[6] Gene Huse, publisher of the Norfolk Daily News, was the key person responsible for establishing WJAG and overseeing technical operations.

Prior to the January 1923 establishment of the Mississippi River as the boundary, call letters beginning with "W" were generally assigned to stations east of an irregular line formed by the western state borders from North Dakota south to Texas, with calls beginning with "K" going only to stations in states west of that line.

[13] The newspaper's city editor, Karl Stefan, anchored the station's first news report and served as chief announcer until his election to Congress in 1935.

[15] Employing a shortwave transmitter, he originated "Voice of the Street" live broadcasts of local residents on December 19, 1932.

[16] WJAG's first studio consisted of a single room in the Daily News building at the corner of 4th Street and Braasch Avenue in downtown Norfolk.

The choir was too large to fit in the one-room studio, and the station was able to obtain use of the automobile showroom at the neighboring Buick dealer.

With this new assignment the station operated under a "limited time" authorization, with unrestricted daytime hours, but evening hours limited by no later than the time of sunset of the dominant stations on the frequency, which were originally WBAL in Baltimore, Maryland and WTIC in Hartford, Connecticut,[22] with WTIC later replaced by KTHS in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

In addition to offices later moved to the ground floor, a glass enclosed studio allowed hotel patrons to view ongoing broadcasts.

WJAG offices and studios in the Hotel Norfolk became inaccessible, so station staff and announcers gathered at the transmitter site to make emergency broadcasts.

[26] A review by NAB Reports stated that: "The flooding of the telephone building put all phones in Norfolk out of order and the telegraph office was isolated.

Radio Station WJAG was the only means of getting information and instructions to the people from the Red Cross, American Legion, city and state officials.

"[27] After the flood, studios and offices moved to the former Elkhorn Insurance Company building at Sixth Street and Norfolk Avenue.

[28] In 1955, the WJAG studios moved into a new facility at 309 Braasch Avenue, adjacent to the site of its original broadcasts from the News building in 1922.