Students and Supporters Sue Cleveland State Over WCSB Transfer to Ideastream

Overview

• The 14-page complaint was filed in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court by Friends of XCSB, former WCSB staff, and the station itself, represented by attorney Brian Bardwell of Speech Law.
• It alleges CSU President Laura Bloomberg led secret deliberations that culminated in an Oct. 3 “flash cut” moving the signal to Ideastream and ending student broadcasting.
• Plaintiffs claim campus police removed students from the studio, barred their return, and left personal and cultural collections such as a Hungarian records archive inaccessible.
• The suit says the CSU–Ideastream pact grants CSU ultimate programming authority and contends promised student opportunities at the rebranded JazzNEO have not appeared.
• Requested relief includes voiding the agreement, court orders enforcing public-records and open-meetings laws, access to property and the broadcast signal, damages, and a jury trial; CSU says it has not yet been served and declined substantive comment.