Last Word

"In case of death, call us." Washington, D.C.'s WQQW (TIME, Jan. 20) had refused to air this inviting sales talk by a local undertaker. It had also banned soap operas, chill-the-children shows and (with a few sheepish exceptions) singing commercials. Instead, the station had gone heavy on good music, local news, literary, scientific and medical discussion.

But last week the undertaker had the last word with WQQW. "The station for intelligent listeners," like many another good idea in radio, died young; after losing money steadily during the station's six months of operation, WQQW's 125 owners (editors, doctors, housewives, etc.) put their property on the block.

Against the competition of 13 other local stations, WQQW had held the ears of about 49,000 families. The trouble was that an estimated 86% of the listeners had been to college. For most radio advertisers, that was a repulsive setup; they took their business elsewhere.

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