Uniontown Radio: JM Celebrate 50-Years In Local Radio

Jim Morgan

While working his first radio job at WARO in Canonsburg, James “Jim” Morgan remembers looking out the window of his ground-floor recording studio and seeing a cow wander by. He chuckled to himself and thought, “There goes one of my listeners.”

The 69-year-old radio man will be celebrating 50 years in the industry in May, according to a story at  triblive.com.

The McKeesport native and Uniontown resident recently looked back on his career, how it has changed and what plans he has.

“I always liked music growing up,” said the WMBS employee. “And I always dreamed of being on the radio.”

After attending Carnegie Institute of Technology for one year, Morgan decided it was not the right fit for him, claiming their mentality was too abstract.

His first look into radio occurred in spring 1963 when he worked at WARO in Canonsburg. WARO, a religious-based radio station, is where Morgan aired his first commercials, advertising hymn booklets.

After a year at WARO, he was hired by the now dismantled WZUM in Carnegie. In 1965, he moved 

on to his current station, WMBS 590 AM in Uniontown and, after a hiatus, returned in 1979. During his time away from WMBS, he worked in radio in Atlanta and even got a commercial truck driving license. But none of those jobs stuck.

After returning to WMBS, he has worked there since.

For the past 10 years, his main responsibility has been airing the morning show, which starts at 6 a.m. and includes America's Best Music (adult contemporary), local news and sports.

“I'm a one-man band here in the morning,” he chuckled.

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