August 31: First Radio Newscast

Radio station 8MK in Detroit, Michigan went on the air August 20, 1920. The Station was located in the Detroit News Building, a common practice in the early days of radio. The first news program was broadcast August 31, 1920.

The first radio news program covered that year’s Presidential election.  The winner was Warren G. Harding.

By the end of the decade, every state had a radio station.

The station was later renamed WWJ and is still broadcasting at 950 on the AM dial with
an all-news format under the ownership of the CBS network.