Lawyers' Role in Rebuilding on Ground Zero

Broadcasters have been watching with interest the work to build the Freedom Tower on ground zero, the former site of the World Trade Center, which was once the location of most New York City TV transmission facilities. On the sixth anniversary of the 9/11/2001 attacks, Law.com posted an article describing the extraordinary effort it took for Larry Silverstein, the controller of the destroyed complex, to pull the project together, including negotiations with the Port Authority, insurance companies and politicians. While there is only brief mention of the broadcast antennas, I think many readers with an interest in the World Trade Center and the new Freedom tower will find The inside story – rebuilding on ground zero. While we often look at the engineering expertise needed to pull off a project like this, it is worth seeing the effort and passion lawyers put into the project.

Comments and story leads are always welcome. Email me at dlung@transmitter.com.

Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.