WCPE in the News

August 11, 2003

By Michael Futch
Staff writer

Do you own a slice of the Fayetteville skyline where a classical music radio station can install a station transmitter?

If so, officials with WCPE would like to talk with you.

WCPE (89.7 FM) is a 100,000-watt station that operates out of Wake Forest in Wake County. Fayetteville is part of WCPE's secondary broadcast area, which is anywhere from 50 to 100 miles from the station.

Those are areas where the signal is not good, but the station still has a crop of faithful listeners.

With a low-power mini-broadcaster, WCPE could better serve its Fayetteville listeners by providing a clearer signal over a broadcast radius of 5 to 7 miles, according to the station's general manager, Deborah Proctor.

"Everyone's been asking for it," she said. "It's because of listener demand."

Location would be critical. The station's signal seems to come in stronger in the northern part of town. "Especially on the southern side of the city -- we don't get a good signal in there," Proctor said.

"The range of the mini-translator is limited. We need it at the center of the population where folks need a signal. That's kind of the problem. We don't have much latitude. We need a building. The higher, the better."

Proctor said WCPE would be willing to pay for space or work out an arrangement with the owner. "Of course," she said, "we would rather have free space, but this is important enough we would do something reasonable."

WCPE is a listener-supported nonprofit station that plays classical music 24 hours a day. It's the only station in central North Carolina to broadcast the Metropolitan Opera.

The filing deadline for any translator request with the Federal Communications Commission is Aug. 29. The application must include the location of where WCPE wants to place the equipment and a statement from the property owner saying that it's essentially OK with him.

"It doesn't have to be a binding statement," Proctor said. "We're saying 'they're considering us' to apply."

WFSS tower

The station had pursued the possibility of putting the broadcaster on the 212-foot WFSS transmitting tower on the campus of Fayetteville State University. Joe Ross, who manages that station, said the university has a longstanding policy that prohibits such use.

Former FSU Chancellor Charles Lyons set the policy, Ross said: "He forbid us to have anybody put anything on the tower because he didn't want to have any kind of conflict. He just felt that the university should not get involved in making the tower available to outside people."

The total expense of the Fayetteville mini-broadcaster would run $15,000 to $25,000, according to Proctor. WCPE, she added, would pick up the tab.

She estimates that the entire process -- from FCC approval to reality -- could take 18 months to two years.

Roughly, 10,000 to 15,000 people in this area listen to WCPE, Proctor said.

Should the station fail to secure a good location for the mini-broadcaster by the FCC deadline, Proctor said, "the availability may never come up again. Now they're saying there's no more after this. That's the feedback I'm getting."

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