Doug Wilhite has been in the news, and it hasn’t been because of his radio station on the eastern coast of Florida. He’s been facing serious sexual misconduct charges in court. He won a round there, but nevertheless has filed to sell WELE-AM Ormond Beach FL.
He’s been acquitted of some charges, but prosecutors have indicated they aren’t done yet. You can read the latest on Wilhite’s legal travails here.
http://www.rbr.com/radio/18676.html
WELE, serving the Daytona Beach Arbitron market, is going to Goliath Radio LLC, headed by Big John (yes, that is exactly the name the principal of the company used to sign the contract associated with this transaction).
There is no specific cash price tied to the sale. Big John will forgive a $35K loan to the station and its owner, and will pick up existing obligations.
The contract identifies a Ms. Kristen Cobb, who will be retained as a consultant to the buyer for a period of 60 months at $1.2K per month.
The transaction application notes that Wilhite was arrested on criminal charges and is standing trial.
RBR-TVBR observation: The FCC frowns on convicted felons profiting from the sale of a station. However, the public interest dictates that stations remain on the air. For now, Wilhite is officially a victor in court, but faces additional liability. We would guess that under the circumstances, the FCC would approve this deal since no cash will be going to Wilhite. And of course, if he continues to prevail in court, there would be nothing along these lines standing in the way of the sale.
