The Missouri State Archives provides a reminder that St. Louis station WEW is 105 years old as of this week. From the Archives' Facebook page:
(quote)
On April 26, 1921, Missouri’s first radio station, WEW, began broadcasting from Saint Louis University (SLU).
SLU had previously hosted experiments with radio technology beginning in 1912. The father of Saint Louis University radio was George Rueppel, originally from Germany, who first used the new technology to transmit weather information across the St. Louis area.
When the radio station first broadcast, then under the call sign 9KY, weather became its focus. 9KY had two weather reports a day for its listening area in Missouri and Illinois. There is debate as to which radio station was offered the first ever weather broadcast, as the University of Wisconsin’s station may have done so earlier in 1921, but regardless, Saint Louis University was at the forefront of this new technology.
(end quote)
Link: Missouri State Archives | Jefferson City MO (you may need to scroll)
When the Department of Commerce began licensing radio stations in 1922, the station acquired the WEW call letters.
It's been my experience that determining the first radio station in many cities is actually rather difficult. Even though WEW's history is better documented than most, I think it's more correct to say that WEW was one of Missouri's first radio stations. It's possible there were others at the time, especially in Kansas City.
At one time, WEW's studios were at the old Busch Stadium. The daytimer probably had its greatest success as a nostalgia station. In recent years, it's been a continuous rebroadcast of the sermons of the infamous and now-defunct Brother Stair. Birach Broadcasting now owns WEW.
(quote)
On April 26, 1921, Missouri’s first radio station, WEW, began broadcasting from Saint Louis University (SLU).
SLU had previously hosted experiments with radio technology beginning in 1912. The father of Saint Louis University radio was George Rueppel, originally from Germany, who first used the new technology to transmit weather information across the St. Louis area.
When the radio station first broadcast, then under the call sign 9KY, weather became its focus. 9KY had two weather reports a day for its listening area in Missouri and Illinois. There is debate as to which radio station was offered the first ever weather broadcast, as the University of Wisconsin’s station may have done so earlier in 1921, but regardless, Saint Louis University was at the forefront of this new technology.
(end quote)
Link: Missouri State Archives | Jefferson City MO (you may need to scroll)
When the Department of Commerce began licensing radio stations in 1922, the station acquired the WEW call letters.
It's been my experience that determining the first radio station in many cities is actually rather difficult. Even though WEW's history is better documented than most, I think it's more correct to say that WEW was one of Missouri's first radio stations. It's possible there were others at the time, especially in Kansas City.
At one time, WEW's studios were at the old Busch Stadium. The daytimer probably had its greatest success as a nostalgia station. In recent years, it's been a continuous rebroadcast of the sermons of the infamous and now-defunct Brother Stair. Birach Broadcasting now owns WEW.
