Georgetown Broadcasting System

WGTB was founded as the Georgetown Broadcasting System in 1941. In 1959, it applied for an FM license and became the first educational radio station in Washington. Initially, WGTB primarily aired news and public affairs shows but, over time, shifted to more music-oriented programming. In 1972, the station began broadcasting twenty-four hours day and could reach listeners within a sixty mile radius.

During the course of the 1970s, the station’s increasingly counter-culture perspective lead to clashes with the University’s administration, rumblings from the FCC, and a series of shut-downs. A rise in the number of non-Georgetown staff at the station lead to charges that WGTB was no longer Georgetown’s radio station and no longer served the student body. A 1975 poll of students found 412 in favor of shutting the station, with 293 opposed.

WGTB-FM ceased broadcasting on January 31, 1979, when its 1978-1979 budget ran out, and Georgetown asked the Federal Communications Commission to assign the station license to the University of the District of Columbia. The license was later sold by UDC to C-SPAN.

Link (here)

Blogger Note: Georgetown radio was resurrected in the 80's and is currently operated as an internet only operation. Link (here) for more information.

Photo and an intersting fact about the closing of WGBT (here)