When Radio Was
| Genre | old-time radio |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Syndicates | Radio America |
| Hosted by | Greg Bell |
| Created by | Carl Amari |
| Air dates | since January 1, 1990 |
| Website | www |
When Radio Was is a syndicated radio program that re-airs old-time radio programs.
The series began as a local program in Chicago, hosted by Carl Amari, who was the founder of Radio Spirits, Inc., which sells tapes and CDs of old time radio programs. Former CBS Radio executive Dick Brescia heard an in-flight version of the program, and soon mounted a nationally syndicated version of the show (through Dick Brescia Associates), beginning Jan. 1, 1990 and hosted by Art Fleming. (Amari continued to do the local Chicago version until shortly after selling Radio Spirits to MediaBay.)
The show was first syndicated by Dick Brescia Associates (1990–2003), and later Wilbur Entertainment (2003–2006), and Matrix Media, Inc. (2006–2007). In the summer of 2007, the series owner MediaBay announced the company would be going out of business in September of that year and the show was subsequently purchased in September by a group headed by Norton Herrick, former CEO of MediaBay, Inc. (the company that had purchased Radio Spirits, and thus When Radio Was, back in 1999). The company has since changed ownership again in 2008, and is now owned by the former Radio Again (although the company retains the name Radio Spirits). As of 2011, When Radio Was appears on over 200 stations in the U.S., as well as one Canadian station, CHPQ-FM in Parksville, British Columbia. The program is also carried on the Radio Classics channel on Sirius XM Satellite Radio and streamed on the Internet. Radio America currently handles syndication of When Radio Was on behalf of Radio Spirits.
Art Fleming continued to host the nationally syndicated version until shortly before his death from cancer in 1995. Satirist Stan Freberg, then writing and hosting "Stan Freberg Here", a syndicated daily commentary for Brescia, replaced Fleming. Freberg continued in the emcee role through the first week of October, 2006. For a brief period during the early Freberg years, the show's announcer was the legendary Fred Foy (of The Lone Ranger fame, who would introduce Stan with "Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, on When Radio Was, with your host, Radio Hall-of-Famer Stan Freberg!")
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