REELRADIO
Encyclopedia
The Reel Top 40 Radio Repository, sometimes called REELRADIO, is a virtual museum
of radio broadcasts, primarily aircheck
s from the "Top 40" era of radio in North America. The archives are available by streaming
. Established in 1996 as the first online airchecks archive, it was transferred to a dedicated not-for-profit organization, REELRADIO, Inc., in 2000. The site is organized as a series of "collections"; most collections represent the archives of a single contributor. As of November
2011, the repository features more than 2,620 exhibits.
Two collections are tribute sites to famed Los Angeles disc jockey
s Robert W. Morgan
and The Real Don Steele, and the organization also hosts other sites about the Top 40 eras at WPGC
in Maryland and WIXY 1260
in Cleveland.
, the board of directors
includes founder Richard "Uncle Ricky" Irwin, news reporter Michael Burgess (known as Mike Scott) of KGPE
(TV), and Bob Shannon (former vice president of TM Century).
streaming media
server.
Articles about the site were published in Radio World
magazine on March 20, 1996 and Radio & Records
on September 13, 1996. Uncle Ricky's Reel Top 40 Radio Repository was one of five Radio category nominees for the 1998 Webby Awards
, and an article titled "Radio Patter From The Past: Vintage D.J's Rock On" was published on The New York Times
on May 9, 2002.
After SNA was sold to PSINet
, the not-for-profit corporation REELRADIO, Inc. was formed on March 23, 2000, with assistance from the Media Preservation Foundation
, to collect donations for funding the site; once under the new organization, the site was moved to new hosting facilities in July.
For the first 10 years, the site was supported by voluntary donations. Despite the website having only a few dozen financial supporters, analysis of user behavior revealed thousands of listeners. The organization's board of directors voted for a minimum contribution of $12/year (now $20/year) for access to most of the site's archives.
and worked at radio stations from age 14. By the time he started the Reelradio Repository, he had worked for about 10 radio stations and written Commodore 128
software to schedule music for radio stations. After his work at SNA, Irwin remained a web designer, then became a software engineer
.
Virtual museum
A virtual museum is a museum that exists only online. A virtual museum is also known as an online museum, electronic museum, hypermuseum, digital museum, cybermuseum or Web museum...
of radio broadcasts, primarily aircheck
Aircheck
In the radio industry, an aircheck is generally a demonstration recording, often intended to show off the talent of an announcer or programmer to a prospective employer, but mainly intended for legal archiving purposes...
s from the "Top 40" era of radio in North America. The archives are available by streaming
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
. Established in 1996 as the first online airchecks archive, it was transferred to a dedicated not-for-profit organization, REELRADIO, Inc., in 2000. The site is organized as a series of "collections"; most collections represent the archives of a single contributor. As of November
November
November is the 11th month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of four months with the length of 30 days. November was the ninth month of the ancient Roman calendar...
2011, the repository features more than 2,620 exhibits.
Two collections are tribute sites to famed Los Angeles disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
s Robert W. Morgan
Robert W. Morgan
Robert Wilbur Morgan was an award-winning morning radio personality best known for his work at several stations in Los Angeles, California, in particular KHJ-AM....
and The Real Don Steele, and the organization also hosts other sites about the Top 40 eras at WPGC
WHFS
WHFS was the call sign for three different FM stations in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore, Maryland markets on various frequencies for nearly 50 years. The first and longest run was a progressive rock station and was usually, and affectionately, referred to as 'HFS...
in Maryland and WIXY 1260
WWMK
WWMK — branded Radio Disney AM 1260 — is the Cleveland, Ohio affiliate of Radio Disney. Owned by ABC Radio, the station's studios are located at 175 Ken Mar Industrial Parkway in Broadview Heights, and its five-tower transmitter is located about 2.2 miles away on Snowville Road in front of I-77...
in Cleveland.
, the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
includes founder Richard "Uncle Ricky" Irwin, news reporter Michael Burgess (known as Mike Scott) of KGPE
KGPE
KGPE, virtual channel 47, is the CBS affiliated television station for the Fresno, California market. KGPE's digital signal is on UHF channel 34 from Auberry, California. It's currently owned by High Plains Broadcasting and operated by Newport Television, LLC....
(TV), and Bob Shannon (former vice president of TM Century).
History
The repository site was started as Uncle Ricky's Reel Top 40 Radio Repository on by Richard "Uncle Ricky" Irwin, who had been in the radio business for 30 years before becoming a webmaster for Sacramento Network Access. The repository was started using SNA's servers, including a RealAudioRealAudio
RealAudio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fidelity formats for music. It can also be used as a streaming audio format, that is...
streaming media
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
server.
Articles about the site were published in Radio World
Radio World
Radio World is a trade journal published by NewBay Media targeted at radio broadcast executives and operations personnel in World Wide. Multiple editions are published for the United states, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean in Spanish, Portuguese and French...
magazine on March 20, 1996 and Radio & Records
Radio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...
on September 13, 1996. Uncle Ricky's Reel Top 40 Radio Repository was one of five Radio category nominees for the 1998 Webby Awards
Webby Awards
A Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile....
, and an article titled "Radio Patter From The Past: Vintage D.J's Rock On" was published on The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
on May 9, 2002.
After SNA was sold to PSINet
PSINet
PSINet was one of the first internet service providers , based in Northern Virginia, and a major player in the commercialization of the Internet until the company's bankruptcy in 2001 during the dot-com bubble and acquisition by Cogent Communications in 2002.-Growth:PSINet was founded in 1989 by...
, the not-for-profit corporation REELRADIO, Inc. was formed on March 23, 2000, with assistance from the Media Preservation Foundation
Media Preservation Foundation
Media Preservation Foundation is a United States 501 non-profit organization dedicated to the archival of media history mainly aimed towards Radio and Television ID Jingles and associated items...
, to collect donations for funding the site; once under the new organization, the site was moved to new hosting facilities in July.
For the first 10 years, the site was supported by voluntary donations. Despite the website having only a few dozen financial supporters, analysis of user behavior revealed thousands of listeners. The organization's board of directors voted for a minimum contribution of $12/year (now $20/year) for access to most of the site's archives.
Uncle Ricky
Richard Warren "Uncle Ricky" Irwin (born 1951, Flushing, New York) grew up in Concord, North CarolinaConcord, North Carolina
Concord is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. According to Census 2010, the city has a current population of 79,066. It is the largest city in Cabarrus County and is the county seat. In terms of population, the city of Concord is the second largest city in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area...
and worked at radio stations from age 14. By the time he started the Reelradio Repository, he had worked for about 10 radio stations and written Commodore 128
Commodore 128
The Commodore 128 home/personal computer was the last 8-bit machine commercially released by Commodore Business Machines...
software to schedule music for radio stations. After his work at SNA, Irwin remained a web designer, then became a software engineer
Software engineer
A software engineer is an engineer who applies the principles of software engineering to the design, development, testing, and evaluation of the software and systems that make computers or anything containing software, such as computer chips, work.- Overview :...
.
See also
- Media Preservation FoundationMedia Preservation FoundationMedia Preservation Foundation is a United States 501 non-profit organization dedicated to the archival of media history mainly aimed towards Radio and Television ID Jingles and associated items...
— another similarly-minded organization associated with the Repository
External links
- Reel Top 40 Radio Repository — official website
- Update: REELRADIO, Inc. — organization information