MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It truly started what is today’s West Virginia Radio Corporation, the parent company of MetroNews.
On December 15, 1940, Morgantown’s WAJR AM radio signed on at 11:00 a.m. It was the single most important project of Agnes Jane Reeves.
“She always said the world owes you a living but it’s up to you to go out and get it,” recollected John Raese, the founder’s grandson and co-owner of WVRC. “Business was her hobby.
She had no other hobbies except business. Everything we have and the general emphasis of what we do is a spirit of my grandmother and certainly my grandfather.”
The station, then broadcasting from a former downtown Morgantown studio, first went on the air at 1230 AM and 1,000 watts.
By the 1950’s, WAJR could be found at 1440 AM broadcasting at 5,000 watts expanding its reach.
“She also put the first FM on the air in Pittsburgh and in West Virginia. She did that in 1948,” explained WVRC President Dale Miller. That was about 25 years before FM had critical mass. So, this company has been involved in radio for a long time. And, we’re proud of it.”
Reeves created her own network with start-ups in Cumberland, Md. and Elkins, W.Va.
“She thought these people need something down here. There’s no entertainment. There’s no news. There’s no information. I think the premise of this company from the very beginning was the right premise – was a premise to deliver local news, sports and information. And, that’s a winning combination,” Miller, a 38-year employee of the company, added.
Early on, WAJR carried up to 80 percent national content which quickly diminished as programming turned toward city and state news. The station, nicknamed the Voice of Morgantown, has been grounded locally and become a part of the fabric of the community.
“People trust you in the neighborhood. They trust you in the market area. People come, they work for you. These are not jobs that last 5 minutes or 5 weeks. These are jobs that people make careers out of. That makes me very happy,” Raese expressed.
In 1966, the current Greer building on Earl L. Core Road was constructed becoming the second home of WAJR in more than 7 decades.
The FCC just gave AM radio stations the ability over the next two years to add fm translators. There will be both an AM and FM side by 2017. The station can also be found on the HD channel of WVAQ.
“I think Mrs. Greer, my grandmother, was always ahead of the curve. She was quite an industrialist. A lot of the ideas my grandmother had are still prevalent. We still exist today because of her,” Raese said.