March 1, 2002

Loyola and WWL Radio celebrate 80^th anniversary

Loyola and WWL-AM radio will commemorate the 80^th anniversary of the first broadcast in the Deep South on March 21. A plaque will be placed in Marquette Hall dedicated to the students and faculty who made radio broadcast history.

The Jesuits created the 10-watt station as a lab for wireless technology. The station received its broadcasting license on March 31, 1922, and began broadcasting immediately. The first broadcast aired from Loyola's campus with no public notification and included a three-minute appeal to New Orleans residents to support the construction of a new classroom building on campus.

Loyola owned WWL radio and eventually WWL television until the late 1980s, when they were sold to build the university endowment. WWL is presently a 50,000-watt clear channel station.

Loyola's curriculum in mass communications has expanded since its beginning focus on radio broadcasting. The university's Department of Communications also includes television broadcast journalism, photojournalism, print journalism, public relations, advertising, and film studies.