The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia

Veteran Philadelphia radio personality and traffic reporter Rod Carson worked in the radio business for more than 50 years. As a pioneer in traffic reporting in the Delaware Valley, Rod was one of the founders of Shadow Traffic, creating the method of traffic reporting that is still the standard nationwide.

He broadcast the very first regularly scheduled traffic reports on KYW Newsradio in 1977 and during his career reported on just about every major highway traffic problem in the Delaware Valley.

Rod was born in Philadelphia, grew up in Coatesville, Pa., and graduated from Scott High School. He began his radio career at WCOJ while still a sophomore in high school and had a regular radio show on the station by the time he was a senior.

Before getting into the traffic business, Rod was one of the "Wibbage Good Guys" at Philadelphia's WIBG. He hosted the innovative program "Rock and Roll Roots" on WMMR, and did deejay and news stints at radio stations WSNI, WIOQ, WPEN, WWDB and WDAS where he did the morning shift for five years. When the station changed formats, he was one of the few carry-overs from the rock format to oldies to urban contemporary. Finally, he worked in the WDAS news department

Upon retiring, Rod consulted for PennDot. Sam Clover, traffic reporter for KYW, often referred to Rod as one of his mentors. Rod passed away in 2017, at the age of 75. He was a member of the Broadcast Pioneers.

The e-mail address of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com