WIL 1960-1961, 1962-1994
Legacy Inductee
Gene Hirsch worked at WIL in St. Louis for 34 years. He worked his way through college as a radio announcer and after graduation he was a “guest announcer” with Armed Forces Radio in Korea.
He was later hired by Balaban for their Dallas property. In 1960, they transferred him to their station in St. Louis, WIL.
Most of his time at WIL-AM & FM was as the news director for the stations. In spite of competition from other heavily staffed radio newsrooms, Hirsch won many awards from the Missouri Broadcasters Association, including “Best Newscast,” “Investigative Reporting,” “Public Affairs,” and “Documentaries.” In 1993, the year before he retired, Gene Hirsch won the First Place Award – News and First Place Award – Documentary/Public Affairs in the statewide competition.
He was known in the market for his willingness to work with college interns trying to break into broadcast journalism, and he served on several charitable boards during his time in St. Louis.
The voice of Gene Hirsch was truly the voice of WIL News for over three decades.
