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WXEL sale creeps ahead slowly: Words fly between two suitors that have gone public; Barry University evaluating offers
BOYNTON BEACH, Nov 01, 2009 (Sun Sentinel - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Two potential buyers have gone public with their interest in acquiring the licenses of WXEL television and radio, the local public-broadcasting stations, and owner Barry University, is moving along with the process.
One of the suitors, however -- the Community Broadcast Foundation of Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast -- has yet to submit all of the required documentation, according to university officials.
But the group disputes that. Murray Green, president of the Community Broadcasting Foundation, which is led by a dozen Palm Beach County residents, said it provided the information that was originally requested.
"Now they've come back and say they want documentation of your funding," said Green, who maintains that Barry officials have refused to meet with his group."If you meet with us, you can ask us anything you want. And at the same time we have questions that we need to ask them [such as] what are they selling? They don't own the building, they don't own a lot of the equipment, they don't own the land. What is it they're selling?"
The Community Advisory Board, which imposed an unofficial Oct. 31 deadline to move the sale along, said it would ask the Federal Communications Commission to intervene.
"We'll let Barry know that the deadline came and is gone and we don't see any progress, so we plan to follow through and challenge the license through the FCC," spokesman Pablo del Real said.
A spokesperson for the Federal Communications Commission could not be reached for comment, despite attempts by phone.
Barry University, based in Miami Shores, rescued WXEL from the financial brink in 1997 and guided the public radio and television stations to financial stability and broadcast legitimacy, but has considered giving them up since 2005.
The Community Broadcast Foundation and WPBT-Ch. 2 in Miami submitted proposals showing interest in taking over WXEL. The Palm Beach County School District also expressed an interest but several community groups, along with the Classroom Teachers Association, had opposed the proposed sale. In the face of the criticism and other budget constraints, the school district has since dropped its plans to buy both stations.
Green said WXEL needs to be owned and operated locally, to ensure local programming. He said the Community Broadcast Foundation's officers are more experienced than WPBT's, "which does not have any broadcasters on it."
Rick Schneider, WPBT president/CEO, called Green's reasoning "laughable."
"If you're going to compare the two organizations ... we are a 50-plus-year-old public broadcasting outfit in South Florida. What are they?" he asked. "We are not 'Miami.' we are South Florida. A third of our board, membership support and audience is in Palm Beach County. We are very much not only a tri-county but a regional South Florida station."
C. Ron Allen can be reached at crallen@SunSentinel.com or 561-243-6611.
To see more of the Sun Sentinel or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale,
Fla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email
tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax
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