Fuzzy Memories Faces Off With "Chicago's Very Own"

By Karl Klockars in News on Oct 2, 2009 2:40PM

When we spoke with Rick Klein about his online Museum of Classic Chicago Television (colloquially known as Fuzzy Memories) for this Chicagoist interview, one of the things that was mentioned was the way that WGN-TV was barring his site from posting TV clips from the station.

Klein started taking the fight to Chicago's Very Own yesterday, posting a request for readers and fans to send messages to WGN kindly requesting that they allow Fuzzy Memories to post things in his collection from the station like promos, news clips, and movie bumpers from years gone by.

The argument from the peanut gallery is always "It's WGN's creation, and they can do with it what they want!" And that's true - WGN has the rights to do what ever they want with their own content, and they say they have an exclusive association with the struggling Museum of Broadcast Communications. But if the MBC isn't doing anything with it, and the content is gathering digital dust in some darkened corner, what's the harm in allowing another non-profit organization to host them for all to enjoy?

WGN's attitude and position is a lose-lose situation all around. Fans don't get to see the classic content, WGN loses out on having the attention paid to their old product (with no effort expended on their own), and Rick is left with a gaping hole in his online collection while his tapes are enjoyed by none. An email to General Manager Marty Wilke might help the situation, but like Rick says, "be polite and respectful."