The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia

Memo
The WCAU Stations
1957

This is a historic document. It's a memo released to the staff of the WCAU stations from Donald Thornburgh, General Manager of the stations. It was sent to their personnel on the morning of Friday, December 20, 1957.

The timing of the announcement was so that it could be printed in that afternoon's Evening Bulletin, a local daily of that time. The Bulletin owned the stations and was selling them to CBS. The other major papers of the day were the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News (which were owned by Triangle Publications, owners of the WFIL stations). The story which wasn't released to anyone but the Bulletin so would be too late to make any major edition of the competition. The Bulletin had a scoop, even if they were the ones making the news.

The WCAU stations were WCAU-TV, WCAU (AM), and WCAU-FM. WCAU-TV is now WCAU and currently owned by NBC (sold by CBS in 1995). WCAU (AM) is now WPHT and currently owned by Infinity Broadcasting, part of Viacom (owners of CBS). WCAU-FM is now WOGL and currently owned by Infinity Broadcasting, part of Viacom (owners of CBS).

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