I noticed on Thursday, with just 3 days before the one-year silence that would have officially expired their license, 950 WHVW, Hyde Park is back on the air at least for now. Citing transmitter problems and lack of financing owner Jim Ferro filled a TSA- Silent November 1 last year. I just can't listen for long, but it appears that it is being run on auto pilot. I didn't hear any human speaking or introducing the songs or we are back promotions or anything. Just one song after another. But that was what was frequently heard before on the station. The legal ID is dropped in at TOH by timer often in the middle of a song, a brief WHVW, Hyde Park just the legal info. . Time will tell if this is long term or just long enough to keep the license alive. I don't mean this against this station, but I think the unsustainable stations should get one shot at this. If they need to go back off again after just a brief time, they are not serving the public since people don't even know they are on the air and then they are gone again. It is obvious you can't keep the station on the air. This is why I am posting this, so the fans of the station know it is currently back on the air.
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Hudson Valley Back From The Almost Dead WHVW is Back on The Air.
- Thread starter MHVRadiofan
- Start date
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
Unfortunately, with the government shutdown LMS is offline at the FCC, so we can't look at the STA itself or the extension of same to see what reason Ferraro gave for going silent. (BTW, the original STA was filed November 12 of last year, not the first. The extension request was filed on May 25 of this year, which presumably now makes the STA expire on the 25th of this month.)
Based on your narrative, it sounds like this is a case of putting it (and, presumably, W243EI) back on the air for several days to remain within the STA and preserve the license from being auto-cancelled for non-operation. If Ferraro has plans to go back on the air permanently, or he has a buyer lined up, this would be his best choice of actions to take.
Your own opinion notwithstanding, there aren't likely a lot of people pounding on the doors to acquire unsustainable AM stations, especially one whose translator has such a limited range (essentially, just the COL). Under the circumstances, I don't blame him for trying to keep his license, especially as he appears to have retained the facilities themselves, and "serving the public" is likely the last thing on his mind if he is ind anger of losing the whole thing.
Think of it as a parallel to refinancing your mortgage to avoid foreclosure. In terms of dollars and cents, one will do whatever he or she has to in order to maintain ownership.
Based on your narrative, it sounds like this is a case of putting it (and, presumably, W243EI) back on the air for several days to remain within the STA and preserve the license from being auto-cancelled for non-operation. If Ferraro has plans to go back on the air permanently, or he has a buyer lined up, this would be his best choice of actions to take.
Your own opinion notwithstanding, there aren't likely a lot of people pounding on the doors to acquire unsustainable AM stations, especially one whose translator has such a limited range (essentially, just the COL). Under the circumstances, I don't blame him for trying to keep his license, especially as he appears to have retained the facilities themselves, and "serving the public" is likely the last thing on his mind if he is ind anger of losing the whole thing.
Think of it as a parallel to refinancing your mortgage to avoid foreclosure. In terms of dollars and cents, one will do whatever he or she has to in order to maintain ownership.
Before the STA the station was just automated music and TOH, so no change there.
Actually, your assumption is incorrect. It is True his STAs were filed on November 12, and renewal on May 25. However, according to law passed by Congress a station may not be continuously silent for more than one year from the date of going silent, which was listed by Ferraro as November 1, 2024. That is the day that counts, not the filing date. I believe a broadcaster has up to 30 days to file. Obviously, this would be more than the Congressionally mandated one year. That date is a hard deadline, no extensions, or exceptions. The expiration date on the STA said November 1, 2025. He said in the filing it was financial and transmitter failure. His only income was donations and possible time lease arrangements. Which apparently have dried up.
On the allowing a station to just broadcast a few days once a year to keep the license what is the point, nobody will be listening. The FCC will not allow you to warehouse a license. It is almost certain nobody will buy a small stand-alone AM station. The FCC is not re-issuing licenses or permitting any new AM stations to sign on. But FM stations that go dark, the frequency can be reallocated, eventually.
WHVW has gone silent again. I don't know if they have had another equipment failure or if owner Jim Ferro feels he has fulfilled the legal requirements to keep his license of not being silent for a year. I have said this before, referring to any station just coming on the air briefly to keep the license alive. Why, What is the point ? The station is not serving the public by coming on the air briefly since very few people know you are on the air, except radio geeks. As far as I know while broadcasting WHVW just played automated music, and nothing more. The required TOH station ID was dropped in exactly on the hour on a timer in the middle of whatever song was playing. What is the point ? 950 WHVW is just a zombie station at this point, you might as well shut in off and turn in your license. IDK if Jim Ferro has attempted to sell the station but I don't expect there will be buyers of a tiny AM stand alone. Too bad , it used to be a great local station , doing a lot with only 500 watts daytime, later with 57 nights.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
And sometimes you do exactly that if you are in the process of replacing equipment and aren't quite ready to go back on the air full-time.
A couple of years ago, my friend Don Elliot did the programming -- and some of the engineering -- to put KWRM in the Inland Empire region (just east of the Los Angeles market proper) on the air for a weekend for precisely that reason; the station was still working to implement a CP to move to a shared tower situation and everything was not yet in place.
I got to create the acapella jingle for the temporary programming.
And sometimes you do exactly that if you are in the process of replacing equipment and aren't quite ready to go back on the air full-time.
A couple of years ago, my friend Don Elliot did the programming -- and some of the engineering -- to put KWRM in the Inland Empire region (just east of the Los Angeles market proper) on the air for a weekend for precisely that reason; the station was still working to implement a CP to move to a shared tower situation and everything was not yet in place.
I got to create the acapella jingle for the temporary programming.
WHVW and the station KM speaks of, KWRM are two stations that outlived their usefulness 30 years ago.
WHVW has a few fanatics listening, but Id wager NO ONE is listening to KWRM.
Both stations really should just fold it up and close up.
I love radio, but i also see the business side and its reality, as much as we hate to admit it.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
KWRM is making money brokering time to ethnic programmers. I'm sure someone is listening or the brokering parties would not renew.
Whats it running nowe? IT was last running CGTN (CRI) in english. What ethnicities are leasing it? does the station have a website? im mildly curious
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
Chinese language programming. I cannot tell from the schedule on the website whether it is Cantonese or Mandarin.
I don't see a single program listed in any other language, Paul (although the Wikipedia page has references to both English and Spanish-language programming ... although looking at the revision history that entry appears to pre-date the station's silent period). Perhaps your source for last known programming is outdated or in error?
It is/was a middle man for CGTN.... EDI (james kim) i think is his name owns it and he brokers all the time out to CGTN/CRI, the government owned broadcaster in China.. hes done this at multiple other stations. EDI also owns an AM/FM in NE CA But one does news talk/one does country. the EDI stations leased to CGTN/CRI used to be english.. if EDI is not leasing it out to CGTN anymore, its not brokered out to individuals, theyre doing it.. i think.
True. My point is a station is not serving the public interest when they come on the air briefly once a year just to keep its license. That is what they are licensed to do. Most people don't even know they are on the air. All WHVW did is play music jock less, and insert legal ID TOH by timer in the middle of a song. I am not just picking on WHVW , but they are the only station in my area doing this. They should not be permitted to do this again next year. Use it or lose it. As someone mentioned they outlived their usefulness 30 years ago. It's too bad they used to be a great little station back in the 60s and early 70s.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
I will reiterate what I said, because I gave a real world example in my original post:
If a station has been silent for any kind of technical reason and it takes longer than a year to correct same (such as the now-happening-more-frequently situation of an AM losing its tower site) sometimes a licensee has to "game the system" in this way to keep the license active while they finish addressing whatever issue took them silent.
Unless someone here knows the situation behind the scenes at WHVW, a criticism like the above is unfair because it presumes circumstances that we do not have all the facts about.
Playing devil's advocate here - in today's conditions, what does it really matter either way? As a class D facility, 950 in Hyde Park is never going to be able to be revived by anyone else if the WHVW license is returned or cancelled.
So it's either gone completely, never to return, or it at least has a remote possibility of being revived for some purpose down the road by continuing to keep the license on the books. In the end, what's the difference, and how is the public interest any better served by deleting the license entirely, knowing that it can't and won't ever be put back on the air?
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
If I may build on that, perhaps the questioner is not aware of what happened in the St. Louis market back in 2020, when four AMs (KFTK/1490, KZQZ/1430, KQQZ/1190, and WQQW/1510) had their licenses revoked and -- after an ALJ ruled that the licensee did not have the right to renew them due to serious irregularities in the purported ownership.
The Commission took the unusual step of allowing those four frequencies to go to auction so that new owners could construct new facilities on them. Number of bids for any of the four: Zero.
And those weren't Class D stations in smaller markets.