While radio had been around for a little over a century, it was not until 1948 that Carmi received its first radio station.
It was December 13th of 1948; seventy five years ago, when WROY began broadcasting covering Carmi and White County. Carmi Broadcasting became the “voice of Carmi” covering local news, sports and offering easy listening music throughout the day.
From the early days, WROY was known for its sports coverage, carrying local sports and it soon became the home of the St. Louis Cardinal games as well.
WROY, now a division of the Original Company, will celebrate with a public reception on Friday, December 15. The reception, a come and go event, will run from about 11 that Friday morning until about 1. Everyone is invited to stop by for light refreshments and a visit with the WROY/WRUL staff.
WRUL 97.3 FM will celebrate its 50th year in 2024.
Orginally WROY FM, WRUL was renamed after a listener promotion that asked listeners what call letters should be requested from the Federal Communication Commission, the government agency that oversees broadcasting across the country.
WRUL for “WE RULE the country,” was the winner to coincide with the 50,000 wattage that allows the WRUL signal to “boom” across 25 counties in three states. WRUL has played country music since its inception. While the programming is now from satellite feeds, originally the music was recorded to “carts” and placed in a multiple carousel player that broadcast the music.
Details of the WROY come and go celebration will be released in the coming days, with plans for the 2024 WRUL celebration still in the works.
