In the wake of losing more than $3 million in federal and state funding, WLRN-FM, the venerable public radio station that serves a major chunk of Southeast Florida, launched one of its most critical fundraising drives last week.
But while the South Florida Public Media Group, which manages the Miami-based National Public Radio affiliated station, opened its fall campaign, it also finds itself in an abrasive legal dispute with the Miami-Dade County School Board, which owns WLRN’s operating license.
Acting on a long-stated desire to expand public radio news coverage into northern Palm Beach County and beyond, the Media Group entered into a purchase agreement last spring to buy WFLM-FM, a commercial hip-hop and R&B station in West Palm Beach for a reported $6.45 million. The goal is to convert the station into a public radio outlet.
But the proposed deal, announced in June, appears to have come as a surprise to the School Board, which now says in a state court lawsuit filed Wednesday in Miami that the proposed acquisition is not authorized under the Media Group’s management contract that has been in force since 2022. Moreover, the money earmarked to pay for WFLM belongs to WLRN, not the Media Group, the lawsuit asserts.
The suit is the latest School Board effort to stop the acquisition by the Media Group, formerly known as Friends of WLRN. The money to buy WFLM, according to people familiar with the station’s operations, would be better used to upgrade facilities and buttress editorial resources after Congress defunded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
In July, the board sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Media Group and filed an objection with the Federal Communications Commission, whose approval of the deal is required.
“As the sole manager and operator of WLRN, Defendant has the legal duty to act solely in the best interests of WLRN, placing those interests above its own, with the legal obligation that all dollars raised, and all funds, grants, and endowments held, be used exclusively to benefit WLRN,” the School Board’s lawsuit says.
“Instead, Defendant has diverted $6,450,000 from a permanent endowment, failed to provide to the Miami-Dade School Board financial records sufficient to identify the contributions to and withdrawals from the endowment, and misused property belonging to the Miami-Dade School Board to pursue its own plan to acquire and operate its own radio station — that will compete with WLRN-FM for donors and listeners — an action fundamentally at odds with its contractual obligations, fiduciary duties, and legal commitments.”
Accounting demanded
The suit seeks a court declaration directing the Media Group “to return the millions of dollars it has wrongfully diverted, honor its contractual obligations, fiduciary duties, and legal commitments, and not divert any more funds or misuse WLRN’s donor lists.”
As of midday Friday, the Media Group had not filed a response in court. But in a statement to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the nonprofit said it still plans to close the deal to buy WFLM.
According to documents including FCC filings and an exchange of letters between both sides, the Media Group, seeking to clarify the source of the acquisition funds, asserted that it would use only its own money, not any dollars belonging to WLRN.
The source of the funding, the Media Group says, is from its leasing of an FCC license it holds for an Educational Broadband Service to a private company.
The money generated by the lease, the Media Group has asserted, is more than enough to pay for WFLM.
That’s not the way the School Board sees it.
From hip-hop, R&B to public radio
Founded in 1994, WFLM, known as “The Flame 104.7,” focuses on the West Palm Beach radio market, broadcasting a mix of hip-hop and rhythm-and-blues music. It’s currently owned by JDD Radio, which is led by broadcaster and community activist Reggie Dee and business partner Dean Freeman, a personal injury lawyer. Neither could be reached for comment.
Under the proposed deal, the WFLM license to broadcast would be held by the Media Group, not by the Miami-Dade County School Board.
The station’s programming would be converted from music to news and public affairs, with content generated by a local staff and National Public Radio.
In its June news release announcing the deal, the Media Group noted that the conversion of WFLM to a public radio station is designed to eradicate what it called a “news desert” in the northern section of Palm Beach County.
Through its radio and television broadcasts, WLRN reaches most of metropolitan South Florida and the Florida Keys. Additional frequencies and “translators” strengthen the radio station’s signal in outlying areas.
In July, the School Board moved to block the WFLM deal, filing its objection with FCC and sending the cease-and-desist letter to John LeBonia, CEO of the South Florida Public Media Group
To the FCC, the Media Group asserted that the School Board’s objection should be dismissed because it lacks standing. It also contended the dispute over money is a private matter that does not concern the commission.
The cease-and-desist letter, signed by Jose Bueno, the School Board chief of staff, demanded a halt to the deal and contested the assertion that the money to buy WFLM belongs to the Media Group. .
“In spite of your assertion, the funds that SFPMG plans to use for the purchase of ‘the Flame,’ were never intended for such a purpose, but have always been intended for the sole benefit of WLRN Radio and Television,” Bueno wrote.
“These funds are undeniably associated with WLRN and would have never come into existence without WLRN,” he added. “Therefore, SFPMG’s use of WLRN’s station funds to purchase a separate radio station for SFPMG in its own name and for its own independent use was not only never authorized by the School Board, but is also in contravention of the [management agreement] and all other agreements involving the parties.”
“By seeking to purchase a competing station with overlaying frequencies and transferring it to SFPMG,” the letter went on, “SFPMG is seeking to use endowment funds for a purpose that not only does not benefit WLRN-FM, but it will also materially harm WLRN-FM.”
Bueno also took issue with the Media Group’s intention to help raise money for WFLM.
“This declaration is also alarming as it appears that SFPMG will be using the WLRN donor lists to fundraise for the new station being acquired by SFPMG; a clear violation of the [management agreement] and applicable federal grant regulations. It is axiomatic that SFPMG’s use of the donor lists to simultaneously fundraise for a new overlapping radio station tacitly undermines and conflicts with SFPMG’s ability to loyally and faithfully fundraise for WLRN-FM …” he said.
The road ahead
In an email sent Friday to the Sun Sentinel on behalf of LaBonia by Giselle Reid, the marketing and communications vice president, the CEO said the Media Group intends to follow through with the acquisition.
LeBonia also said it intends to quickly address the loss of public funding.
“We are approaching the loss of state and federal funding with resilience and purpose,” he said.
“Our leadership team has already begun implementing a plan to absorb the loss without compromising our core mission,” he added. “This will involve operational streamlining, renewed fundraising efforts, and a careful review of internal efficiencies and resources.”
