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In March 1920, the first radio license was issued to The Ohio State University to start an experimental station called Radio Telephone 8XJ (also referred to 8XL). By the next month, its first program was broadcast with a whopping 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 and one of the oldest earliest education radio stations in America.

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.”

In September 1924, WEAO began regular play-by-play coverage of football games at Ohio Stadium:

“Sport broadcasts occupy a favorable spot on the WEAO program. For the past five years football games have been put “on the air” and for the past three years WEAO has broadcast all Ohio State grid tilts both at home and abroad. It has been key station in a number of hookups. Basket ball also has its place, with the station giving its ether-audience play-by-play descriptions of all at-home games. Incidentally it is one of the few stations in the country radiocasting basket ball.” (The Ohio State University Monthly, March 1931)

In 1928, WEAO partnered with WKRC (WLW) in Cincinnati to produce “Ohio School of the Air,” which was sent via telephone lines to Cincinnati and rebroadcast through WLW radio. As WEAO continued its broadcasts, a financial report completed in 1932 indicated that the operating cost for one year was $17,531 ($289,894.92 in 2012 dollars).

On September 1, 1933, the Federal Radio Commission granted the call-letter change from WEAO to WOSU-AM.

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.

Ten commercial stations rebroadcast many of WOSU-AM’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, including The Radio Junior College, agricultural programming, drama and music presentations, School of the Air broadcasts, athletic broadcasts, and the development of a radio workshop.

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.

During World War II, WOSU radio played an important role in relaying military information to the Central Ohio community. Fifteen percent of the station’s broadcast hours were devoted to war-related stories and issues.

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