Consolidation, 1948-1972 and undated

The consolidation period begins with the acquisition of Studio 58 in 1962 and, later, the National Educational Television and Radio Center (NETRC) in 1970. It deals also with the actual activation of Channel 13 as WNDT (later, and to date, WNET) as a public television station serving the greater New York City area, including New Jersey. The station began to broadcast in 1962, but was plagued almost from the first day by a strike of employees belonging to the AFTRA union. Two files of newspaper clippings attest to the serious nature of that initial strike. Another major problem involved the broadcast antenna, which was to be moved from the Empire State Building to the World Trade Center, and the negotiations concerning user fees. These negotiations involved all the television stations in New York City at the time. Channel 13's initial connection with the Children's Television Network (the Sesame Street innovators also leased space in the Henry Hudson Hotel). This subseries consists of correspondence, memos, legal documents and newspaper clippings.