Welcome to episode four of the anchors podcast. Today we're going to be doing the final installment on Wheeling, West Virginia by talking about the company and radio station, WWVA. WWVA had an over 70 year run Wheeling and became one of the most influential country radio stations in the country.

It transcended three very different owners over that period of time, which we're going to talk about today, adapted through a lot of technological and cultural change, and yet somehow stayed very authentically Wheeling.

This is the story of a company that was part commercial, part civic, part cultural, and 100 percent Wheeling.

Background (1:33)

Chapter 1: John Stroebel, Jr. (20:00)

How a radio wunderkind from Wheeling ended up founding WWVA

Chapter 2: George Storer, Jr. (40:55)

How an observant entrepreneur from Toledo took WWVA to the next level

Chapter 3: Emil Mogul (1:07:20)

How a Madison Avenue ad exec helped WWVA transition into the modern era

Wrap-Up & Takeaways (1:25:30)

Select photos, newspaper clippings, illustrations, etc.:

Hosts: Dustin Mix, Maria Gibbs

Edited and Produced by: Dustin Mix

Podcast Music: Mirrorland Hotel by Benjamin Esterlis

Resources

Background

* Thunderstruck, Erik Larson

* The Antique Wireless Association Review, Volume 21 2008

* The History of the Radio Industry in the United States to 1940

* The Development of Radio, PBS

* History of Commercial Radio, FCC

* About Sarnoff, PBS

* Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America, Wikipedia

* David Sarnoff, Wikipedia

* The immigrant who forever changed news and entertainment., izzit.org

* RCA, Wikipedia

* NBC, Wikipedia

* Big business and radio / by Gleason L. Archer, LL. D, President of Suffolk University

* Measurement in radio

* Broadcast Advertising - The Fourth Dimension, Frank Arnold

* Radio and Broadcast Advertising, Library of Congress

* History of advertising: No 160: The first radio commercials

* The History of Radio Advertisements

* A Brief History of the Radio

* How the Earlier Media Achieved Critical Mass: Radio; From Dots and Dashes To Rock and Larry King, NYTimes

* The history of radio advertising and the state of audio today

* The Economic History of the Radio Industry

* Business Studies: Broadcasting and Its History

* History of Radio to 1926, Gleason Archer

* What Was the First U. S. Radio Station?

* Early Radio Sponsors Few, Far Between

* Notre Dame celebrates 125 years of wireless innovation and education

Chapter 1

* John Charles Stroebel Jr *1894-1957* 8ZW

* Historical records found for John Stroebel, Family Search

* WWVA 50th Anniversary Booklet

* WWVA Flickr

* WWVA 20th Anniversary Booklet

* Radio service bulletin / Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce, January 1928

* Radio service bulletin / Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce no.69-92 (1923-24)

* Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers, 1929 Convention

* U.S. Special Land Stations: 1913-1921 Recap, Thomas H. White -- October 7, 2000

* ANTENNA – Uma História – Capítulo I

* Stroebel, working for Westinghouse, setting up first radio station in Brazil

* The Antenna, John C. Stroebel, QST, May 1921

* “American Radio Relay League - A national non-commercial organization of radio amateurs bonded for the more effective relaying of friendly messages between their stations, for legislative protection, and for scientific growth”

Chapter 2

* Heinl Radio Business Letter - Oct. 27, 1930

* Heinl Radio Business Letter - Dec. 18, 1930

* Heinl Radio Business Letter - All of 1930

* WJBK-TV Studios Building

* Storer's WSPD wins Pioneers' `Mike'

* Our Respects to George Butler Storer

* Annual Report of the Secretary of State to the Governor and General Assembly of the State of Ohio, 1928

* Pg 135 shows dissolution date for Standard Steel Tube Company

* The Iron Age

* Pg 1548 - George Storer Sr. acquiring Standard Steel Tube Company

* Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio, 1623-1923

* Pg 235 - George Storer Sr. history of moving to Toledo

* A Great Concern: The Shelby Mill Co.'s Plant Whose Capacity is 1000 lbs. a Day And Aggregates $1,500,00 a Year.

* Storer Story Nov-Dec 1962

* Our Respects to: George Butler Storer

* Commercial and Financial Chronicle : July 21, 1928, Vol. 127, No. 3291

* An echo of the gasoline "price war" was noted in Toledo, 0., when the Fort Industry Oil Co., an independent, reduced the price of retail gasoline to 17c. per gallon, with 3c. tax paid, and to 15c. on Saturdays and Sundays. Other companies are holding firm at the 19c. level

* GEORGE B. STORER, BROADCASTER, 75, NYTimes

* Take Me Home, Country Roads

* Wheeling Jamboree, Wikipedia

* Wheeling Jamboree Timeline

* Wheeling Jamboree

Chapter 3

* Billboard Apr 6, 1968

* Emil & WWVA

* How Emil Mogul tests media weekly for Rayco (pg 36)

* Why go for broke on television shows when tape trial runs can cut the risk? (pg 109)

* Copy Chief Promoted at Mogul

* Radio Daily, September 1943

* THE EMIL MOGUL COMPANY has been appointed to place the advertising for The Graham Co., packers of mixed nuts and over 20 varieties of dried vegetables, under the"Redbow" brand name. An extensive campaign, employing radio, will be launched shortly in principal cities covering the Eastern half of the country. Plans are now being formulated for eventual national distribution.

* Agency personnel policies irk Mogul

* Noting the current shortage of agency applicants, Mr. Mogul said four new jobs "go begging" for every qualified college graduate. His advice to students interested in an advertising career: Spend the first two years after graduation at a retail store in a relatively small city -the first, as a salesman behind the coun- ter and the second in the advertising department. 

* The WIGO Story - Atlanta; Emil Mogul

* Mountaineer Jamboree: Country Music in West Virginia 

* Jamboree In The Hills" Expected To Attract 40,000

* Capitol Theatre Collection of WWVA and Jamboree USA Memorabilia, Ohio County Public Library

* A 'New Breed' of Country Music Station Emerging, Billboard Sep. 4, 1965

* WWVA Officially Opens New Home

* WWVA Jamboree 40th Anniversary 1973

* Disk Dollar - American Radio History

* Emil Mogul / WWVA acquisition by Columbia Pictures

* Columbia-Basic merger trimmed to 3 stations 

* Emil Mogul Dies at 92; Founder of Ad Agency, NYTimes

Select Articles from the Wheeling Register:

* The Wheeling Register, August 1, 1910

* Includes cartoon at bottom of front page, alluding to wireless telegraphy as being “The Messenger Boy of the Sea”:

* Feb 11, 1913 - First mention found of J. Strobel & wireless

* Mar 4, 1913 - Wheeling Wireless Association formed by Stroebel

* Dec 26, 1913 - Stroebel gets wireless messages about snow from Canton

* Feb. 6, 1915 - Stroebel’s station designated official to receive gov’t messages

* Sep. 21, 1915 - Stroebel leaves to NYC for job @ National Electric Signaling Co. of Brooklyn

* Feb 22, 1916 - Stroebel is part of gov’t message relay test

* June 1, 1917 - Stroebel promoted by Dept of War as radio inspector of NY

* Dec 29, 1921 - Stroebel moves back home; working for Westinghouse

* Feb 26, 1922 - Stroebel revives Wheeling Wireless Assoc.

* June 13, 1922 - Stroebel tapped to install radio station in Brazil (first in South Amer.)

* July 19, 1923 - Stroebel returns from Brazil

* Nov 8, 1925 - Profile on Stroebel

* Mentions he installed his first set in 1910, the same year as the Dr. Crippen capture

* Dec 13, 1926 - WWVA Licensed

* Dec 14, 1926 - Recap of first WWVA broadcast

* Dec 21, 1926 - Recap of second WWVA broadcast

* Dec 26, 1926 - Preview of third WWVA broadcast

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