In the early days of the 20th century the call sign "WSB" was assigned to a ship for communications with land-based stations and nearby ships. When that vessel sank, the letters were assigned to another ship that was quickly lost. Mariners are very superstitious about such happening and soon the marked call sign was reserved for land based operators. The year was 1919. Civilian radio use - almost exclusively with a crystal set - began a robust recovery from prohibitions in World War I. At that time there were around 8000 licensed amateur radio operators in the U.S. They shared the airways with fewer than half a dozen licensed radio stations broadcasting brief, intermittent programs featuring concerts, news, and special sports events, especially boxing.
By 1922 technological improvements led to a large expansion in the number of broadcast stations - commercial operations - including the landmarks established by Westinghouse (KDKA Pittsburgh, WJZ Newark, WBZ Springfield/Boston. and KYW Chicago) and American Telephone and Telegraph (WJY Hoboken/New York). It is in this wave of enthusiasm for radio that the owners of the Atlanta Journal established WSB, the oldest station in the Southeast, on March 15, 1922. They beat their competition, the Atlanta Constitution and WGST, by two days. In time the management adopted "Welcome South, Brother" as WSB's slogan. It was a perfect fit for call letters that had been randomly selected and assigned by the Federal Radio Commission.
In its 96 years WSB has played significant roles in the American experience. They range from the popularizing of Southern gospel music to the advocacy for civil rights through a pioneering editorial policy faced by broad and often hostile opposition.
Today, the WSB family serves its listeners as a national talk radio leader, the driving companion for millions of metro Atlanta commuters, and the University of Georgia flagship station for football and basketball.
In retirement I don't listen to local radio much these days unless the Bulldogs are on the gridiron and there's no video media at hand. At the same time, I'm never far removed from the magic of radio because my great uncle Charles's 1921 Westinghouse RC Regenerative Receiver sits in an honored place in our den next to my desk. It was built by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The radio was dated by its very low serial numbers (2239 and 4004). My uncle lived about 75 miles from KDKA in Pittsburgh and I know he enjoyed listening to that station on his radio because he told me so. There's written evidence on the radio manual as well. As for WSB, I can't say with certainty but he was an avid fan from the very beginning of the commercial radio era when it had thirty stations. With so few choices it's hard to imagine him missing Atlanta on the air and that warm greeting, "Welcome South, Brother!"
Happy birthday, WSB!
Sources
Photos and Illustrations:
logo, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WSB_NewsTalkLogo.jpg
radio, OTR photo collection
Text:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WSB_(AM)
eh.net/encyclopedia/the-history-of-the-radio-industry-in-the-united-states-to-1940
earlyradiohistory.us
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