Cox Radio, Inc. - Specimen Stock Certificate

Specimen Stock Certificate printed by American Bank Note Company.

Cox Radio, Inc., a prominent U.S. radio company, owns or operates 80 stations across 18 markets, spanning from New York to Hawaii. The majority of these stations are situated in the southern part of the country. Cox Radio also syndicates radio programs, including those hosted by renowned commentators Neal Boortz and consumer advocate Clark Howard. The publicly traded company is controlled by media giant Cox Enterprises, Inc.

Cox Radio’s roots can be traced back to James Middleton Cox, who was born on a farm in Ohio in 1870. After pursuing a teaching career and starting work at the age of 16, Cox transitioned to journalism. In 1898, he purchased the Dayton Evening News. Cox, a reformer with political aspirations, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1909 and later served three terms as the governor of Ohio. He unsuccessfully sought the presidency in 1920, running alongside Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In the 1920s, Cox revived his interest in newspapers and acquired several other Ohio publications, including the Miami, Florida, Metropolis. In 1934, he assisted his son, James McMahon Cox, in purchasing a radio station in Erie, Pennsylvania. This station was later relocated to Dayton and renamed WHIO. J. Leonard Reinsch, a 26-year-old with a business degree from Northwestern University and a decade of radio experience, was appointed as the station’s manager.

Cox’s radio holdings expanded further in 1939 when he acquired the Atlanta Journal, which also owned the influential station WSB. Cox Enterprises, the family business, relocated its headquarters from Dayton to Atlanta. During this period, another radio station was established in Miami. In 1948, WSB launched a television station and a second radio station on the newly introduced FM band with higher fidelity. Following the passing of James Middleton Cox in 1957, his son became the head of Cox Enterprises, sharing ownership with his sisters Anne and Barbara. By this time, the company had acquired or established several additional radio and television stations, primarily in cities where it owned newspapers. Cox Enterprises had also diversified into real estate. At that point, total broadcasting revenues amounted to approximately $9 million annually. In 1962, Cox Enterprises acquired a community antenna system in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. These systems, the predecessors of cable television, had begun to emerge in the United States in areas with poor reception. They enabled residential customers to enjoy clear images through large antennas connected to a wired network.

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