When Pan American Flight 214 Crashed in Elkton, news media outlets rushed to get a flash out on the story first. In line with demonstrating the effectiveness of the AP at covering rapidly unfolding events, the global wire service had a weekly newsletter where editors spotlighted AP breaking news coverage, and it focused on the accident.
For the Dec. 4-10, 1963, issue, the AP Log wrote, “The speed and thoroughness with which the Associated Press” moved into and surrounded “a spot-break major news story through member cooperation, stringer sources, and staff mobilization . . . was demonstrated dramatically” on three fronts, giving the wire service a 24-minute head start.
Within moments of the Sunday crash, two radio members — WSER, Elkton, and WASA, Havre de Grace — telephoned Baltimore AP while the Wilmington Morning News called the Philadelphia Bureau. With a head start, their stringer sources in the area covered developments until Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington staffers arrived.
Jim Hungate telephoned from WSER in Elkton first. (WSER, a daytime station on 1550 AM had just gone on the air three months earlier. “That was followed almost immediately by another call from Lee Robbins of WASA.
In Philadelphia, at almost the exact moment, Night Editor George Esper got the same information on a tieline from Harry Themal of the Wilmington Morning News, quickly supplemented by relay of that newspaper’s story, take by take.”
“Philadelphia newsman Stan Benjamin and photograph Bill Ingraham were the first to reach the rain-drenched disaster scene, reinforced shortly afterward by newsman George Bown and photographer Bill Smith from Baltimore, reporter Larry Osisu from Washington and news photo editor Bill Achatz from Philadelphia.”
“Most AP coverage was filed by Baltimore, where Night Editor Lou Panos quarterbacked the early hours of the operation. When the Wilmington Morning News was first with identification of the airline, which Philadelphia quickly inserted into Baltmore’s running story, the New York Bureau checked out the exact casualty total and went to work on the passenger list. Even before this, New York had filed some descriptive information on the accident, obtained by reporter Junius Friffin on a volunteered call from an eye witness, Arnold Turkheimer of the Bronx. In Philadelphia, staff James V. Lamb went to the airport for the story of relatives and friends of passengers awaiting the arrival of the plane.”
In addition, broadcast outlets rushed to northeastern Maryland. One of the newsreel producers covering the tragedy was Universal International. Here’s the link to their footage
Another company, British Pathe, also provided a clip for its subscribers.
At WDEL Radio in Wilmington, Broadcast Journalist Joe Mosbrook had a preliminary bulletin on the air soon after the crash.