On this day in Missouri History in 1922, WEW became the first radio station west of the Mississippi to get a broadcast license. The station began its historic journey on the campus of Saint Louis University and is recognized as the second-oldest radio station in America.Â
WEW actually began operating about a decade earlier, in 1912, broadcasting weather reports in Morse Code. Once the station began playing music, Jesuit Brother George Rueppel recognized the potential of the new medium and started to talk in between records. By manning the mic, Rueppel was, in effect, the first radio DJ in history.
Based upon content from the book Missouri 365: This Day in Missouri History by John W. Brown, broadcaster and Missouri historian. Get your copy at Reedy Press.
Image from Unsplash
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