Induction into the Pennsylvania Association of broadcasters Hall of Fame will take place every year at the Gold Medal Dinner. There shall be a radio and television inductee each year. Hall of Fame designation is awarded to persons of broadcast station ownership or management commemorating careers of merit and distinction.

2020 Award Recipients: Kristin Cantrell, 7 Mountains Media & The Steinman/Krasne family, WGAL-TV

Kristin Cantrell bio: My career started on the docks of the Chesapeake Bay. My father owned WYRE in Annapolis MD, and he would take me on remote broadcasts to give away boat baggies when I was 5 years old. We moved to Williamsport when I was 7, and Dad would take me to the radio stations WILQ/WLYC to record commercials. When we moved to Little Rock I was 10 years old and I started participating in theatre productions. Dad launched KSSN FM and he would walk around draped in KSSN and Razorback gear. I was completely embarrassed and I did not appreciate Country music AT ALL. So I didn’t go to the radio station, but I did spend a whole summer ironing red KSSN transfers on to yellow t-shirts for giveaways at the station. Dad paid me 50 cents a shirt. I was in business!

Attending Berry College, I met my husband and we got married in 1987, when I was a sophomore. I needed money. The local radio station needed a board op, so I applied. I have been working in a radio station ever since. Rome, GA (Southern Broadcasting). Altoona, PA (Vital Communications, Forever Media). Steubenville OH (Keymarket Communications). And now Frankfort KY (CapCity Communications and Seven Mountains Media) and beautiful towns all over Central PA and Southern NY.

I have participated in every aspect of the operation of a radio station. I even got the radio station back on the air, in the middle of a storm, when I was working in Rome, GA. The tower was located on a pig farm and I was scared out of my mind. But the engineer talked me through it via telephone and then my owners promptly installed a remote start generator.

Currently I own and operate CapCity Communications in KY and Seven Mountains Media in PA and NY. I also serve as the GM in KY where I carry a client list, provide client consults for all our platforms and creative service products and manage the community relationships that allow us to thrive. I believe very strongly that our radio stations should be the hub of the communities we serve, so I actively participate and partner with organizations and clients to achieve positive outcomes for our listeners.

Steinman Family bio: Lancaster was home to some early radio pioneers, so a budding radio station was almost a foregone conclusion. Tinkering and experimenting stopped during the war, but in 1922 Jacob Mathiot built a radio station at his workplace and was given the call letters WGAL. The first station operated with 10 watts for one hour, and Mathiot was its technical director.
John Frederick and James Hale Steinman purchased WGAL in 1923, and sold it back shortly thereafter.
In 1929 the Steinman brothers saw an opportunity to tap the rise of radio and bought WGAL back again. At that time, the station was moved to the old New Era building on North Christian Street. Since the entire station consisted of a single table, the move was probably an easy one. Power was increased to 100 watts, and in 1930 the station was in operation again, for far longer than one hour.
Early radio was 100% live, and both newspaper and radio station employees were called upon to read news and perform on-air. The station soon added local broadcasts, news programs, play readings and musical entertainment. In 1933 WGAL and three other Steinman stations formed America’s first Baseball Network, broadcasting Philadelphia Athletics games.
Presto Disc Recorders brought a welcome end to constant live performance, and wattage increased again in 1948.
In March of 1949, there was another Steinman business first. Printed in the newspaper along with a brand new TV section were the words “Lancaster is Smallest City in U.S. with TV.” The Steinman brothers’ newest venture was born. In April and May of that year, the station broadcast local news and sports.
WGAL gained power and transfixed locals in 1952 with the installation of a new tower and transmitter, allowing for some color broadcasting. The location so familiar to Lancastrians at Columbia Ave. and Abbeyville Road became WGAL’s home in 1956.
The Steinman Company sold WGAL in 1978-1979, along with some other radio and television holdings. The station was eventually purchased by Hearst-Argyle, now Hearst Television Inc.
The next several decades saw WGAL begin broadcasting in stereo, offering a subchanel of classic television shows, and renovating its main studios.
Broadcasting more than 39 ½ hours per week, WGAL is synonymous with local television news in Lancaster and the surrounding counties.

Past Winners