Murray Carpenter
Murray was a former owner of St. Petersburg’s classical music station 99.5 WTCX-FM. The Brooklyn native had been a head media buyer when he left Compton Advertising in New York City and teamed with former Maine governor Horace Hildreth to start Portland’s WPOR in 1946. In the early 50’s he moved to Bangor and went on to own and operate WABI Radio/TV and WTWO-TV.
After carving out a career in radio-TV station ownership in the northeast, the self-described entrepreneur moved to St. Petersburg in 1963 and bought WTCX. He also established the Stock Market Laboratory, an investment advisory company located in the city’s 300 West Building.
After letting the radio station go silent in 1970, he sold it the next year to Jacksonville’s Marshall Rowland (WQIK AM/FM) who had also acquired Tampa’s WALT-AM 1110. Rowland took the then-silent WTCX and flipped it to country to make it Tampa Bay’s first 24-hour country stereo FM.
Murray suffered from Alzheimer’s and passed away at a health care facility in St. Petersburg in 1990 at the age of 74.
Station History
1963 - 1970 Other Tampa Bay Area Stations (Management)
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