Page History: Reagan Radio Commentaries
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Page Revision: Sunday, 18 November 2018 10:18
Shortly after leaving the governorship of California, Reagan was approached to do radio, 3-4 minutes per day, 5 days per week. He recorded these shows from 1975 until 1979, with a break of roughly 9 months in 1976 while he challenged President Gerald Ford for nomination as the Republican candidate for President in the 1976 election.
Early on in their broadcast history, they were called "Viewpoint with Ronald Reagan" but later called the "Reagan Radio Commentary".
Several hundred of the commentaries were produced during the time, ranging in topics from the aftermath of the
Vietnam War to the "
Modern Little Red Hen."
A selection of these commentaries can be heard in the audiobook "
Reagan In His Own Voice" and can be read in "
Reagan In His Own Hand." Reagan's notes and records of the commentaries can be found at the Stanford's Hoover Institute.
November 2018: Your humble administrator has begun further investigation of the Reagan Radio Commentaries and has begun slowly but surely purchasing MP3s of the recordings available from the Hoover Institute. Descriptions of the broadcasts will be made available as they they are listened to.
In 1975, Reagan produced 21 collections containing 215 recordings.
In 1976, Reagan produced 7 collections containing 102 recordings.
Reagan left the air between November 20, 1975 and August of 1976 while he campaigned for President against Gerald Ford. Ford would ultimately defeat Reagan in the primary process, but lose to Jimmy Carter in the general election.
In 1977, Reagan produced 17 collections containing 177 recordings.
In 1978, Reagan produced 16 collections containing 256 recordings.
In 1979, Reagan produced 15 collections containing 218 recordings.
Reagan's last broadcast was on November 12, 1979 as he states that "You'll understand tomorrow why I can no longer appear on these airwaves" and he made his announcement that he would run for President again in 1980.