DZRH

This article is about the radio station. For the defunct TV station, see DZRH-TV.

DZRH Nationwide

City of license	Pasay
Broadcast area	Metro Manila
Branding	DZRH Nationwide
Slogan	One Nation, One Station Kaunaunahan Sa Pilipinas
Frequency	666 kHz
First air date	July 15, 1939
Format	News, Public Affairs/Talk, Entertainment, Religious, Music
Power	50,000 watts (daytime) 25,000 watts (nighttime)
Callsign meaning	DZ Radio Heacock (former branding)
Former callsigns	KZRH (KZ Radio Heacock, 1939-1949) PIAM (Philippine Islands AM Radio, 1941-1945)
Former frequencies	650 kHz (1939-1972)
Owner	Manila Broadcasting Company (RH Broadcasting Inc.)
Sister stations	90.7 Love Radio, 96.3 Easy Rock, Yes! FM 101.1
Website	dzrh.tripod.com

DZRH (666 kHz Metro Manila) is a radio station in Metro Manila owned and operated by the Manila Broadcasting Company. The station's studio is located at CCP Complex in Pasay, Philippines, while its transmitter is located at Brgy. Malanday, Valenzuela. DZRH operates 24-hours a day except on Mondays where it signs-off at 12:30am and during Holy Week where it signs-off from midnight of Good Friday and lasts until 4:00am of Easter Sunday.

At present, DZRH is considered as one of the top stations in the AM band in Metro Manila and is recognized as the oldest radio station in the Philippines by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas or KBP. It now broadcasts nationwide thru an array of relay stations, each with its own frequency, re-broadcasting the national feed from satellite.

DZRH can also be heard on the internet. Through these websites, the station has become a pioneer in the use of various interactive features - a live chatroom where listeners can feed comments to the station in real-time, two modes of VOIP that can be used to call the station and participate in open-line discussions, and an online discussion forum called "Damdaming Bayan Online". A sizeable number of listeners from all the over the globe now make up the DZRH Global Community, which is maintaining the listener website as a means of interconnecting, and somehow taking part in the preservation of the Filipino culture.

Though it is one of the oldest radio station in the Philippines,^{[citation needed]} DZRH was not the first. The first radio station in the Philippines was the now defunct KZKZ, which began broadcasting from Manila in 1922.

History

The Heacock era

DZRH first went on air as KZRH on July 15, 1939, after being founded by Samuel Gaches, the owner of H. E. Heacock Company, a department store company based in Escolta, Binondo, Manila. DZRH became the fourth commercial radio station in the Philippines and years later, it bought KZRC (now DYRC) from Isaac Beck in Cebu City. KZRH's radio broadcasts centered on musical, variety shows, comedy skits and short newscasts. Jazz and ballads became standard fare.

During the war, the Japanese took over the stations and KZRH became PIAM for their propaganda.

The birth and expansion of DZRH

After World War II, three prominent businessmen, Maestro Frederico Elzialde and his brothers then-Ambassador JM Elizalde and Manuel (also known as Don Manolo) took over KZRH and KZRC. With the help of station manager Bertrand Silen, KZRH re-established its operations, this time at the Insular Life Building in Plaza Cervantes, Manila. In June 1946, the Elizalde family established the new network as Manila Broadcasting Company.

KZRH returned to the airwaves under MBC on July 1, 1946, and first covering the live inauguration of President Manuel Roxas under its new republic. In 1948, after the international telecommunications conference in the U.S. where the Philippines changed its first letter to "D", KZRH changed its callsign to DZRH, and has been expanded to over 30 stations nationwide.

In 1949, DZRH began airing the first radio drama, Gulong ng Palad. Radio drama is one of the traditional history of Philippine radio before the rise of television industry. Although, radio drama continues until today (only Ito ang Palad Ko, one of the longest-running drama anthology series since 1973).

In 1972, when then-President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law, DZRH was temporarily closed for a few months. It was the only other time in DZRH’s history, since World War II, that broadcast would be interrupted.

In 1979, DZRH launched Operation Tulong, a socio-civic organization that helps the people in the time of calamities and in their condition.

The country tuned in and listened as DZRH covered the Snap Elections of 1986, the EDSA Revolution, and the peaceful installation of President Cory Aquino as a result of People Power. In 1989, DZRH celebrated is 50th golden anniversary by launching "50 Taon ng Radyo", a spectacular event happened on Sunday, July 23, 1989 with parades, games, events, concerts, ceremonies and anniversaries with fireworks display and indoor fireworks happened in Rizal Memorial Stadium and Araneta Coliseum. In 1994, as part of their 55th anniversary, DZRH launched its own nationwide satellite radio broadcast by covering the whole country, reaching 97% of its communities. Thus, the slogan is "One Nation, One Station". It also bought some of the broadcast veterans such as Jay Sonza, Rey Langit and Ka Louie Beltran.

In 2009, DZRH celebrated its 70th anniversary by launching "Fiesta Sitenta", a milestone in Philippine history goes out in a parade and concert performed by today's top-radio anchors and hosts happened in Star City.

DZRH Today

Today, DZRH is one of the top-rated AM stations in the Philippines, led by top-rated newscasters, reporters and hosts such as Joe Taruc, Deo Macalma, Ruth Abao, Andy Vital, Rey Sibayan, Reggie Espiritu, Andy Verde, Henry Uri, Chris Capulso, Bing Formento, Mae Binauhan, Manny Bal and others. Taruc is the current SVP for DZRH.

DZRH Radio Stations

Further information: DZRH stations

This is a list of relay stations that carry the same signal as the flagship station DZRH in Manila. When a listener travels away from Manila and wants to listen, he has only to tune in to the frequency in the location nearest to where he is. DZRH is already on television in over 300 Cable Operators in the Philippines as RHTV.^[1]

Notable alummi

• Joe Taruc
• Jay Sonza
• Rey Langit
• Jinggoy Estrada
• Fidela "Tiya Dely" Magpayo
• Lisa Macuja-Elizalde
• Louie Beltran

References

1. ^ Abante-Tonite Entertainment

External links

• DZRH Newscenter
• dzrh.tripod.com
• dzrh-interactive.webs.com