[NJARC] Radio history made on this date in 1920

[Thomas Lee]

>From History Channel Club

Rivalries
 among radio stations are the stuff of legend, and they go right to the 
very first days of the medium. In this case: Who was first?

Pittsburgh's KDKA
 has long laid claim to the title of the "world's first commercially 
licensed radio station," going on the air for the first time on Nov. 2, 
1920. But some 10 weeks earlier—on this day in 1920—Detroit's 
"8MK"—known today as WWJ—began broadcasting from the offices of the Detroit News.

That
 first broadcast
 consisted of announcer Frank Edwards giving the station's call letters,
 two songs, and a rendition of "Taps" played by a member of the 
advertising department of the Detroit News.

Today, WWJ (950 AM) 
is all-news all the time serving Detroit and environs, while KDKA (1020 
AM) is Pittsburgh's main "talk radio" outlet. And coincidentally, both 
stations are CBS network affiliates—so, arguably, partners after all. 
And when nighttime conditions are just right, both can be heard almost 
all around the nation.