Our College Joke Almost Came True

Many of you know that I worked in radio in college, at a station called KNTU, which got its name when my alma mater was called North Texas State University. (I hvae no idea why they didn't try for KNTS, but there had been a movement to change the school's name to North Texas University if the name that it eventually adopted--University of North Texas--hadn't gone through. Incidentally, they had to wait a bit to get KNTU, which was originally assigned to an aircraft carrier, if memory serves.) So when the school changed its name to UNT, you can imagine the jokes that were flying around--would the radio staion follow suit? The answer would seem to be "obviously not," since the FCC didn't seem likely to assign call letters that would (mis)spell out an obscenity.

But what I didn't know until longtime reader Gary P. sent me a link yesterday was that the FCC has gone to computerized assignment of call letters, and, well, mistakes happen:

THE call letters KUNT have landed at a yet-unbuilt low-power digital television station in Wailuku, Maui.

Alarmingly similar to a word the dictionary says is obscene, the call letters were among a 15-page list of new call letters issued by the Federal Communications Commission and released this week.

The same station owner also received KWTF for a station in Arizona.

From Skokie, Ill., comes a sincere apology "to anyone that was offended," said Kevin Bae, vice president of KM Communications Inc., who requested and received KUNT and KWTF. It is "extremely embarrassing for me and my company and we will file to change those call letters immediately."

He thanked your columnist for bringing the matter to his attention and pledged to, "make sure I don't fall asleep on the job when selecting call signs again."

My response to that is simply, LMAO.

And do we really think the guy did that by accident?

(And yes, I'm pushing the PG-13 standards of this blog--which, as you may recall, is actually rated G--by posting this story, but it was too funny not to tell.)

Want to get smarter? Stop watching TV, according to one columnist.

A Scout is loyal, trustworthy, and never, ever gives up: A Florida man receives his Eagle Scout award at the age of 88. (He started as a boy in 1928, but World War II got in the way.)