The first radio station in Kentucky began broadcasting at 7:30 p.m. on the evening of July 18, 1922, when Credo Fitch Harris announced to all who cared or were able to listen: "This is WHAS, the radio telephone broadcasting station of the Courier-Journal and the Louisville Times, in Louisville, Kentucky.
WHAS and the University of Kentucky began a radio partnership in April 1929, when UK President Dr. Frank L. McVey announced into a radio microphone in Lexington:
"The University is on the air." For the broadcast of educational programs from studios on the Lexington campus, WHAS agreed to install all necessary equipment and direct telephone lines; the university and the station would share equally the transmission charges. This agreement began a partnership which attracted national attention. Dr. McVey remained somewhat apprehensive about the whole idea of radio but was willing to take a chance with it. He expressed his hopes for the medium during the maiden broadcast:
“Life is faster, filled with greater possibilities and subject to disasters as always. This is the sort of universe we live in. Now comes the radio, bringing to every part of the world the sound of the human voice from every country of the globe. No such possibilities of good and no such opportunity for mere bunk, have been offered to the public as through this amazing invention. The University of Kentucky is not interested in adding to the trivial, so two important forces for constructive effort in our state have agreed to cooperate in giving to the radio audience, what is hoped will be interesting, stimulating and helpful.”
The University of Kentucky programs aired Monday through Friday at noon, initially for fifteen minutes and expanded by 1931 to forty-five minutes. While primarily offering agricultural information, lectures on a variety of topics, as well as musical presentations, were also offered. From the beginning, the school appreciated its responsibility, and under the guidance of Elmer G. "Bromo" Sulzer programming steadily improved. Sulzer, who began his work at the University in public relations, energetically and successfully lobbied for the expansion of its radio commitment. Perhaps his most unique and vital role was in the establishment of "Listening Centers" in Eastern Kentucky during the early 1930s to bring battery powered radios to isolated communities.
By the early 1940s, radio had become much more commercial and educational programs, like those by UK, were cancelled in favor of music and other entertainment that actually made money. For several years UK experimented with other avenues for educational radio ultimately establishing WBKY Radio as a campus owned and operated FM station. In 1988 the station's call letters were changed to WUKY.
To read more about the history of WHAS Radio see Terry L. Birdwhistell, WHAS Radio and the Development of Broadcasting in Kentucky, 1922-1942, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society (1981).
Also see oral histories on the history of broadcasting in Kentucky in the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History. http://libraries.uky.edu/NunnCenter
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