Why you no longer hear the teletype sound on KYW Newsradio
“They stopped making the ribbons for the trusty teletype in 1986, and our supply finally ran out - so alas, old reliable is out of commission until further notice,” KYW’s brand manager said.
Longtime Philadelphia listeners know that clickclickclick sound well. For decades, they tuned into KYW Newsradio to listen to local news reported with the sound of a clacking teletype in the background.
But the station has stopped using that sound — an iconic Philadelphia radio noise is gone.
The station’s explanation came with a generous dash of antiquarian whimsy.
“They stopped making the ribbons for the trusty teletype in 1986, and our supply finally ran out — so alas, Old Reliable is out of commission until further notice,” Alex Silverman, KYW’s brand manager, said in a statement. “As technology has evolved over the years, so has KYW Newsradio, and the sound of the station should reflect the modern, nimble, multi-platform news organization we’ve become.”
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Last spring, KYW revealed its new jingle, which pops up as the transition for traffic, weather, and breaking news. Although the station had updated its jingle every few years, it had been more than a decade since it was changed so dramatically. The new jingle includes more live instruments, including local string musicians, trumpets, piano, guitar and brass.
KYW stopped broadcasting school closing numbers in 2017, and dozens of people shared their memories of anxiously waiting to hear that “magic snow-day number,” The Inquirer previously reported. The station cited the many ways families were getting this news — school website, texts, social media — without having to tune into the radio as a reason to end this ritual.