FCC approves services agreement between WUPW, WTOL
3/26/2012The sale of WUPW-TV, Channel 36, and a shared-services agreement with WTOL-TV, Channel 11, was approved by the Federal Communications Commission.
WUPW plans to lay off 63 employees as part of the $22 million sale to American Spirit Media. The head of American Spirit Media, Thomas Henson, has strong ties to Raycom Media, which owns WTOL.
Mr. Henson has consolidated at least three newsrooms across the country in similar deals. Those stations were located in Ashland, Va., Columbus, Ga., and Wilmington, N.C.
LIN Media, the owner of WUPW, filed a layoff notice in February with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. The company was required to do so under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
The layoffs are slated for sometime between April 24 and May 8. According to an FCC filing, the paperwork for the sale was filed Tuesday.