would still be appropriately spaced to the channel 9 station in Windsor, Ontario. The FCC approved this allocation change in 1961; it replaced channel 9 in Alpena with channel 6. The placement of the channel at Grand Rapids attracted interest even before the insertion was final. By the end of 1960, three groups had incorporated with an eye toward filing for channel 13, including West Michigan Telecasters, consisting of 24 shareholders and presided by Lewis V. Chamberlain, Jr., whose final application was filed in October 1961. One of the shareholders was L. William Seidman, then on the board of directors of Grand Valley State College and later chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Some of the stockholders were from Muskegon; the group promoted the northerly transmitter site as a bonus, noting that there were no local stations in Muskegon and that other communities such as Grand Haven and Holland also were underserved. West Michigan was one of six applicants to file by the end of 1961, alongside Atlas (which also owned Grand Rapids-area radio station WMAX); Grand Broadcasting Company, which counted former WLAV and WLAV-TV owner Leonard Versluis among its stockholders as well as former FCC counsel Mary Jane Morris; Major Television Company; MKO Broadcasting Company; and Peninsular Broadcasting Company. In its order assigning channel 13 to Grand Rapids, the FCC indicated its willingness to accept proposals for interim operating authority to hasten the construction of the station. This meant that the comparative hearing process would run in parallel with construction of the station. Days after filing its permanent bid, West Michigan Telecasters also proposed interim operating authority. Major and Atlas both withdrew in August 1962; the four remaining contenders formed Channel 13, Grand Rapids, Inc., which received interim authority that same month. The interim station originally chose the call letters WIIM-TV, but WJIM-TV in Lansing objected, resulting in the choice of WZZM as the call sign. Construction rapidly proceeded, and from studios in the Pantlind Hotel downtown, WZZM made its first broadcast on November 1, 1962, an ABC affiliate from the start. While WZZM was on the air, the applicants wrangled at the FCC over permanent authority to run it. In May 1963, an FCC hearing examiner gave Grand Broadcasting Company the nod in his initial decision, citing its superior integration of ownership and management, a comparative criterion analyzing the involvement of owners in station operations. The FCC