1920 – 1991
Jack Campbell built a prosperous communications empire around his flagship radio station WPLM-FM, Plymouth. Generations of travelers between Boston and Cape Cod recognized WPLM and its four looming towers—especially during the holiday season when Jack decorated the station with lights.
Bridgewater native Jack Campbell built a prosperous communications empire around his flagship radio station WPLM-FM, Plymouth. After military service in World War II, Jack began a career with ASCAP, the music publishing organization. He learned everything he could about the industry and embarked on an ambitious plan to create a hometown radio station. beganWPLM in small studio in North Plymouth, later moving to its present site overlooking Route 3. Over the decades WPLM became one of the strongest broadcast signals in the state – and one of the few remaining independently-owned radio stations in the country. During that time, Jack built a new niche market and created a background music division for the station. His iconic music programming was supplemented by major league sports broadcasts. Over the years his station was the radio voice of both the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Bruins.
Generations of travelers between Boston and Cape Cod recognized WPLM and its four looming towers—especially during the holiday season when Jack decorated the station with lights. It is truly a landmark along that well-traveled route, just as Jack himself became an inspiration to future generations of business entrepreneurs.
Later in his career, Jack sensed a new opportunity in broadcasting and created an independent cable television network that reached across the South Shore. He was, once again, on the cutting edge of the business. He was a brilliant businessman, a generous philanthropist, an active political and community leader. He loved Massachusetts and never wanted to be any place else. The short trip from his hometown of Bridgewater to Plymouth where he built his business with passion and hard work belies a remarkable journey as a trailblazer in the American broadcast industry.
MASSACHUSETTS BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION
PO Box 857 Clark, NJ 07066 800-471-1875 info@massbroadcasters.org