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CBS Radio Goes Silent - The Chattanooga Connection - Chattanoogan.com Chattanooga, 82.9°F, Mostly Cloudy Advertise About Traffic Crossword Newsletter Breaking News Opinion Sports Prep Sports Community Business Church Civic Clubs Government Living Well Real Estate Student Scene Leisuretime Around Town Chattanooga Podcasts Dining Entertainment Happenings Memories Movies On Stage Outdoors Travel TV Obituaries Local Obituaries Submit an Obituary Classifieds Legal Notices More Advertise About Traffic Crossword Newsletter Search Latest Headlines Firm That Handles Incline Ticket Sales Recommends "Peak… Baylor Still In Top 5 In MaxPreps Cup Lookouts Drop Two To Trash Pandas Latest Hamilton County Arrest Report Winland Promoted To Head Baseball Coach At Notre Dame Marion Co. Defeats Summertown; Will Face Community For… Lady Vols Punch Ticket To 10th Women’s College World… River City Company Given Access To Hawk Hill For Redevelopment EPB's Longtime CFO Greg Eaves Honored On Retirement;… Burgan’s Senior Match Play Victory Caps Challenging… Home Leisuretime Memories CBS Radio Goes Silent - The Chattanooga Connection Saturday, May 23, 2026 Earl Freudenberg Actual WDOD radio playhouse performance from the 1940’s over CBS. Look in the bottom right corner and you’ll see Archie Campbell’s signature. Friday, May 22, 2026, was an historic day in radio history. The CBS Radio Network, later CBS News Radio, aired its final broadcast at 11 p.m. WDOD AM was a CBS affiliate, beginning in the late 1920’s until their contract expired in 1967. WDOD AM was a part of the network for more than 35 years. This retired broadcaster remembers the WDOD Radio Playhouse of the 1940’s through conversations with those who were there. The late Gaylord McPherson came to Chattanooga from WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa, to work for WDOD and the Radio Playhouse. He said the show was broadcast live over CBS Radio, Monday through Friday during the lunch hour. The Radio Playhouse home was the Capitol Theater building in the 600 block of Market Street, now a parking lot. Grand Ole Opry star Archie Campbell was one of the top entertainers. Mr. McPherson said the daily broadcast ran about two years. Merrill Parker was a control room operator for WDOD for nearly three decades. Mr. Parker was working the Sunday night when Orson Wells' famous “War of the Wolds” aired over CBS and WDOD. Mr. Parker said, "The station had a record number of telephone calls that evening; listeners thought the world had come to an end.” Over the decades, Chattanoogans listened to CBS on WDOD, The station broadcast “Arthur Godfrey time” every morning at 9:00 followed by “Art Linkletter’s House party.” The CBS World News Roundup was a listener favorite at 8:00 every morning with veteran newsman Dallas Townsend. At 6:45 each evening, Chattanoogans listened to Lowell Thomas deliver the news. “Music and the Spoken Word” was a weekly CBS program from Salt Lake City, Utah with the Mormon Ta