Carl Meyers

Carl Meyers

Carl Meyers joined WGN Radio on Christmas Day, 1925, and he remained with the station into the 1960s. Meyers built his first crystal radio at the age of 10 in 1912. Ten years later, he was building radio stations, including WTAS in Elgin, which was soon acquired by Tribune.

Carl Meyers
Engineer

In March, 1929, Meyers implemented a project to broadcast police calls to squad cars over WGN’s airwaves. WGN would interrupt its programming to carry the messages to officers in the field. This would quickly lead to the police radio systems that are now commonplace.

Meyers (left) during a test of the system to broadcast police calls to squad cars

Meyers received the National Association of Broadcasters Engineering Achievement Award. Jack Brickhouse is reported to have said “Meyers was tinkering with radio fifteen years before Marconi even invented it.” While not literally true, it reflects the respect Meyers earned among his colleagues. Meyers’ son Jack would also have a long career with the company, working as a cameraman at WGN-TV for over 30 years.