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WCSO (AM)

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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

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Wittenberg College's Carnegie Science Hall in Springfield (pictured here in 1911) was the first home to WNAP/WCSO, one of two forerunners to today's WHKW. The station's towers were located in front of the hall.[1]

WCSO was first licensed, as WNAP, on October 13, 1922, to Wittenberg College in Springfield, operating on the standard "entertainment" wavelength of 360 meters (833 kHz).[2] 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.[3] First receiving experimental license 8XAK earlier in 1922,[3] Wittenberg professor E. O. Weaver and several of his students constructed the 1,000 watt transmitter in advance of signing on, and programming was presented by the college's Speech and Drama Department.[1]

The station's frequency was reassigned in the fall of 1923 to 1300 kHz,[4] to 1090 kHz in early 1924,[5] and to 1210 kHz at the end of the year.[6] The station's call letters were changed to WCSO—for Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio—on March 6, 1925,[3] and the station was reassigned to 1170 kHz 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.[1]

As part of a major reallocation under the provisions of the FRC's General Order 40, on November 11, 1928, WCSO was assigned to 1380 kHz on a timesharing basis with KQV in Pittsburgh. WCSO was reassigned to 1450 kHz 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",[10] which was approved that same month.[11] The WGAR Broadcasting Company took over ownership of WCSO on September 26, 1930,[3] later recognized as a casualty of the Great Depression;[1]: 41  WFJC was acquired seven days earlier.[12][13] WCSO made its final broadcast on October 11, 1930, after coverage of the Wittenberg Tigers-Washington & Jefferson Presidents football game[14] and its license was formally deleted at the end of the month.[15]

Later renamed Wittenberg University, the institution re-entered radio broadcasting in 1966 with the sign-on of WUSO, regarded as "a descendant" of WCSO.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Kinnison, William A. (2011). Modern Wittenberg. Bloomington, Indiana: Xlibris Corporation. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-4628-6058-6.
  2. ^ "New Stations". Radio Service Bulletin. No. 67. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce. November 1, 1922. p. 3. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2022 – via HathiTrust.
  3. ^ a b c d Frost, S. E. Jr. (1971) [1937]. Education's Own Stations (PDF). New York, New York: Arno Press, Inc. pp. 475–478. ISBN 0-405-03555-1. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 29, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2022 – via World Radio History.
  4. ^ "Alterations and Corrections". Radio Service Bulletin. No. 79. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce. November 1, 1923. p. 8. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2022 – via HathiTrust.
  5. ^ "Alterations and Corrections". Radio Service Bulletin. No. 83. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce. March 1, 1924. p. 8. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2022 – via HathiTrust.
  6. ^ "Alterations and Corrections". Radio Service Bulletin. No. 93. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce. January 2, 1925. p. 8. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022 – via HathiTrust.
  7. ^ "Broadcasting Stations Alphabetically by States and Cities". Radio Service Bulletin. No. 122. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce. May 31, 1927. p. 12. Archived from the original on August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022 – via HathiTrust.
  8. ^ "Alterations and Corrections". Radio Service Bulletin. No. 147. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce. June 29, 1929. p. 17. Archived from the original on August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022 – via HathiTrust.
  9. ^ "WJR Back of New Radio Studio Here". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. September 26, 1930. p. 11.
  10. ^ Application 2-P-B-1653, dated September 6, 1930
  11. ^ Reeves, Russell H. (September 29, 1930). "Checking Over the News of the Week". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. p. 10.
  12. ^ "Alterations and Corrections". Radio Service Bulletin. No. 163. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce. October 30, 1930. p. 12. Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2022 – via HathiTrust.
  13. ^ "See Sale Of WFJC As Network Move". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. September 20, 1930. p. 3. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Last Program is Broadcast". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio. Associated Press. October 12, 1930. p. 35. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  15. ^ "Radio Station WCSO Stops Broadcasting". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. October 31, 1930. p. 25. Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Wittenberg To Open FM Broadcasting". Springfield News-Sun. February 20, 1966. p. 2B. Archived from the original on January 6, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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