WPTT's quick switch to 24-hour Home Shopping won't last long. (WPTT-TV Channel 22; Home Shopping Network)

WPTT's quick switch to 24-hour Home Shopping won't last long

Owner Eddie Edwards says new programs to debut soon

Local television critics last week had a field day lambasting WPTT-TV Channel 22's decision to air the Home Shopping Network 24 hours a day instead of such popular shows as "Star Trek: The Next Generation." But Eddie Edwards, the new owner of the station, is using airwave shopping as a stopgap measure to survive the shaky initial weeks of his ownership.

Edwards said he already is plotting new community programming for the station, which could debut within weeks, and added that more commercial programming is in the works as well. Yet some media buyers here suggested that Edwards may face an uphill climb trying to woo advertisers back to the station …