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Brunson: Pioneer in TV land
By Anthony C. Davis
Tribune Staff
Quick! Guess how many African American women own television stations in the United States of America. Of the many stations in the many markets in the 50 states there is only one Black woman in charge of a television operation. Dorothy Brunson, CEO of WGTW-TV Channel 48 is the only one, and she chose Philly for her base of operations.
"There are 3,400 stations in the country about 20 of them are run by African American men. I'm the only Black female at the nationwide meetings," said Brunson from her studio on Main Street in Manyunk.
Brunson is no stranger to the media. She started her broadcast career in 1962. By 1982 her empire grew to three radio stations. "Part of the reason why I had the stations, was that I always wanted to give a voice to the Black community," explained Brunson.
As with most pioneers, starting off was not easy for Brunson. "It was extremely difficult for me to gain access to capital to start the television station. No bank in America would lend money. They blamed not lending money on inexperience. Now I'm not a rocket scientist, but I know the real reason was that they hadn't seen anything like me before and were scared to take a chance. I had handled hundreds of millions of dollars over the years but they still saw me as inexperienced."
Not one to let her dreams die, Brunson decided to press forward. Through sheer work and determination she was able to put the station on air in August of 1992. The station now employs 37 people and has annual gross sales of over 7 million dollars. With over one million weekly viewers the station is gaining a foothold in the war for Delaware Valley viewers.
Brunson promises an even...