On the Air

Before the internet, before TV, Manitoba was a hotbed for innovation in radio. These innovations range from the first publicly-owned radio station to the first play-by-play broadcast of women’s hockey. During World War II, a Winnipeg broadcaster was as well-known in England as Churchill. And Neil Young’s very first recording was done at a local station. These are but a few of the stories of early radio in Manitoba. In its first half century, the medium was a powerful, revolutionary force that touched and linked virtually everyone in the province.