New House Telcomsubcom Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) did some fact-finding during Congress' Presidents' Day recess, touring digital TV facilities close to home-at Tribune Broadcasting's WGN-TV Chicago and University of Notre Dame's WNDU-TV South Bend, Ind. Upton is holding a hearing on the transition to digital TV March 15. George Molnar, chief engineer at WNDU , described Upton as "savvy about the technology when he got here and more so when he left."
W NDU has spent $9 million over two years on the digital transition and is the only station in South Bend that broadcasts digitally, although Molnar estimates that only about three dozen households in the market are equipped to receive digital. Upton toured Tribune's digital facilities the week before, even going to the top of the Sears Tower to see the antenna, escorted by Tribune Broadcasting President Dennis FitzSimons.
