WCOP circa 1961 aircheck

[Dan Strassberg]

I'm sure Kaiser-Globe took the little AM because Mr Lyman wanted out of
station ownership and offered the three properties on an all-or-nothing
basis. It was probably a case of don't take the AM; no sale. It was probably
also a case of keeping the AM on the air being cheaper, when all costs were
considered, than trying to sell it. Ultimately, though, they DID sell it, to
Wickus Island Broadcasting, right? And if you recall, that involved quite a
fracas. This is how I remember it; somebody should check my "facts," because
they may be fiction!

I believe the first buyer who stepped to the plate was a minister who wanted
to program Black gospel music. However, the locals jumped in and insisted on
a buyer who would provide programming oriented to the local community, and
they got the FCC to reject the application for transfer of control.
Ultimately the protesters formed their own company, Wickus, which bought the
station. But when Wickus went belly up several years later, a minister (same
one who tried to buy the station earlier? don't know) DID buy it and DID
program Black gospel. Bob Bittner bought the station when the minister went
bankrupt.

I don't know how much of this story Bob knows, because it all happened
before he even bid on the station in bankruptcy court. But maybe Bob or
Donna (who worked at WCAS) or Scott can provide an accurate history.

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

----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug Drown" <revdoug1@verizon.net>
To: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyross.com>; "SteveOrdinetz"
<hykker@grolen.com>
Cc: <boston-radio-interest@rolinin.BostonRadio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2005 3:58 PM
Subject: Re: WCOP circa 1961 aircheck


> I can understand the purchase of WXHR-FM and WTAO-TV, but I wonder why the
> Globe, apparently trying to create a major broadcasting presence in town,
> would have wanted a 250-watt AM daytimer . . . unless they might have had
a
> plan to make it into a 50,000-watt daytimer(?).  Would that have been
> possible, with WACE operating on 730 out of Chicopee and WHEB on 750 in
> Portsmouth?  Would've had to have an awfully tight directional signal.
>
> Doug
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyross.com>
> To: "SteveOrdinetz" <hykker@grolen.com>; "Doug Drown"
<revdoug1@verizon.net>
> Cc: <boston-radio-interest@rolinin.BostonRadio.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2005 2:31 PM
> Subject: Re: WCOP circa 1961 aircheck
>
>
> > On 15 Mar 2005 Doug Drown wrote:
> >
> > > Question about WCAS: In the late '60s, When Kaiser/Globe bought
> > > Channel 56 (the old WTAO-TV) and put it back on the air as WKBG, were
> > > WTAO-AM (later WCAS) and WXHR-FM (later WJIB) originally part of the
> > > deal?  I can't remember.
> >
> > Kaiser/Globe bought all three stations and changed their call letters
and
> identities, bringing
> > Channel 56 back on as WKBG (though the earliest ads in the newspapers
said
> "WXHR-
> > TV"), changing 740 (at that time WXHR (AM)) to WCAS, and 96.9 (WXHR-FM)
to
> WJIB.
> >
> > --
> > A. Joseph Ross, J.D.                   617.367.0468
> > 15 Court Square, Suite 210          lawyer@attorneyross.com
> > Boston, MA 02108-2503         http://www.attorneyross.com
> >
> >
> >
> >
>