Call For Action
Encyclopedia
Call For Action is the name given to telephone
"help lines" maintained by many radio
stations in the United States
, beginning in the 1960s and 1970s.
The lines serve as a kind of ombudsman
or "public service" function; callers would contact the station via a special "hot line" number to complain about some consumer-related issue (e.g., the complainant may have ordered merchandise which was never received) or perhaps a matter relating to local government (e.g., a street light that had remained inoperative for several weeks or months). A reporter employed by the station would then conduct research on the matter at hand and attempt to resolve it.
Two celebrated examples of "Call For Action" lines were the ones maintained by WMCA
in New York City
, with a telephone number of (212) PLaza 9-1717, and by WFIL
in Philadelphia, whose Call For Action number was (215) GReenwood 7-5312. The jingles used by the stations to announce these numbers became well-known in both cities, and an interesting "side effect" was that after WMCA discontinued its Call For Action number, the subscriber subsequently assigned that number continued to receive calls asking for it even many years afterward. The old number belonging to WFIL (once associated with WPVI-TV, which also once held the WFIL call letters) is held by a west Philadelphia pizzeria as of July 2011.
In 2004, television station WPVI-TV
reintroduced the "Call for Action" concept in the Philadelphia area. The new telephone number is 1-866-978-4232.
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
"help lines" maintained by many radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
stations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, beginning in the 1960s and 1970s.
The lines serve as a kind of ombudsman
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
or "public service" function; callers would contact the station via a special "hot line" number to complain about some consumer-related issue (e.g., the complainant may have ordered merchandise which was never received) or perhaps a matter relating to local government (e.g., a street light that had remained inoperative for several weeks or months). A reporter employed by the station would then conduct research on the matter at hand and attempt to resolve it.
Two celebrated examples of "Call For Action" lines were the ones maintained by WMCA
WMCA
WMCA, 570 AM, is a radio station in New York City, most known for its "Good Guys" Top 40 era in the 1960s. It is currently owned by Salem Communications and plays a Christian radio format...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, with a telephone number of (212) PLaza 9-1717, and by WFIL
WFIL
WFIL is a radio station and a former television station serving the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its transmitter is located in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania....
in Philadelphia, whose Call For Action number was (215) GReenwood 7-5312. The jingles used by the stations to announce these numbers became well-known in both cities, and an interesting "side effect" was that after WMCA discontinued its Call For Action number, the subscriber subsequently assigned that number continued to receive calls asking for it even many years afterward. The old number belonging to WFIL (once associated with WPVI-TV, which also once held the WFIL call letters) is held by a west Philadelphia pizzeria as of July 2011.
In 2004, television station WPVI-TV
WPVI-TV
WPVI-TV, channel 6, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. WPVI has its studios located on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd, and its transmitter is located in the...
reintroduced the "Call for Action" concept in the Philadelphia area. The new telephone number is 1-866-978-4232.