Kentucky’s first radio station hit the airwaves 102 years ago

LOUISVILLE, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) – On July 18, 1922, Kentucky made its first radio broadcast.

According to the University of Kentucky , there were an estimated 19,000 radio stations nationwide in 1922, most of which were “amateur operations broadcasting sporadically.” Robert Worth Bingham, owner of the Courier-Journal and Louisville Times Company, set out to establish the bluegrass’s radio presence.

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“I want a radio station which will reach into the farthest confines of the state, where a man may string an aerial from his cabin to the nearest pine tree, and sitting in his chair before the fire, have a pew in a church, a seat at the opera, a desk at the university,” Bingham said.

In April of 1922, Bingham was granted a radio license from the Commerce Department. Three months later, WHAS hit the air, per UK. WHAS has gone on to become one of the longest-running radio stations nationwide, according to FOX 56’s Louisville sister station, WDRB .

“This is WHAS, the radiotelephone broadcasting station of the Courier-Journal and Louisville Times of Louisville, Kentucky,” were the first words heard across the Commonwealth from station manager and announcer Credo Harris.

Kentucky radio broadcast hits national milestones

In the beginning, WHAS was only on air for around two and a half hours a day, according to UK research. From then on, their coverage grew more widespread, making nationwide radio history.

On Sept. 14, 1922, WHAS became the first radio station to broadcast to a moving train.

In December 1922, the radio station amassed listeners from its commitment to music, beginning with its first remote broadcast of organ music from the old Alamo Theatre. By the end of 1922, the station had received almost 30,000 letters from listeners from as far as Honduras and Australia, per UK. The station then went on to produce over 3,000 performances in its first six months of broadcasting and was ranked one of the top six radio stations in the country.

However, WHAS gained popularity after broadcasting a mock Fort Knox battle in August of 1924. UK research showed that it scared many Kentuckians, some believing that “Martians had landed.”

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Major events in WHAS history

The following events have been recognized as pivotal in WHAS history, according to UK and Berea College :

• 1922: First radio broadcast
• 1925: The first live Kentucky Derby broadcast
• 1929: Partnership with the University of Kentucky to broadcast university programming and “listening centers” in eastern Kentucky
• 1936: The station began carrying University of Kentucky basketball and football games
• 1937: Awarded CBS Medal for Distinguished Service for its coverage of January floods
• 1939: Recognized as “one of the five best radio newscasts in the nation”
• 1954: Establishes the Crusade for Children, which has raised millions of dollars for children’s charities in the area
• 1970: Began 24-hour broadcast

Berea College’s WHAS Historical Collection states that in 1929, the station worked to expand radio accessibility to remote areas of the state. Using donated battery-powered radios, WHAS established “listening centers” in eastern Kentucky for citizens to stay informed and entertained. The majority of broadcast programs in these areas included music as well as agricultural news.

In 1937, the Ohio River Flood became known as the “greatest natural disaster in tri-state history,” according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Record rainfall fell over 12 days, and the Ohio River surpassed record six-to-nine-foot flood crests. It’s estimated that 350 people were killed and one million were left without homes.

“The 1937 flood affected nearly all of the state of Kentucky, as well as southern Ohio/Indiana,” the NWS said. “While 15-20% of the City of Cincinnati itself was water-covered, leaving thousands homeless, much of the city outside of the flooded area was largely paralyzed due to lack of fresh water, electricity and heat.”

During this time, WHAS provided nonstop commercial-free radio coverage regarding the disaster for weeks on end, per Berea College. The radio station relayed over 115,000 messages to rescue crews, as many had no other means of communication at the time. Later that year, the station received the CBS Medal for Distinguished Service for its coverage.

In 2024, WHAS is now owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and covers everything from sports and politics to area news on 840 AM and the iHeartRadio app.

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