WGPR Personnel
Doris Biscoe – WXYZ: TV news talent, anchor, and reporter from1972-2000 on Channel Seven, Detroit. Feature reporter at WGPR-FM, 107.5
Ron Cameron – WXYZ: AM Talk Show Host.- WADL: Director of Marketing and Public Relations
WXYZ: TV engineering. Retired in 2007, but active running a summer basketball camp and judging professional boxing. WGPR: Sportscaster
WMAR: Anchor KPIX: Reporter WXYZ: TV news writer. WGPR: News Intern
WGPR – Michigan Historic Marker
In 1973, the Federal Communications Commission granted the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons, led by Dr. William V. Banks (1903-1985), a permit to operate UHF television Channel 62 in Detroit. WGPR-TV debuted a few seconds before noon on September 29, 1975, becoming the first African-American owned and operated television station in the continental United States. The station provided job training and employment opportunities for African-Americans in television production, broadcast journalism and sales. Programming, most of which was locally produced, was crafted for an urban black audience. Popular shows included The Scene, Big City News and Gospel Time. In 1979, WGPR-TV began providing programs, such as The Arab Voice in Detroit, for the city’s minority ethnic communities.
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