On Jan. 1, the SpinalColumn
Radio.com podcast debuts with yours truly on the Internet “air” talking about the very topics I write about.
While the idea of a chiropractic podcast is relatively new, a chiropractic broadcast is not.
Ever since D.D. Palmer delivered the first adjustment in 1895, chiropractors have been passionate educators. But probably none as passionate as the founder’s son himself, B.J. Palmer. Known as the “Developer of Chiropractic,” B.J. Palmer is often credited for chiropractic’s presence today.
As a wise businessman, lover of gadgetry and excellent communicator, Palmer saw something in the early days of radio that others did not – simply its ability to communicate messages, chiropractic or otherwise, to a great number of people in the “unseen audience.” In fact, he is known for borrowing an agricultural word to describe this newest of technologies: “broadcasting.”
He purchased his first radio station, the WOC, in Iowa in 1922. Though the call letters were arbitrarily assigned, he was quick to let everyone know that it stood for the “Wonders of Chiropractic.” The station drew an estimated one million listeners and was credited as our nation’s first commercial radio station west of the Mississippi.
The WOC was very popular and had a wide array of regular programs such as sports, news, weather, farm and stock information, live music, church service, and, of course, chiropractic educational programing.
Interestingly, while his station only operated on a modest 100 watts, its ability to transmit the chiropractic message long distances was quite astonishing.
Given his station’s central location in the country, and the fact that there were very few airwaves to compete with, the signal could often reach incredible distances beyond its wide United States and Canadian coverage, such as the Samoan and Philippine Islands, Chile, Stockholm, Paris, Rome, Alaska, and even the North Pole. The exceptional range was unexplainable, but many postulated that it was due to “peculiar atmospheric pressures” in the Davenport area along with good ground water saturation beneath the chiropractic school itself.
Regardless, the WOC soon became the western leg of the National Broadcasting Company.
While it might seem a bit unusual for someone such as Palmer to have purchased and operated an actual radio station to get his message out, it soon became wildly popular among businesses back then. Banks, newspapers, department stores, as well as public utilities, hospitals, pharmacies, and creameries all joined the “broadcasting boom” of the 1920s
By far the most interesting tidbit attached to Palmer’s radio station revolves around a young, ambitious gentleman who was given a job as a sports announcer when no other station would. Ronald W. Reagan, after making his mark in radio history, would go on to become our 40th president..
With Palmer blazing the chiropractic radio trail, chiropractors in radio markets dotting our nation have continued to broadcast the “wonders of chiropractic” to the great “unseen audience.”
Now, some 88 years later, in the midst of an Internet podcasting boom, chiropractic has another opportunity to present its story.
Something tells me, if Palmer were alive today, he’d be podcasting right along with me.
