WCSO (AM) explained

WCSO was a radio station in Springfield, Ohio. First licensed in 1922, it was deleted in 1930, as part of a consolidation that created WGAR.

History

WCSO was first licensed, as WNAP, on October 13, 1922, to Wittenberg College in Springfield, operating on the standard "entertainment" wavelength of 833kHz.[1] As early as 1896, the college's physics department had experimented with radio transmissions, and a radio club composed of students was established in 1906. First receiving experimental license 8XAK earlier in 1922, Wittenberg professor E. O. Weaver and several of his students constructed the transmitter in advance of signing on, and programming was presented by the college's Speech and Drama Department.[2]

The station's frequency was reassigned in the fall of 1923 to,[3] to in early 1924,[4] and to at the end of the year.[5] The station's call letters were changed to WCSO—for Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio—on March 6, 1925,[6] and the station was reassigned to on June 15, 1927.[7] Originally located at Wittenberg's Carnegie Science Hall, the studios were eventually moved to Blair Hall, with the radio towers erected in front of the science building.

As part of a major reallocation under the provisions of the FRC's General Order 40, on November 11, 1928, WCSO was assigned to on a timesharing basis with KQV in Pittsburgh. WCSO was reassigned to a few months later as WFJC's new timesharing partner.[8]

George A. Richards, Leo J. Fitzpatrick and P. M. Thomas—owners of WJR in Detroit—incorporated the WGAR Broadcasting Company in order to establish "Cleveland's fourth radio station".[9] On September 6, the company filed an application with the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) for authorization to "consolidate stations WFJC and WCSO into a new station with new equipment at Cleveland Ohio", which was approved that same month.[10] The WGAR Broadcasting Company took over ownership of WCSO on September 26, 1930, later recognized as a casualty of the Great Depression; WFJC was acquired seven days earlier.[11] [12] WCSO made its final broadcast on October 11, 1930, after coverage of the Wittenberg Tigers-Washington & Jefferson Presidents football game[13] and its license was formally deleted at the end of the month.[14]

Later renamed Wittenberg University, the institution re-entered radio broadcasting in 1966 with the sign-on of WUSO, regarded as "a descendant" of WCSO.[15]

Notes and References

  1. News: November 1, 1922 . New Stations . 3 . Radio Service Bulletin . U.S. Department of Commerce . 67 . Washington, D.C. . live . August 4, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210712202340/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221816&view=1up&seq=745 . July 12, 2021 . HathiTrust.
  2. Book: Kinnison, William A.. Modern Wittenberg. Xlibris Corporation. 2011. 978-1-4628-6058-6. Bloomington, Indiana. 41.
  3. News: November 1, 1923 . Alterations and Corrections . 8 . Radio Service Bulletin . U.S. Department of Commerce . 79 . Washington, D.C. . live . August 4, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210716021054/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221817&view=1up&seq=206 . July 16, 2021 . HathiTrust.
  4. News: March 1, 1924 . Alterations and Corrections . 8 . Radio Service Bulletin . U.S. Department of Commerce . 83 . Washington, D.C. . live . August 4, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211113194429/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221817&view=1up&seq=282 . November 13, 2021 . HathiTrust.
  5. News: January 2, 1925 . Alterations and Corrections . 8 . Radio Service Bulletin . U.S. Department of Commerce . 93 . Washington, D.C. . live . August 4, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220602024517/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221817&view=1up&seq=486 . June 2, 2022 . HathiTrust.
  6. Book: Frost, S. E. Jr. . Education's Own Stations . Arno Press, Inc. . 1971 . 0-405-03555-1 . New York, New York . 475–478 . 1937 . World Radio History . August 4, 2022 . September 29, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210929132558/https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Education%27s-Own-Stations-Frost-1937-HOB.pdf . live .
  7. News: May 31, 1927 . Broadcasting Stations Alphabetically by States and Cities . 12 . Radio Service Bulletin . U.S. Department of Commerce . 122 . Washington, D.C. . live . August 4, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220804190754/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221818&view=1up&seq=338 . August 4, 2022 . HathiTrust.
  8. News: June 29, 1929 . Alterations and Corrections . 17 . Radio Service Bulletin . U.S. Department of Commerce . 147 . Washington, D.C. . live . August 4, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220804190754/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221818&view=1up&seq=955 . August 4, 2022 . HathiTrust.
  9. News: September 26, 1930. WJR Back of New Radio Studio Here. 11. Cleveland Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio.
  10. News: Reeves. Russell H.. September 29, 1930. Checking Over the News of the Week. 10. Cleveland Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio.
  11. News: October 30, 1930 . Alterations and Corrections . 12 . Radio Service Bulletin . U.S. Department of Commerce . 163 . Washington, D.C. . live . August 4, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201016133921/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221819&view=1up&seq=292 . October 16, 2020 . HathiTrust.
  12. News: September 20, 1930. See Sale Of WFJC As Network Move. 3. Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. Newspapers.com. August 13, 2021. August 13, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210813053226/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83347009/see-sale-of-wfjc-as-network-move/. live.
  13. News: October 12, 1930. Last Program is Broadcast. 35. The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio. Associated Press. August 12, 2021. August 13, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210813053228/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83342043/last-program-is-broadcast/. live.
  14. News: October 31, 1930. Radio Station WCSO Stops Broadcasting. 25. Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. Newspapers.com. August 12, 2021. August 13, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210813053220/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83342185/radio-station-wcso-stops-broadcasting/. live.
  15. News: February 20, 1966 . Wittenberg To Open FM Broadcasting . 2B . Springfield News-Sun . live . January 6, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230106023743/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115874667/wittenberg-to-open-fm-broadcasting/ . January 6, 2023 . Newspapers.com.

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