System/Policy
C-SPAN steps in as buyer of WDCU in Washington
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As the prospective new owner of jazz station WDCU took constant heat over the past month from jazz lovers and public radio officials, another potential buyer was visibly waiting in the wings. The persistence paid off: Earlier this month, C-SPAN assumed Salem Communication’s $13 million bid for the Washington, D.C., station. Commercial broadcaster Salem, which owns one of the nation’s biggest religious radio chains, was facing a fight to close the WDCU transaction. A citizen’s advocacy group was set to file an FCC challenge, questioning the nonprofit bona fides of the corporation that Salem set up to purchase the station. NPR was considering filing its own challenge.