Foundation option for WDUQ will cease after 60 day deadline

The four foundations that purchased a 60-day option on WDUQ-FM (90.5) will not seek further action when the term is up on July 2. The move was to prevent the station’s current owner, Duquesne University, from selling it to a higher bidder than Pittsburgh Public Media, a nonprofit made up of station employees and others who plan to preserve the current format. The initial bid from PPM was rejected and a second bid is on hold until after the 60 day period is up. The foundations pooling their money are the Pittsburgh Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, the Richard King Mellon Foundation and a fourth funder wishing to remain anonymous. Doug Root, spokesman for The Heinz Endowments, said in a statement, “We’re pulling out of the option, but we’re not giving up our interest and support for a quality public radio station that delivers the NPR programming and what we would hope would be enhanced news and information that the community could really respond to.”

Source: Post-Gazette