Editing WFTY-DT (section)

===Prehistory===
On August 22, 1964, Theodore Granik applied for a construction permit for channel 75 in [[Patchogue, New York]], with the channel assignment soon changed to 67 after the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) overhauled television allocations nationally.<ref name="hc">{{Cite web|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/attachment/fe70800b-c440-1196-11d3-9b429f8d63cd|title=History Cards for WFTY-DT|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]}}</ref> Granik, who had produced the long-running ''[[The American Forum of the Air]]'' on radio and television, envisioned the Patchogue channel as one of seven stations nationwide specializing in public affairs programming.<ref name="Dail640904">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-granik-plans-7-uhf-tv-public/135880461/|date=September 4, 1964|page=64|first=Ben|last=Gross|title=Granik Plans 7 UHF-TV Public Service Stations|newspaper=Daily News|location=New York, New York |via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 30, 2023|archive-date=November 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130201438/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-granik-plans-7-uhf-tv-public/135880461/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Fri --> Long Island Video also filed for channel 67;<ref name="News670811">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-lis-first-tv-s/135881074/|date=August 11, 1967|page=5|title=LI's First TV Station Is Given an OK|newspaper=Newsday |via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 30, 2023}}</ref><!-- Fri -->  Medallion Pictures acquired the company and became the applicant,<ref name="News660627">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-fcc-sets-li-hea/135883441/|date=June 27, 1966|page=5A|first=Murray|last=Frymer|title=FCC Sets LI Hearing Date|newspaper=Newsday |via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 30, 2023}}</ref><!-- Mon --> but it agreed to withdraw in exchange for the costs it had incurred in seeking channel 67, granting Granik the permit in September 1968.<ref name="Post680822">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-post-standard-fcc-approves-televisio/135881092/|date=August 22, 1968|page=5|title=FCC Approves Television Permit|newspaper=The Post-Standard|location=Syracuse, New York|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 30, 2023}}</ref><!-- Thu -->{{r|hc}}

Granik never built channel 67. He died on September 21, 1970.<ref>{{cite news|title=Theodore Granik, Moderated Debates on Radio, Television|page=C5|date=September 23, 1970|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|id={{ProQuest|147922507}} }}</ref> His death scuttled plans for channel 67 and [[WDCW|channel 50 in Washington, D.C.]]; the estate left no money to start the Washington station, which declared bankruptcy.<ref>{{cite news|date=May 27, 1971|title=Channel 50 In Bankruptcy|page=C13|id={{ProQuest|148049498}}|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=New D.C. permittee has financial troubles |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1971/1971-05-31-BC.pdf |work=Broadcasting |date=May 31, 1971 |id={{ProQuest|1014526632}} |page=39 |access-date=March 14, 2019 |archive-date=May 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528174525/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1971/1971-05-31-BC.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> On March 19, 1971, Granik Broadcasting Corporation filed to sell the permit to the Suburban Broadcasting Corporation. Suburban was a consortium of New York–area investors, including some from Long Island as well as [[Percy Sutton]], the president of [[Manhattan Borough]].<ref name="News710702">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition-group-seeks-to/116262782/|date=July 2, 1971|page=23|title=Group Seeks to Build TV Station on LI|first=Knut|last=Royce|newspaper=Newsday |via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 30, 2023}}</ref><!-- Fri -->

After closing on the purchase of the permit from Granik's estate, Suburban unveiled its plans for channel 67, which was given the [[call signs in North America|call sign]] WSNL-TV (for [[Suffolk County, New York|Suffolk County]] and [[Nassau County, New York|Nassau County]] counties on Long Island). Suburban's principals believed Long Island was underserved by television, being part of the New York television market. In 1969, an educational station, [[WLIW (TV)|WLIW]], began broadcasting from [[Garden City, New York|Garden City]], but there was no commercial outlet. Company president David H. Polinger noted the presence of two daily newspapers and 20 radio stations on Long Island but no locally focused TV station.{{r|NYT731111}} Polinger brought Long Island broadcast experience, having built radio stations in [[Lake Success, New York|Lake Success]] and [[Babylon (village), New York|Babylon]].<ref name="News731118">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-theyre-turned/135882888/|date=November 18, 1973|page=II:3|first=Leo|last=Seligsohn|title=They're Turned On For LI To Tune In|newspaper=Newsday |via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 30, 2023}}</ref><!-- Sun -->

Channel 67 planned a schedule heavy on live programs, with as much as 70 percent of the schedule being live, ranging from news and high school sports to a live soap opera.<ref name="News711217">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-commercial-tv-f/135882731/|date=December 17, 1971|page=11A|first=Thomas|last=Collins|title=Commercial TV for LI: A step closer|newspaper=Newsday |via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 30, 2023}}</ref><!-- Fri --><ref name="News730117">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-lis-own-soaps/135882778/|date=January 17, 1973|page=11A|first=Howard|last=Schneider|title=LI's own soaps, talk shows: Ch. 67|newspaper=Newsday |via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 30, 2023}}</ref><!-- Wed --> Films and syndicated programming rounded out the lineup.<ref name="Long731213">{{cite news|date=December 13, 1973|title=New Television Station Begins LI-Oriented Telecasts In Color|url=https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071025/1973-12-13/ed-1/seq-13.pdf|newspaper=The Long Island Advance|location=Patchogue, New York|page=13|access-date=June 12, 2016|archive-date=August 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808043021/http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071025/1973-12-13/ed-1/seq-13.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Construction of studios near the corner of the [[Long Island Expressway]] and Veterans Highway in [[Central Islip]], near [[Hauppauge]], began in April 1973.{{r|News730117}}<ref name="News730408">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-nassau-edition-new-li-tv-stati/135883525/|date=April 8, 1973|page=35|title=New LI TV Station Dedicated|newspaper=Newsday |via=Newspapers.com|access-date=November 30, 2023}}</ref><!-- Sun --> The {{convert|18000|ft2|m2}} building featured two studios to handle the station's large local program output.<ref>{{Cite news|work=Back Stage|id={{ProQuest|963054977}}|title=Station Production Trend Continues As WSNL Takes Plunge |first=Tom|last=Tolnay|date=July 19, 1974|pages=3, 22}}</ref>