Descriptive summary
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creator:
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Iowans for WOI-TV,
Inc. |
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title:
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Records |
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dates:
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1991-1994, n.d. |
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extent:
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4.62 linear ft. (11 document boxes) |
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collection number:
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MS
584 |
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repository:
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Special Collections Department, Iowa State University.
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Administrative
information
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access:
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Open for research
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publication rights:
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Consult Head, Special Collections Department
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preferred
citation:
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Iowans for WOI-TV, Inc., Records, MS 584, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library.
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Historical
note
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Iowans for WOI-TV, Inc., was formed
on 1 June 1992 by a group of citizens (primarily Iowans) in
opposition to the Iowa Board of Regents' September 1991 decision to
sell the university-owned station to a commercial interest.
WOI-TV was the first television
station owned and operated by a United States institution of higher
education. From 1950 to 1954 WOI-TV was the only station to
broadcast a regular schedule of television programs to central
Iowa. At its inception, WOI-TV was granted an FCC licence because
of this unique status as an educationally owned television station.
Through WOI-TV, Iowa State was one of the first educational
institutions to broadcast college-level courses, and the station's
pioneering use of television for educational purposes helped to
stimulate support for similar initiatives throughout the United
States.
Founders of Iowans for WOI included
Iowa State University Professor of Economics and Agriculture Neil E.
Harl, who served as the group's president; Ames attorney Donald R.
Payer, secretary, and retired Iowa State University Professor of
Journalism, John D. Shelley. The three comprised the group's
initial board of directors. Eventually, the board of directors was
composed of thirty-seven members and included Iowa State University
faculty and staff, as well as community members including bankers,
farmers, attorneys, and journalists. An Iowa State University
student group, Students for Iowans for WOI-TV, was formally
registered with the university in Spring 1993; its stated mission
was to raise student and community awareness concerning the sale of
WOI-TV by the Iowa Board of Regents. Neil Harl served as the
group's faculty advisor.
On 24 June 1992
Iowans for WOI-TV, Inc. filed a law suit against the Iowa Board of
Regents, challenging the Regents' right to sell the station. The
trial culminated on 22 October 1992 in an eighty-four page opinion
in favor of the plaintiffs. The district court decision was
subsequently appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court, which overruled the
decision on 24 November 1993, and in March 1994 Iowa State
University sold WOI-TV to Capital Cities Communications, Inc., the
parent company of ABC Television. |
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Collection description
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The collection
(1991-1994, n.d.) contains materials documenting the founding and
activities of Iowans for WOI, Inc., including memos, meeting
minutes, correspondence, and press releases and papers concerning
the sale of WOI-TV prepared by Neil Harl and other members for
distribution and publication. Also included are legal documents
consisting of court exhibits prepared by the litigants for trial
(including photographs and a videotape), depositions, oral
arguments, transcripts, and pleadings. Newspaper clippings document
the activities of Iowans for WOI-TV, Inc., and the events of the two
trials. |
Container list
Full finding aid
(pdf format) with container list.
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