[BC] WFMT, was early FM...

[Barry Mishkind]

At 05:37 AM 10/25/2005, Gordon Carter wrote
>As far as I know, the listeners group was squeaky clean.

         That is good to know. It was, however, as
         I know you would recall, at time when
         license challenges were viewed as an
         "activist" program in many cities.

         Harold could probably offer us a better
         time line, as this trend led to the Public
         File Rules as well as changes in the
         Renewal process.

>The case was settled out of court, but had been in litigation.  No one
>knows officially why Tribune suddenly gave up, but there were lots of
>rumors.

         I wonder if there is anything on fcc.gov?

>Personally, I think Tribune had every intention to keep WFMT classical.
>I saw the money and effort they were putting into the station, and don't
>think they would have been doing that to destroy it.

         Indeed. That was the era of the
         General Tire (RKO) ... perhaps
         there was a threat against the TV
         stations?

>In fact, it was
>during that time that I was hired.  I was actually interviewed by
>Tribune people as well as WFMT's Chief Engineer.

         You may have won this week's
         award for longevity at CE in one place!