WILD 1950's Stunt

[Dan Strassberg]

While Bartell was programming the station, WILD did not program
African-American music. WILD might have broadcast such music while Bartell
still owned it, though. Bartell might have retained onwership and first
LMAed the station to Noble and then to Nash, who later acquired it. I can
easily imagine the LMA scenario because, back in those days, the FCC frowned
on owners trying to sell stations that they had owned for less than three
years. The term the FCC used for such transfers was trafficking in broadcast
licenses. The FCC generally would refuse to grant transfers of stations
whose seller hadn't owned them long enough unless the seller could establish
that hardship was forcing the sale. I'm sure that many broadcast attorneys
then hurried off to local colleges to take night courses in creative
writing.

--
Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@att.net
eFax 707-215-6367

----- Original Message -----
From: "Donna Halper" <dlh@donnahalper.com>
To: <boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 18, 2005 1:26 AM
Subject: Re: WILD 1950's Stunt


>
> >On 16 Dec 2005 at 6:26, Dan Strassberg wrote:
> >
> > > I don't recall the stunt--but that doesn't mean it never happened. It
> > > would most likely have happened when WILD was sold to Bartell Family
Media
> > > around 1958 or so--if memory serves.
>
> Actually, it was in 1957.  WBMS was sold to Bartell on 5 September 1957,
to
> be exact.  The WBMS calls were dumped and WILD was born.  I recall
> listening to it as a kid-- Wild Man Steve, Jimmy "Early" Byrd and others--
> the only place in town to hear black music, although the top 40 stations
> played some of the more mass appeal cross-over hits.
>