750

[Doug Drown]

I'm curious about something.  I know there was endless haggling over the 
Channel 5 assignment, but why did it take nine years to get resolved?  (And 
even then it really wasn't, as the demise of WHDH-TV attests.)

I'd also like to know --- even though it's not directly relevant to this 
Board --- what it was that caused the collapse of The Boston Post.  I was 
about six when it became defunct; I can remember reading the comics in the 
Sunday edition.  In a day when newspapers were [relatively] thriving, how 
could New England's largest-circulation newspaper in 1948 be a memory ten 
years later?

-Doug

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan.Strassberg" <dan.strassberg@att.net>
To: "Maureen Carney" <m_carney@yahoo.com>; "Kevin Vahey" 
<kvahey@comcast.net>; "Boston Radio Group" 
<boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 7:01 AM
Subject: Re: 750


> How likely is it that the eventual construction of Channel 5 in Newton
> resulted from the applicant's impression that, by locating closer to
> Worcester than any other Boston TV, they could get points with the FCC
> for serving Worcester, whose sole VHF assignment was to be moved away
> from it to the larger city 40 miles to the east? CBS was the first
> applicant for Channel 5 in Boston to propose the Newton/Needham
> location. CBS's idea to build a transmitter for WEEI-TV on a tall
> tower along Route 128 west of Boston was the first of many such
> applications from the several competing applicants. IIRC, once CBS
> broke the ice, most, if not all, of the other Channel 5 applicants
> quickly refiled showing locations close by the one CBS had proposed.
>
> I think it was that flurry of applications that ended George Storer's
> plan to move Channel 9 from Manchester to a tall tower in Georgetown
> MA on the North Shore. There were only three TV networks in those
> days, and once it became clear that all three would have VHF
> affiliates licensed to Boston, it was obvious that if Channel 9 became
> a Boston move-in, it would do so as an intependent station. Except
> maybe in the three largest markets (and maybe not even there),
> independent TV stations had a long row to hoe before anyone would
> believe they could make money.
>
> -----
> Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net)
> eFax 1-707-215-6367
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Maureen Carney" <m_carney@yahoo.com>
> To: "Kevin Vahey" <kvahey@comcast.net>; "Boston Radio Group"
> <boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 6:19 AM
> Subject: Re: 750
>
>
>> Originally WHDH applied for channel 13. Before the freeze the Boston
>> metro area had 2-4-7-9-13 allocated, with 2 set for Lexington and
>> not Boston. The Boston Post was interested in a license as well. The
>> interest in 5 went up when WTAG passed - combine that with 2
>> ultimately being assigned to educational TV and 9 & 13 to other
>> markets, almost all interested parties thought they could get 5
>> moved into Boston anyway.
>>
>>
>>
>