Is this true?

[C414B]

From Wikipedia entry regarding KLTV:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KLTV

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the tower collapse is currently under investigation but police suspect it was part of an insurance scam.



Huh? When did this come down the wire? Has there been an "official" announcement of what caused the collapse? Or have I missed something here?

 

[jd]

From Wikipedia entry regarding KLTV:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KLTV

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the tower collapse is currently under investigation but police suspect it was part of an insurance scam.



Huh? When did this come down the wire? Has there been an "official" announcement of what caused the collapse? Or have I missed something here?

I haven't seen anything about fraud, and unless somebody has some inside info that smacks of an irresponsible statement. Who really believes KLTV would actually want to suffer disruption of their signal and then operate with inferior transmitter facilities for an entire year?

The last official information I picked up seemed to point toward things like metal fatigue (maybe the added weight of the digital antenna?). Then there was talk of the soil characteristics at the tower site. Considering all the natural gas pockets and associated drilling, as well as the occasional sinkhole showing up for no ostensible reason in East Texas, I'd buy that theory, too.

Wikipedia articles can be a fun read, but consider the source and the fact that anyone can edit the articles. The KLTV article was revised on December 2nd to include the wording about the supposed "...insurance scam."

 

[C414B]

From Wikipedia entry regarding KLTV:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KLTV

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the tower collapse is currently under investigation but police suspect it was part of an insurance scam.



Huh? When did this come down the wire? Has there been an "official" announcement of what caused the collapse? Or have I missed something here?

I haven't seen anything about fraud, and unless somebody has some inside info that smacks of an irresponsible statement. Who really believes KLTV would actually want to suffer disruption of their signal and then operate with inferior transmitter facilities for an entire year?

The last official information I picked up seemed to point toward things like metal fatigue (maybe the added weight of the digital antenna?). Then there was talk of the soil characteristics at the tower site. Considering all the natural gas pockets and associated drilling, as well as the occasional sinkhole showing up for no ostensible reason in East Texas, I'd buy that theory, too.

Wikipedia articles can be a fun read, but consider the source and the fact that anyone can edit the articles. The KLTV article was revised on December 2nd to include the wording about the supposed "...insurance scam."

I know that they're fun to read and all...but to make a claim like that with no substantiating evidence sure seems haphazard at best for the one who wrote it.

Like you, my first inclination was that perhaps the DTV stick was more than the tower could bear. In any event, my understanding is that the tower is currently under re-construction.

I did find it ironic that less than 24 hours after Raycom "took possession", the tower collapses. Let's hope that is not indicative of what will happen to KLTV under their watch.

 

[stdjsb25]

Since anyone can edit Wikipedia, the portion of the article relating to the supposed insurance scam has been removed from it by myself and a note placed on KLTV's "Talk" page that states it should be removed until someone can actually give a reliable source and prove the section could be true. It could honestly be considered libelous.