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“We Need This Television Just Like Any Other American Citizen”: The Battle Over Western Tv Boosters, 1952-1961, James C. Foust

School of Media and Communication Faculty Publications

In the wake of the Federal Communication Commission's 1952 Sixth Report and Order, which established plans for a nationwide television system, it became clear that traditional station allocations could not provide service to many isolated mountainous regions. Thus enterprising tinkerers, appliance store operators, and others set up so-called booster stations to broadcast the signals of urban stations into isolated western towns. However, the FCC wanted the boosters shut down, contending that they threatened the overall television allocation plan and could potentially create dangerous interference. Booster operators and viewers who depended on them were able to enlist the help of Western …