You are correct about that, but I posted it to say . . . I heard it from its new site and power!!!!
Yes, via an SDR but I heard it over in Eastern PA., near the PA / NJ stateline!!!
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WFME STA
- Thread starter JJSPC
- Start date
Yes, via an SDR but I heard it over in Eastern PA., near the PA / NJ stateline!!!
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
And we are supposed to "believe" the "word" coming from them? Whatever happened to the Commandment about bearing false witness?
For me, this is just another reason to distrust these national religious networks.
Day after Thanksgiving (2025): WFME had all Christmas programming. While they are a Christian station, there are devout Christians who are not yet ready for continuous Christmas music.
WFNE had an STA (the 10KW ND unlimited at WPAT in New Jersey) expiring during the government shutdown and which was automatically extended to the day following the reopening. They did not go off the air awaiting the outcome of a timely filing for yet another STA extension. The latter was granted (to mid-March 2026) which showed up in the FCC public records a few days after the government reopened.
WFNE had an STA (the 10KW ND unlimited at WPAT in New Jersey) expiring during the government shutdown and which was automatically extended to the day following the reopening. They did not go off the air awaiting the outcome of a timely filing for yet another STA extension. The latter was granted (to mid-March 2026) which showed up in the FCC public records a few days after the government reopened.
So much for the FCC's order that WFME must get its act together and find a permanent facility for the station.
While you may not want Christmas music, Family Radio's research must show the majority of their audience does otherwise they wouldn't play it.
Nothing you say here is against FCC rules.
All of the STA's during the shutdown were extended a second time to December 5. But it's irrelevant. as the extension was filed on September 5 and granted on September 16 ahead of the shutdown. Under what pretense did the need to go off the air?
They are still looking.
Have you ever been involved in planning or constructing an AM site? Anywhere? Ever? Especially a high-power DA in one of the most congested and heavily regulated areas of the country in 2025?
No? Didn't think so.
The continued STA renewals at least preserve the possibility that licensed operation might resume at some point, and meanwhile the 10 kW signal from Clifton is pretty decent for what it is.
If the FCC took the hard-line approach you seem to want (and why?), Family would surrender the license and 1560 in NY would simply fall silent for good. There's no evidence anyone else is clamoring for that license, which at this point brings mostly expense and little to no potential for revenue.
Nobody else on 1560 or adjacent frequencies can do much of anything if WFME goes away. If anyone who's affected by WFME's continued STA status is bothered by it, or if it's hindering plans they have, they have had ample opportunities to weigh in with the FCC. Nobody has done so.
There is no real world option in which the FCC threatens WFME and Family suddenly speeds up a long, expensive process. The only two options are continued STA renewals that preserve at least some service on 1560, or license surrender that leaves the frequency empty permanently.
Why do you think the second option is somehow better?
They are operating at the WPAT site under STA, but their filing suggested that the relatively short towers there may cause some issues with licensing the site on a permanent basis. Which, again, reflects how complicated it is to relocate a high-powered AM and why the FCC is right to give licensees a lot of patience with the process.
Who said I wanted that? I'm simply asking for them to follow the FCC's order, posted here on page 3:
"any future STA extension request will carry an increased burden to demonstrate one or more of the above STA criteria. Accordingly, if Family seeks a further STA extension in lieu of a modification application to operate at reduced power, it must include a detailed narrative describing all the steps it has taken to return the Station to licensed operation—including specific sites under consideration or negotiation—and, if needed, a demonstration that any lack of progress is due to circumstances outside of Family’s control. We remind Family that timely restoration of permanent facilities is the responsibility of the licensee and should be undertaken expeditiously."
WFME's STA extension requests have gotten longer in their shouty ALL CAPS TEXT, but lack the "detailed narrative" the FCC ordered. They basically boil down, "when we find a permanent site, we'll let you know".
If they want to maintain a license for a 50 kW clear channel station in market #1, they should at least get their paperwork in order. Otherwise, as the FCC suggested, they could file an application to downgrade to 10 kW and make the WPAT/WNSW site their new permanent facility, just like when WMEX in Boston downgraded from 50 to 10 kW (and even less at night).