Editor’s Note: WHYY News uncovers exclusive source and new insight on MOVE bombing 40th anniversary

LISTEN: Learn about a helicopter pilot’s warning ahead of the MOVE bombing and its impact on the soul of the community by listening to the two-part podcast “MOVE at 40,” a WHYY News special report on Apple podcasts or anywhere you get your podcasts. 

Dogged reporting by Tom MacDonald on the MOVE bombing’s 40th anniversary delivered explanatory journalism to WHYY News’ audiences in the Greater Philadelphia region and revealed untold facets of the fatal police bombing.

MacDonald found an exclusive angle and new source who had not previously been interviewed about the MOVE bomb. 

MacDonald reported live in 1985 from the 6200 block of Osage Avenue when the MOVE compound was hit by a satchel bomb dropped from a helicopter. The bomb, which was no larger than a backpack, didn’t just obliterate the MOVE compound — it destroyed more than 61 homes and killed 11 people, including five children.

When WHYY News editors met for a weekly meeting in March, we began discussing how we would strategically assign the reporting team to produce public service journalism commemorating this anniversary instead of retelling previous “who, what, where” storylines. I asked our news team to dig into and report on the bomb itself and find out more information on elements of its origin story. 

MacDonald pored over 90 hours of media from the MOVE Commission hearings, which took place at WHYY starting in 1985. He began reviewing the material to report a fresh take on the tragedy and the “unconscionable findings.”

MacDonald discovered the story of Mark Ciccone, a former combat veteran now in his 80s. Ciccone worked as a commercial helicopter pilot in 1985 and flew the test route for the MOVE bombing on May 13. On that fateful day, Ciccone urged the city that “the bunker’s no threat” and “you don’t have to drop the bomb.” The city would later follow the route with a state police helicopter and drop the bomb on the roof of 6221 Osage Ave. in Cobbs Creek.  

Although Ciccone was engaged by the city to survey the route and he concluded the bunker was no threat, he was not asked to testify at the MOVE Commission hearing. Forty years later,  MacDonald interviewed Ciccone while he sat in a similar helicopter.

WATCH: WHYY videographer Kimberly Paynter’s mini-documentary “Philadelphia MOVE bombing: 1985 pilot recalls warning to city leaders.” It captures MacDonald’s reporting, fellow journalist Pete Kane’s experience on the scene in 1985 and Ciccone’s warning.

From another angle, Aaron Moselle reported on the impact of the MOVE bomb on the neighborhood and the resilience of citizens today. Mike Africa Jr. is seeking to transform the MOVE home into a memorial. 

The newsroom’s investigation into the MOVE bomb’s impact on Philadelphia also included MacDonald providing historical context to previous police interactions with the back-to-nature group and more information on what neighbors described as disruptive behavior during the hearings, such as MOVE members sleeping on the roof and running across rooftops along Osage Avenue. Be sure to visit WHYY News’ MOVE 40th Anniversary special section for more reports. 

Each month, I reflect back on the dogged reporting that comes out of the WHYY newsroom. In addition to the MOVE anniversary storytelling, these stories resonated in the review for May – Cris Barrish’s reporting on Delaware still lacking a marijuana retail store after two years of legislative efforts; David Matthau chronicling the NJ Transit strike and Sophia Schmidt documenting how a proposed end to a federal heating program would impact 300,000 Pennsylvania households. 

It is no surprise that earlier this month, the Radio Television Digital News Association awarded WHYY News four regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for reporting in 2024. It is an honor for our newsroom to meet the news and information needs of Greater Philadelphia, southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and South Jersey and earn recognition for doing so.

MacDonald’s reporting on the 40th anniversary of the MOVE bombing affirms WHYY’s commitment to public service journalism and keeping our local communities informed.

Thank you for supporting WHYY and its newsroom. 

Sincerely Yours in Journalism,

Sarah Glover
WHYY Vice President of News & Civic Dialogue