WSB History: 1920’s

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The Gordon Hight home; his 100-watt transmitter was used by WSB to transmit the first commercial radio broadcast in Georgia on March 12, 1922.

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A few hours after this telegram arrived on March 15, 1922, WSB went on the air as "The South's First Radio Station"

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Henry Ford (seated) asked to see WSB when he visited Atlanta in 1922. At far right is Maj. John S. Cohen, editor and publisher of The Atlanta Journal and founder of WSB. Others are (L) Montgomery Haynes, Ford district manager; Mercer Lee, secretary to Atlanta Mayor James L. Key; and L. W. (Chip) Robert, architect and business and civic leader.

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The earliest surviving WSB program log, April 6, 1922.

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"Home for WSB on roof of Atlanta Biltmore Hotel give the Journal the nation's finest radio station"

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Transmitting facilities constructed in the East Lake section of Atlanta in late 1929 allowed WSB to increase its power to 5,000 watts, considerably expanding its coverage area.

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The WSB program log the night NBC went on the air, November 22, 1926

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Musical groups were popular on WSB in the '20s. Special favorites were "The Peachtree Mandoliers" (1922).

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Movie idol Rudolph Valentino received a "hysterical ovation" when he stepped before the WSB microphone in 1923.

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WSB transmitter atop Atlanta Journal building, @1922. The station moved facilities from the Journal to the Biltmore Hotel three years later.

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Announcer Frank Hirsch at WSB microphone, 1920s. This is how one dressed for broadcasting, back in the day. After 6PM, of course.

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1920s radio receiver, complete with homemade “horn” amplifier. Before commercially-manufactured radios were readily available, hobbyists built their own—and this is the way many listeners first heard the WSB signal.

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WSB History: 1920’s

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