PROPOSED TO F.C.C. <' JU to Run Channel 12? By GEORGE WACHENDORF Tlmti-Union Buslnttt editor Florida - Georgia Television Co. Inc., operator of television Channel 12 here, has proposed to the Federal Communica tions Commission that Jack sonville University be named to operate the station and keep the profits until the FCC makes a final decision on who will permanently, operate the property. operating authority to Jack sonville University. Some sources said that the court’s decision was phrased in such a manner as to imply that the FCC should either approve a joint temporary operation by all applicants or shut the sta tion down altogether. Others disagreed, saying that opera tion by JU would fit the court’s criteria. Sources familiar with the case say the proposal may be partially prompted by the firm’s wish to head off a dis tasteful FCC decision order ing a joint temporary opera tion by Georgia-Florida and other applicants for the chan nel. Another factor, they say, could be the desire to demon strate a spirit of public serv ice to the regulatory body. Brest was not available for, comment Wednesday night and General Manager and Vice President Jesse Cripe had no comment on either the speculation about Florida- Georgia’s motives or the like ly outcome of the proposal. Interim Authority The court said on Sept. 6 in the cases of both WFGA-TV and WFTV, Channel 9, of Or lando that the FCC had abused its discretion in allow ing the original licensees to continue to operate the sta tions and returned the cases to the commission for further action. The announcement by Flori- da-Georgia, which is 45%-per- cent owned by Wometco En terprises Inc. of Miami, fol lows a decision by the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia Circuit reversing an FCC opinion granting Flori- da-Georgia interim authority to operate station WFGA-TV pending the outcome of com parative hearings to deter mine who should be the ulti mate licensee. The appeal from the FCC ruling was made by other applicants for the channel. The original grants for both stations were voided in the late 1950s during an investiga tion of charges that station at torneys made improper off- the-record contacts with the late FCC Commissioner Rich ard Mack of Miami during hearings. Florida-Georgia said here Wednesday that the executive committee and officers of the university will recommend acceptance of the offer to the university’s full board of trus tees, which meets on Sept. 26. The original Channel 12 grant was held invalid in 1965 by the Court of Appeals. The court, which said that Flori da-Georgia was not responsi ble for the illegal representa tions, disqualified other of the original competitors for the channel on the same grounds and called for completely new hearings on the award. Alexander Brest, who is president of Florida-Georgia, is a member of the JU board of trustees and has been a heavy donor to the Universi ty. Brest Hall and Brest Field at the university are named after him. There may be a legal ques tion as to whether the FCC can grant even temporary In the case of the Orlando station, the FCC said it found no evidence that principals of the original licensee, Mid- Florida Television Corp., were aware of the illegal con tacts and renewed the grant. Later, the Court of Appeals said the fee should have re opened the record and permit ted new applications. Lyles Due Tap for Treasurer On Tuesday, following the latest decision, Mid-Florida announced it would partici pate with five other appli cants in a joint interim opera tion of WFTV. It said it would offer to lease its facilities to the joint interim group and proposed that profits go to charity, civic or cultural groups except for a reasona ble return on invested capital. The Consolidated City Coun cil Confirmation committee will recommend to the full council the appointment of Royce N. Lyles to the post of city treasurer in the new gov ernment’s finance depart ment. Other applicants for Chan nel 12, all local groups, are Community First Corp., New Horizons Telecasting Co., and Florida Gateway Television. The committee voted unani mously to make the recom mendation at a special meet ing Wednesday following an interview with Lyles. The apointment had been made by Mayor Hans G. Tanzler. Florida-Georgia and Wom etco have been the target of a number of suits, including one by a drive-in theatre in Mi ami charging antitrust prac tices in an attempt to void all of Wometco’s TV licenses and another by former Florida- Georgia Director Harold S. Cohn charging that the station is being milked by Wometco. Lyles, 35, an accounting graduate from the University of Florida, has been employed as an accountant in the city auditing department since 1962. After graduating from college in 1955 he served as a naval officer. His salary has been set at $15,000 a year. Lyles current ly makes around $9,700 a year. Wometco officials said in Miami that since Wometco Enterprises Inc. owns only a 45% percent interest in WFGA-TV, the station’s earn ings and revenues never have been consolidated in the Wometco financial state ments. The only income shown has been Wometco’s share of the dividends de clared by Florida-Georgia, whose shares in 1967 amount ed to $45,500, Wometco said. general any tions Members of groups tration visor eral Registering supervisor 108, S Tuesday 9 to S:30 of ter, 9800