011. The station would be granted a court injunction on February 11, allowing it to remain on the air pending the results of an appeal to the Federal Court of Canada."CKLN Granted Stay of CRTC Decision" . CKLN-FM Press Release, February 11, 2011.
February Date Event1Rick Dees signs a deal with Westwood One to distribute his programs produced by his company Dees Entertainment, including his long-running countdown show The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40. In addition, 25 Cumulus Media outlets would pick up most of Dees' shows to air on their stations."Rick Dees Partners With Westwood One For Multi-Program Deal" from All Access (February 1, 2011)KYLZ/Salt Lake City drops Triple-A to simulcast Sport Talk sister station KZNS."The Zone Gets The Point With FM Move In Salt Lake City" from All Access (February 1, 2011) and KGU/Honolulu drops Religious programming for Business Talk, joining sister stations KSAC and KVCE."KGU-A/Honolulu Means Business" from All Access (February 1, 2011)2WPTR/Albany drops Christian Contemporary to become "Legends 96.7.""WPTR/Albany Flips To Oldies 'Legends'" from All Access (February 2, 2011) Top 40/CHR KDLW/Albuquerque replaced regional Mexican sister station KLVO at the latter's 106.7 signal. KDLW's 97.7 signal would pick up a new format after it finished its temporary simulcasts."OMG! KDLW Is Movin' On Up" from All Access (February 2, 2011)3KOPA Pala, CA signs on as Pala Rez Radio 91.3.