In a 26-31 Cougar pigskin loss to San Jose State in Spokane, Glenn Johnson debuts as public address announcer for WSU football and men’s basketball, a position which soon earns him the title of “Voice of the Cougars.” In 1983, he starts the “And that’s another Cougar first down…” call which has since been copied by many others. Glenn was a faculty member in the WSU Murrow College of Communication faculty from 1979 to 2014.
KWSC-TV went on the air for the first time under the direction of Cal Watson. Though the university was already WSU, KWSC did not become KWSU until March 1, 1969.
He earns a degree in degree in speech while immersing himself in the campus culture during his four years in Pullman. Among his activities: president of the student body, actor in school plays, four-year participant in ROTC, debate team leader, member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, and president of the National Student Federation.
After college, Murrow works as a journalist in Europe during WW II, helps pioneer television news, and produces a series of reports that help lead to a censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Murrow was highly respected by journalists of his generation and praised for his honesty and integrity in delivering the news.
Edward R. Murrow (at right) walking from Pullman to Moscow in 1927.
Murrow and his Kappa Sigma brothers at Washington State College.
The radio station begins broadcasting from the Mechanic Arts Building, thanks to financial support from the Agricultural Extension Service, the Associated Students, and the Pullman Chamber of Commerce.
Known today as KWSU, the station’s founding goals remain in place:
To provide information and cultural service to a wide area of population
To draw on the expertise of the faculty and present their findings
To provide a vehicle for further research in broadcasting
To train young people in the use, operation, and “human service” of radio
The station is one of the oldest and largest university-owned radio stations in the country.
Homer Dana with the first of four microphones that KFAE (later KWSC and KWSU) used. Dana, along with Hubert Carpenter, founded KFAE in 1922.
