About WOSU

Following the first recorded use of radio at The Ohio State University in 1910, WOSU Public Media have established a solid broadcasting foundation in Central Ohio for nearly a century. The history of WOSU-AM, WOSU-FM, and WOSU.TV highlights myriad milestones that mirror amazing achievements in the world of radio and television broadcasting.

In March 1920, the first radio license was issued to The Ohio State University to implement an experimental station called 8XL. By the next month, its first program was broadcast over the airwaves in the Columbus area on 200 and 375 meters with 1.8 watts. In April 1922, the call letters WEAO (Willing, Energetic, Athletic Ohio) were assigned to the station, and its power was raised to 100 watts, making it the first radio station in Columbus. The first broadcast featured all the national baseball scores, a news account of a $10,000 fire in Columbus and some recorded music.1 The radio signal could be received more than 100 miles away. By June 1922, the station output was raised to 650 watts, giving it even more power to communicate with its listeners. University President William Oxley Thompson commented in his inaugural address,

“We are starting tonight the first of a series of programs of entertainment and instruction for the citizens of Central Ohio. These programs will be of the highest type, including music, science, and other subjects of popular interest. Happily, Columbus’ first radio program is being broadcasted from Ohio State University.”2

A popular trend in early radio in America was to broadcast sporting events, and in September 1924, WEAO began regular play-by-play coverage of football games at Ohio Stadium. Extra microphones were placed around the stadium to pick up crowd cheers and music.Because of the success of broadcasting football games, the station decided to begin coverage of home basketball games.

In 1928, the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) moved WEAO from 1060 kilocycles to 550 kilocycles, to share time with WKRC (WLW) in Cincinnati. The success of this partnership was evident in a new radio series called Ohio School of the Air, which was sent via telephone lines to Cincinnati and rebroadcast through WLW radio. By 1930, the program reached 300,000 students. WEAO’s partnership with WLW in Cincinnati came to an end in July 1929, when the FRC changed its frequency from 550 to 570 kilocycles and ordered the station to share time with WKBN in Youngstown. As WEAO continued its broadcasts, a financial report completed in 1932 indicated that the operating cost for one year was $17,531 – pennies compared to today’s annual operating budgets!

On Sept.1, 1933, the FRC granted the call-letter change from WEAO to WOSU-AM. The Ohio State University continued to use the radio station for sports broadcasting, and in the fall of 1934 the Ohio Emergency Radio Junior College began broadcasting courses for students unable to live on the Ohio State campus during the Depression. This approach was a resounding success, with more than 1,000 students enrolling for the first quarter.

Beginning in 1935, WOSU-AM’s educational programming gained popularity and presence in the local community. Ten commercial stations rebroadcast many of WOSU’s programs from 1935-1936. The radio station’s development and willingness to experiment were evident in the services it offered to the local community.The Radio Junior College, agricultural programming, drama and music presentations, School of the Air broadcasts, athletic broadcasts, and the development of a radio workshop are examples of services rendered.2

In terms of technical equipment, the tower and transmitter for the station were moved to the Ohio State University Golf Courses in 1938. As the station’s reputation and growth continued, Youngstown’s WKBN paid for WOSU-AM to move its frequency from 570 to 820 kilocycles in March 1941 – the frequency it presently maintains. During World War II, WOSU-AM played an important role in relaying military information to the Central Ohio community. 15 percent of the station’s broadcast hours were devoted to war-related stories and issues.

WOSU-AM radio continued to evolve, and 1912 saw the advent of FM radio in the broadcasting world, thanks to an American named Edwin Howard Armstrong. Armstrong redesigned Lee de Forest’s radio tube by taking the electromagnetic waves (or electrons) that came from a radio transmission and feeding the signal back through the tube again and again, each time increasing its power, to as much as 20,000 times a second. It was the most important advance in the young history of radio, because when the feedback was increased beyond a critical level, the tube gave forth an oscillation that created its own radio waves, leading the way for FM radio. By the late 1930s, there were already 40 FM stations, and as applications for frequencies rolled into the Federal Communications Commission, that number continued to grow.

In 1946, in an effort to follow the trend of obtaining an FM frequency, Ohio State University President Howard Beavis recommended to the Board of Trustees that the school should proceed with an application for an FM station, at a cost of $42,000. The application was accepted by the FCC in 1948, and WOSU-FM went on the air for the first time Dec. 13, 1949. Initially, the programming already heard on WOSU-AM was mostly duplicated on the FM station from sign-on until 6:45 p.m. Then WOSU-FM remained on the air for another 45 minutes, until 7:30 p.m., after which time it signed off. The early FM programming included arrangements to broadcast network-sustaining non-commercial programs not carried by Columbus affiliates. Thus, WOSU was able to use the resources of the NBC, Mutual, ABC, and CBS networks. This arrangement gradually tapered off after 1950.

A program bulletin from 1949 for the radio stations contained a brief statement of station policy, including the following information:

“The Ohio State University operates WOSU primarily as an extension of University facilities to the people of Ohio. The great resources of the University on the campus are extended into your homes through WOSU. It is our policy to present education and information as well as other usual broadcast services in as attractive a manner as possible. Discussions of public questions in an unbiased, complete manner are regularly scheduled, as well as news and events of importance occurring at the University. We feel that it is the duty of WOSU to bring to the listening public as much of the campus and University activities as it is possible to do by radio. We use many programs of good music to surround the educational activity in an attractive manner.” 1

During the 1940s, Alfred Vivian, Dean of the Ohio State Agriculture Department, brought his personal collection of 78-rpm records to WOSU and hosted weekly programs, including Treasured Music, a longtime Sunday-morning favorite. Until this time, all music broadcasting was live in the studio, in classrooms, in concert halls, or from the networks.

WOSU-AM/FM continued to grow during the 1950s and to provide central Ohioans with a wide range of coverage and topics. In October 1950, WOSU-FM began broadcasting until 9:15 p.m. each day. Several popular on-air personalities came to WOSU during the 1950s. In 1955, Gene Gerrard, who had joined the staff three years earlier, became host of In the Bookstall, one of the station’s most popular programs. In the mid-1950s, Fred Calland, who later became cultural-programming editor and host at National Public Radio in Washington, D.C., became the WOSU-AM/FM music director.

The journey leading to the first television broadcast for WOSU was an uphill battle. The FCC finally granted the University a construction permit for a television transmitter April 22, 1953. The FCC assigned WOSU channel 34, instead of channel 12, which previous applications had requested. When the construction of the transmitter was completed, the TV antenna rose 594 feet high on farmland owned by the university.

As the broadcast revolution continued throughout the United States, WOSU-TV transmitted its first signal Feb. 20, 1956, from the original studios on North Star Road in Upper Arlington. The first broadcast included a pre-filmed speech by Ohio State University Vice President Frederic Heimberger, a performance by the OSU Symphonic Choir, and a station-produced documentary entitled The University Story. Heimberger opened the broadcast by proclaiming,

“This is a very significant day in the history of The Ohio State University. The beginning may be small and may attract little public attention. But from this seed which is planted here today there will surely come growth and productivity beyond our dreams and beyond our ability to foretell today. (The University’s) goal is to make the most of educational television and radio as a means for extending to the people of Ohio the best that can be offered – and in the most effective ways.” 1

Under the guidance of Director of Radio-Television Richard B. Hull, WOSU earned national recognition for educational television. The station received the 1958 George Washington Honor Medal Award for its series entitled Essentials of Freedom. WOSU.TV was the first UHF (Ultra High Frequency) station in Central Ohio. It was during this year as well the TV station’s first remote-production van was outfitted and ready for action to cover broadcasts on location. In 1959, WOSU.TV was awarded a grant from the Ford Foundation to buy Ohio’s first videotape recorder, which allowed the station to record programs with better clarity and sound.

With two radio stations and one television station by 1960, WOSU was thriving and continually developing new programming. The radio stations reached a milestone in 1960: Both the AM and FM frequencies adopted a new policy that allowed them to operate on a full-time basis, 365 days a year. Prior to that time, the stations were silent at least six holidays throughout the year. By 1963, WOSU-FM offered over 100 hours of programming each week, with some duplication from WOSU-AM. The FM station broadcast all forms of serious music – from jazz to chamber music – with commentary, history, and interpretive information. Sources included recordings from an LP library of over 8,000 records and the Dean Vivian Library’s more than 16,000 recordings on 78-rpm discs. The music staff arranged for tape recordings of outstanding artists and concert groups locally and throughout the State of Ohio to build a growing tape library. In 1964, Dr. William Steis was appointed general manager of WOSU Radio; Mary Hoffman became the new music director in 1966, soon after taking the role of WOSU-FM program director in 1982. On Oct. 1, 1968, WOSU-AM and FM became separate stations that offered different programs throughout the broadcast day. WOSU-FM devoted most of its programming to music, while WOSU-AM expanded its schedule of informational and educational programs.

On Nov. 7, 1967, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act, giving a boost to WOSU-TV and all educational stations across the country. The legislation was intended to create and fund “a strong and active nationwide alternative to commercial broadcasting.” The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was formed in 1968, and funding was provided for educational stations such as WOSU.

Color television came to WOSU.TV when it broadcast the Ohio State vs. Michigan football game in November 1968. The game in Columbus was uninterrupted and carried as a public-service feature. The broadcast began a buying frenzy for UHF converters at local electronics stores. An experiment in children’s television began in 1969, when Sesame Street hit the airwaves.

WOSU.TV played an important role on the OSU campus during the riots and demonstrations of April/May 1970. Closed-circuit discussions between students, faculty, and administrators defused some of the early tensions, but after disruptions flared out of control, OSU President Novice Fawcett used WOSU on May 6, 1970, to announce the closing of the university. TV34 signed off the air later that day, not to return until May 19.3

The radio stations relocated to the Fawcett Center for Tomorrow on the campus of The Ohio State University in 1970. In April of that year, WOSU-AM marked the beginning of what became the News 820 format with a new slogan, “News ’70.” In October, the nation’s first radio ombudsman became part of WOSU-AM. The station became a charter member of the new National Public Radio and began broadcasting All Things Considered in 1971. WOSU-FM aired five hours of educational programming, 19 hours of informational programming, 10 hours of instructional programming, and 92 hours of cultural programming each week. Karl Haas’ Adventures in Good Music became part of the WOSU broadcast in October 1971.

In 1972, WOSU.TV joined the radio stations by relocating to the Fawcett Center. The new facility was fully equipped for color transmission and featured two production studios, both larger than those at the station’s original location. In addition to better facilities, a new tower and transmitter allowed WOSU to reach a radius of 60 miles, serving 24 counties and two million people in 1973. Federal public-broadcasting funding cuts prompted the creation of The Friends of WOSU, which focused on support fundraising for the station. In conjunction with the first “Friends-a-Thon” on TV34, the Sesame Street characters came to WOSU.TV to kick off the event. WOSU.TV’s broadcast community grew in 1974 with the addition of WPBO.TV in Portsmouth.

WOSU-FM began broadcasting in stereo in 1973, and in 1975. The station made its sub-carrier available to the Central Ohio Radio Reading Service (CORRS), a nonprofit service broadcast on a sub-carrier of WOSU-FM for blind, visually impaired, and otherwise physically handicapped persons. In 1977, Don Davis, after serving many years as the WOSU news director, became the WOSU-AM/FM station manager.

The late 1970s and early 1980s brought new programming and important developments to the WOSU Stations. WOSU-FM added expanded versions of the Morning Show and Sun-Up Symphony to its on-air repertoire. WOSU.TV was the first television station in Columbus to provide closed-captioning for its hearing-impaired viewers. The WOSU Stations welcomed a new general manager, Dale K. Ouzts, in the fall of 1979.

Technological advances in late 1979 allowed WOSU-AM/FM to receive national programming via satellite, instead of by telephone lines or audio tapes. The next year, WOSU-FM became “Classical 89.7,” with 19 hours of classical music each day, which finally separated the station in format programming from News 820 WOSU-AM. FM changed to all music, and AM became a news and public-affairs station and debuted NPR’s Morning Edition. Both stations started up and initially operated the Ohio Public Radio Statehouse News Bureau in 1980. By the mid-1980s, WOSU-FM expanded its broadcast service to 24 hours a day. Open Line, a new call-in program, made its debut in March 1982 on the AM station as well.

General manager Dale Ouzts began a professional exchange program with the Beijing Broadcasting Institute in the People’s Republic of China in 1980. Ouzts and other staff members taught classes as well as hosted Chinese broadcasters during visits to the United States.

In 1984, WOSU.TV held its first Auction34 and won the Best First Auction Award from PBS. Auction34 raised more than $200,000 to help fund station initiatives. By 1986, the television station celebrated its 30th anniversary and became the first broadcast operation in Columbus to produce stereo programming and the second station to broadcast in stereo. WOSU.TV was honored in 1987 when its award-winning production Blacks and the Constitution was acquired by the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution for inclusion in its permanent archives.

In 1988, WOSU-AM’s 40-year effort to secure permission from the FCC to expand its broadcast day into night finally succeeded. News 820 was able to broadcast an average of 16 hours a day.

In January 1989, David Carwile assumed the role of WOSU-FM program director. Later that year, WOSV-FM in Mansfield partnered with the WOSU Stations by providing simulcast programming of WOSU-FM programs in Columbus. A major project that began in the early 1990s for WOSU-FM entailed archiving the majority of the 28,000 78-rpms and albums in its record library. The archives were transferred to OSU’s Dance/Music Library by the end of the decade and are now available to the university and general public. In March 1990, WOSU-FM received the prestigious Governor’s Award for the Support of the Arts for its ongoing work with arts groups in Central Ohio, as well as broadcasts of performances by musical groups across the State of Ohio. The station received additional awards for its broadcasts of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Live...But Not in Person and Music from Ohio State: The Mozart Festival.

The decade from 1990-2000 marked numerous changes for the AM and FM stations. Sam Eiler was named radio-station manager for WOSU-AM/FM in April 1991. WOSU-AM’s broadcast schedule was at one point increased to 24 hours a day, but eventually reduced from 24 hours to 18 hours a day in 1992 due to state and university budget cuts. News 820’s popular program BodyTalk, a health-information call-in program, premiered and aired nationally. A year later, the program was distributed internationally. News 820 inaugurated a listener-comment phone line in 1994 to give listeners the opportunity to give the station feedback on programming. Also during the 1990s, readers of the Columbus Guardian twice selected Fred Andrle of Open Line as “Best Radio Talk Show Host.” In 1997, WOSU-AM celebrated its 75th anniversary of broadcasting.

The 1990s were a decade of growth for WOSU-FM as well: The station averaged more than 100,000 listeners per week for the first time. WOSP-FM in Portsmouth, WOSE-FM in Coshocton, and WOSB-FM in Marion all partnered with WOSU-FM to form The WOSU Classics Network. In October 1999, WOSU-FM marked its 50th anniversary with a 50-day celebration.

WOSU.TV also experienced growth and success during the 1990s. In 1993, DVS (Descriptive Video Service) made selected public-television programs accessible to people with visual impairments. At the time, WOSU-TV was the only local station to offer DVS service. The station also took steps toward digital technology in 1994 when it acquired five new digital-videotape machines. The station signed on for digital transmission Jan. 22, 2004, as WOSU.DT and will begin to broadcast in an all-digital environment in 2009.

A wave of change began in November 2002, when Dale Ouzts retired and Tom Rieland became the fourth general manager of The WOSU Stations. Rieland came from the Center for Public Television and Radio at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where he had served as general manager and director since 1989. One important accomplishment under Tom Rieland was the creation of a new strategic plan for The WOSU Stations. A new mission statement for the stations was identified: to enrich lives through programming and community services that educate, inform, entertain, and inspire. Also important to Rieland are strategic partnerships and tapping into technology and staff talent to meet university and community needs.

Classical 89.7 WOSU-FM is the first station in central Ohio to broadcast a digital radio signal. Congresswoman Deborah Pryce pushed the button April 5, 2005 to officially start the digital “HD Radio” era in Columbus in recognition of the federal support that helps fund this new service. HD radio technology is a method of transmitting audio and data, offering upgraded audio quality, on-demand interactive experiences, and new wireless data services.

WOSU@COSI opened in September, 2006, after three years of planning and renovation, in addition to major successes in major gifts to fund the facility, including the largest single gift in WOSU history from Battelle ($1.6 million) to name the Battelle Studio at WOSU@COSI.

References:
1 Shaull, Ron. WOSU-TV Celebrates 30 Years of Progress. AirFare Magazine, Feb./March 1986.2

A Chronology of Important Developments in the History of Telecommunications at Ohio State University. Ewing, William. 1969-1970.3 AirFare Magazine, April 1982.