WDIA radio
*WDIA radio went on the air on this date in 1947. WDIA (1070 AM) is a Black radio station in Memphis, Tennessee.
Active since World War II, it soon became the first radio station in the United States programmed entirely for African Americans. It featured Black radio personalities; its success in building an audience quickly attracted radio advertisers who were aware of a "new" market among Black listeners. WDIA studios were on Union Avenue. The owners, John Pepper and Bert Ferguson, were both white, and the format was a mix of country western and light pop, "homemaker shows, "network shows, and block programming that included soap operas and classical music. The original frequency was 730 kHz.
The station did not do well until Ferguson learned about "targeted programming" and realized there was one audience in Memphis that no other radio station served. Half of the listeners who could hear WDIA's signal were Black, and WDIA hired the first black disc jockey in the South. Many music legends got their start by working at WDIA, including B.B. King and Rufus Thomas. The station influenced music, hiring musicians early in their careers and playing music to an audience that spanned from the Mississippi Delta to the Gulf Coast.
The station started the WDIA Goodwill Fund to help and empower Black communities. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station's studios are in Southeast Memphis, and the transmitter site is in North Memphis. In 2020, the Beale Street Historic District and the WDIA radio station in Memphis were added to the United States Civil Rights Trail.
