Dec. 3, 1979 - WLW Coliseum Tragedy - Live radio coverage from the night of the Who concert crush.

It's difficult being on the air when a tragedy occurs. This is the evening of the WHO concert tragedy at the Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum. 11 died in the crush of an estimated seven thousand people trying to get in for "festival seating".

This is the reporting that evening as the information was coming in. I was wrangling coverage by Pat Boyso and Jeff Hildebrandt on mobile radios at the hospitals. The following night (the next podcast episode) features Councilman Jerry Springer with me answering comments by call-in listeners. Ironically, our studios at 3 East 4th Street overlooked Riverfront Stadium and the Coliseum. I could see the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles.

NOTE: This was recorded off the air on a radio cassette recorder, so it has the distinctive AM radio sound. Copyrighted material appears under the "Fair Use Doctrine".