[BC] 96X-Miami

[TOP4ODJ@aol.com]

Hello....I was thumbing thru the web and saw this posting.   96X's ending was 
due to actions not by Charter Broadcasting, but the original  ownership of 
Bartell Broadcasting.  It was several things that utimately  ended a many year 
battle to keep the license for Charter Broadcasting, but due  to a hard nosed 
FCC commission at the time, they refused to allow them to  continue.  Here is a 
brief look at 2 of the things the FCC based their  decision on:
 
"Austin In The Triangle".  At that time, it was WMYQ, 96FM in  the earlier 
70's.  Greg Austin, who was the Morning Drive announcer was to  have broadcasted 
from a fishing charter and mysteriously disappeared.  The  announcements on 
the air brought major attention that Greg had not been heard  of, thus being 
lost in the "Devils Triangle" off the shores of Miami  Beach.  Florida Marine 
Patrol, The Coast Guard, Florida Highway Patrol as  well as local law 
enforcement went on a massive hunt for Greg and a cash award  was offered for his return 
when all the time, he wasn't lost, but at the  Howard Johnsons just down the 
street from the Radio Station on 41st Street and  Alton Road, Miami Beach.  
The FCC, as well as Law Enforcement weren't  thrilled that the use of manpower 
to find him was a practical  joke.
 
"A Warehouse Full Of 10 Speeds".  Mind you, this was well  before todays 
"Public Storage" facilities, where you have several size  units to rent.  The 
station claimed to be giving away a "Warehouse Full Of  10 Speed Bicycles", where 
we gave clues on the air to where they were locked up  at.  When a person 
found the bike, they'd call in and get the combination  to unlock it, thus winning 
the 10-speed.  Problem was, that we only gave  away about a half dozen to 
dozen.
 
It was interesting tho, when I was on the stand before a Judge for  the FCC 
at one of the final hearings (Mind you, I was 18 years old and this was  my 
first job in Radio, so it was all new to me), He (the Judge) asked me if in  
fact, that I thought a warehouse full of bicycles was given away.  My reply  was, 
with a bit of nervousness, that if you asked different people what they  
considered the size of a warehouse to be, you'd have different answers...so yes,  
in my opinion, with the amount of bicycles given could be construed as a  
warehouse full.   I guess he thought I was acting cocky in my reply,  because he 
mumbled something and asked me to step down.  
 
In the end, the then FCC Commissioner felt that Bartell was guilty  of 
fraudulent broadcast practices and did not deserve to have a license &  Charter 
Broadcasting got the penalty. He pretty much had it out for us  from the get go.  
He at one point stated that if their were 7 people to  make the decision, 7 
would vote against us keeping the license, 6 would be a 6-0  vote and so on.  
When the decision was final in January 1981, they said we  had to sign off in 
April.  At that point, Charter Broadcasting threw in the  towel and didn't see 
any reason to stay on more than another week or two.   On the night of February 
14th, I had the honor to be the last voice heard on the  air at WMJX, MIAMI / 
96X, and at 12:03AM I had signed off the station for the  final time, giving 
the call letters one more time, hitting the off button on the  transmitter, 
sending 96X to broadcast darkness.  If their is anything else  you'd like to 
know about the station, feel free to contact me, I was there from  September 1975 
(2 days before they changed from WMYQ to 96X), thru 1978 (when  they changed 
to the ill fated Disco96 disco format) and returned in June 1980  thru the the 
end.