Gordon Graham

Photo Courtesy of Indiana Broadcast Pioneers

Gordon Graham was best known for his work in radio and television, he used his platform to promote aviation, earning the inaugural “Hoosier Aviator of the Year” award in 1957. His contributions to broadcasting and aviation were recognized with his induction into both the Indiana Broadcast Hall of Fame and the Aviation Hall of Fame.

Born in Geneva, Indiana, in 1915, Graham was introduced to aviation as a teenager while working and flying at Bendix Field in South Bend. However, his voice and outgoing personality led him to broadcasting. He attended Miami University before beginning a career in radio.

From 1938 to 1941, Graham worked as a radio newsman for stations in Ohio and Alaska before landing at WLBC in Muncie in 1939, where his voice became well-known to Indiana residents. In 1943, he established the Washington, D.C., news bureau for WLW of Cincinnati and freelanced for various radio stations and the new DuMont Television Network.

In 1946, Graham returned to Indiana as news director for WIBC in Indianapolis. In 1957, he became the first news director and anchor for WLW-I (now WTHR-TV) in Indianapolis, where he remained until 1959. After working in New York throughout the 1960s, he returned to Indiana in 1968 as a freelance TV film producer of documentaries. He also served as president of Hendricks County Broadcasting, news director for WGRT-FM in Danville, and as a lecturer at Indiana University.

The late 1950s reignited Graham’s passion for aviation. He acquired multiple aircrafts, even painting the call letters of his station, WLWI, on one of them. He traveled to nearly every airport in Indiana, interviewing pilots and airport operators for General Aviation in Indiana, a program he produced each Saturday morning for many years. His contributions to aviation were recognized by the Indiana Aviation Department and the State Aviation Association, which created the Hoosier Aviator of the Year award in his honor, naming him its first recipient in 1957. The airport in Hendricks County was named Gordon Graham Field in his honor.

He passed away at his home near Mooresville at the age of 65.

February 2025

Katherine Maners

Indiana Broadcast Pioneers