What was the first radio station in the US?

Answer 1

While many sources say it was KDKA in Pittsburgh, in early November 1920, that is not entirely accurate. The first American station to keep a regular schedule and be heard by a local audience was probably 8MK (today WWJ) in Detroit, which went on the air in late August 1920. KDKA has spread the story that it was the first "licensed commercial station" but there was no such thing as a commercial license until mid-September 1921, and WBZ (then in Springfield MA) got the first of those. Bottom line-- both 8MK and KDKA were pioneering stations in 1920, but 8MK took to the air more than three months before KDKA did.

Answer 2

This is very much in dispute. Some sources say 8MK (later known as WWJ) in Detroit. Others say 1XE (later known as WGI) of Medford Hillside MA. And many textbooks say it was KDKA in Pittsburgh. KDKA was owned by a large corporation and had an excellent publicity department, making it easy for them to spread their claim of being first. But the truth is that we may never really know, since we lack any audio recordings (tape had not been invented yet) and we only have the claims of the various station owners, along with some newspaper reports about their stations' achievements.

By those standards, we know that 8MK was on the air in late August 1920 (owned by a newspaper, the Detroit News), while KDKA did not take to the air till early November 1920. The wildcard is little 1XE, which may have been on the air before both of them (according to some newspaper mentions), but whose files and archival records were destroyed in a fire, leaving us little way to verify when they began to keep a regular schedule.

Answer 3

Compton

Black

Answer 4

KDKA