Philip Lombardo, founder and CEO of Citadel Communications and chairman emeritus of the Broadcasters Foundation of America, died January 5 following a brief illness. He was 88.
Lombardo was chairman of the Broadcasters Foundation from 2000 to 2015, during which the grants it gave to broadcasters in need increased dramatically.
“Last night, the Broadcasters Foundation and the broadcast industry lost a great man,” Scott Herman, chairman of the Broadcasters Foundation, said. “As chairman of the Broadcasters Foundation for many years, Phil left an indelible mark. He was passionate about our mission and one of our biggest donors, giving both time and money to helping colleagues in need.”
Lombardo was born in 1935. Growing up in Chicago, he attended the University of Missouri and Harvard Business School. He got his start in broadcasting at WBBM Chicago, where he was a production assistant. He then moved to KCRG Cedar Rapids, where he was a producer and director.
After a stint in the army, he returned to WBBM, producing for the station during the week and for CBS on weekends.
Lombardo was the general manager of WGHP in High Point, North Carolina.
Moving on to New York, he took over Corinthian Broadcasting, which had stations, including KHOU Houston and KOTV Tulsa, and cable systems in the group.
Lombardo launched Citadel in 1982, and his station portfolio included WOI Des Moines, KLKN Lincoln (NE) and KCAU Sioux City (IA). Ray Cole, president and chief operating officer, Citadel Communications, got to know Lombardo when Cole was general manager of KCAU, and Citadel acquired it.
“It would be impossible for me to quantify all that I learned from Phil Lombardo over the course of our nearly 40-year association,” said Cole. “Phil was a boss, a mentor and a partner. Most of all, he was a dear friend who changed my life in immeasurable ways. While his impact on the broadcasting industry was vast and deep, Phil’s enduring legacy will be the vision and passion with which he led the Broadcasters Foundation of America. His contributions to its mission — helping fellow broadcasters in need — had no bounds. That commitment is sure to live on forever.”
The Broadcasters Foundation awarded just over $60,000 in grants when Lombardo took over in 2000, and it will award approximately $1.8 million this year. It has distributed more than $15 million in aid over the past 20 years.
“That will be his enduring legacy,” Cole told B+C.
The Broadcasters Foundation named its charity golf tournament, held during the NAB show in Las Vegas, after Lombardo in 2000. The foundation’s board voted on the renaming, and the only vote for no came from Lombardo himself, the foundation said.
In 2003, Lombardo was elected joint board chairman of the NAB. He was inducted into the B+C Hall of Fame in 2015.
“Phil had a strong personality, but his heart was bigger,” said Tim McCarthy, president of the Broadcasters Foundation. “No one worked harder than Phil to raise money from our biggest donors. He gave more than anyone in our industry to colleagues who need it most.”
