• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

WXPN expansion

K

KSB

WXPN announced, today, the purchase of 88.7 WZXM from Four Rivers Community Broadcasting (The Word FM). The sale would also include new translator 99.7 in Harrisburg. In return, Four Rivers picks up the current WXPH at 88.1 in Harrisburg...and a boatload of cash.

More details are at http://www.xpn.org/inside_xpn/central_pa.php.
 
this is very good news for Central PA! thanks for sharing
 
THAT STINKS... WHY CAN'T A LOCAL COLLEGE HAVE THE FREQUENCY??? WHO CARES ABOUT ED GIVE ME ANOTHER CHEESE DOG RENDELL'S HOMETOWN. WXPN IS SOOOO MEDIOCRE....THE ONLY GOOD SONG THEY PLAY IS RUSTED ROOT "ON MY WAY"
 
With the exception of HACC, Penn State Harrisburg and Lebanon Valley College (which has a “radio station” only available in the dorms), every college and university in this area has an over-the-air student radio station. That’s 8 of them, including Middletown High School. With few exceptions, they are dreadful clones of the X, operated by students who sound like they’ve never heard real broadcasting and have been given no instruction in proper, and in some cases, legal procedures. Since they’re only putting out 25 or 50 watts, the fact that they are little more than playthings probably doesn’t matter. But would any of them be any better if they were given a few thousand watts to play with? I doubt it. In fact, if that were to happen, the schools would probably take them out of the hands of students and plug them into NPR!

WMSS is a good little station that is an asset to the community, and it‘s from a high school. Why can’t colleges manage to do a better job than they do?

I don’t have any problem with WXPN switching to a better frequency to relay their programming to a greater area. Triple A is a format that no commercial station in this area wants. It isn’t cookie-cutter or consultant-friendly. Many stations around the country do quite well with it and have loyal audiences. WXPN tends to be a little too obscure for my tastes - I like to occasionally recognize a song - but I’ll be happy to set a button on my car radio for 88.7. I heard that signal being tested a few weeks ago and it’s a killer.

I do have a problem with these supposed “non-profit” organizations that suck up every available frequency everywhere to relay non-stop proselytizing from Pensacola Florida or Marlton New Jersey. Four Rivers Community Broadcasting, for example, has applications for hundreds of repeaters in Pennsylvania. To be fair, their "WORD FM" stations broadcast Christian music in a contemporary, upbeat, listenable style with little or no preaching, but the point still stands. Why should they be allowed to have hundreds of low-power repeaters clogging up the FM dial simply to relay programming from their main station in Philadelphia? At least WXPN airs Harrisburg traffic reports and has made somewhat of an effort to have an area presence by sponsoring concerts at Whitaker Center.

Then there’s Temple University with it’s endless number of low-watt repeaters. WRTI is a fine station but listen to them do their ridiculous laundry list of station ID’s sometime. Bet the cows in Ephrata get up in the morning with Beethoven and go to bed each night with Miles Davis.

WXPN, we're happy to have you.
 
With its new Class B (50-kw equivalent) signal on 88.7, WXPN will become a real competitor in the Harrisburg, York & Lancaster markets. They'll be good for a 3 or 4 share in all three markets--maybe more in Hburg. WITF has long been a major player--more so in the programming arena, but also in the advertising/underwriting game.

Commercial broadcasters too often discount these stations and don't realize how their own stations are impacted by the non-coms. Arbitron came very close this year to including the non-commercials in its standard reports, and the time is coming when everyone will see how well these stations really perform.

I recall a conversation on this board within the past year where the suggestion that Hall's WSJW should flip to Triple A was met with derision. Check back in a year or so--say, around the time of the Spring 08 book. Hall will wish they took the hint.
 
my sources tell me Hall is plenty satisfied with WSJW's performance. it doesnt make great ratings but i'm sure they package deal sell it with the rose and smooth jazz is a cheap format to run. i think they have all of one dj to pay. the rest is automated.
 
you're right about wsjw. i have had plenty of parties indoor and out at my home and have used them as an audio source being to lazy to load up my 1500 plus song collection. I always had great comments. If they were locals I mentioned punch up 92.7 and you're good to go. I think another fringe format is the standards that whyl am 960 is doing. I streamed them on my bose system this weekend sounded good but I don't think they are doing the hd thing. one other good streaming standards site is martiniinthemorning.com
 
Glad 'XPN is taking a lead in Central PA. The corporate geeks don't take chances any more, and their formats sound generic (or syndicated). My kids are tweeners, and they still like to listen to Kids Korner at 7pm. Who in
local radio has the balls to put that on a 7pm ? (and it's won a pile of awards)

I, too, don't like the religious fanatics grabbing all the LPFM signals. But (again), no one is willing to take chances like 'XPN.
 
I've been an XPN member since last year, and am very happy to see they're going to have a Class B signal here in Lancaster. No more having to listen to the online streaming! XPN's eclectic format will be a very welcome addition to FM dial here..

WZXM, while licensed to Middletown, actually has new facilities that are just off Tower Rd near Hellam, York County, very close to the WGAL-TV tower. I would bet that 7kw from this location will easily reach far enough east to overlap coverage with their main signal on 88.5; this means nearly solid coverage from Harrisburg to South Jersey.

Perhaps the only glitch is the new 88.7 signal will be directional away from Harrisburg (maybe to protect 88.9 WQSU?), necessitating the new translator on 99.7 in Cumberland County. It will be interesting to see what penetration these two new signals will have in the immediate downtown Harrisburg area; I would think that coverage is likely to be more spotty in that area than it now is.

Welcome to Central PA, WXPN!
 
In reply to John Summers' post about how college radio stations are so bad, John, you are absolutely right, but that wasn't always the case. At my college station, Shippensburg University's WSYC, we had playlists, a format, and an audition you had to pass before you got an airshift. And that was for the on-campus only Carrier-Current AM station! Then when the FM went on in 1975, everyone had to pass the FCC test and get the then-required Third Class license! Not that the test was so hard, but it made a serious interest in radio and a bit of initiative a requirement. How were these high standards possible? Because the core of our student staff were Communications majors aspiring to careers in radio. Several of us also worked part-time at local stations while in school. Now, college Communications departments are de-emphasizing or eliminating the radio track. Why? BECAUSE THERE ARE NO ENTRY-LEVEL JOBS! In the 70's, all stations had at least 5 full-time airstaff, and since news was an FCC requirement and there were no regional news networks like Metro or Radio PA, all stations had at least one and usually 2 or more full-time news people. Plus 4 or 5 part-timers to man the weekends around the clock! Now most stations are on the bird or on the box outside of weekday drive time. Even most sporting events are now automated, eliminating board ops, another "foot-in-the-door" entry level position. So college stations are, like John said, no longer serious training grounds but simply playthings for students who want to get on the air and play their favorite songs. Truly a sad comment on the state of our industry.....
 
Hi everyone. I came on here to get more info and feedback about WXPN's expansion into central PA, and I saw the observations that were made about most college and non-NPR stations in the bottom of the FM band. Seeing these posts, I felt compelled to throw my opinion into the mix.
While I understand that, from a professional broadcaster's point of view, free format college stations may sound somewhat "ameturish", I have to defend the existance of such stations. Why? Because, these stations very often serve as an outlet for obscure, cutting edge, and just plain hard to find music. There are many artists and genres that not even NPR stations like WXPN would not touch. And then, too, consider that NPR stations are staffed mainly by paid professional broadcasters. There is no room for community volunteers at these stations to gain access to the airwaves and play music that is otherwise unavailable.
I guess I feel the way I do about this issue because I am a proud volunteer program host on a station in my area. If this station didn't exist, I would not have a way to share music that I love with my community, and because music is such a huge part of my life, I would be truly lost without the opportunity to do my show.
So, I guess what I am saying is, while there does need to be a certain degree of "professionalism" in radio broadcasting, complete with playlists, consistant formats, and mass appeal programming, I feel very strongly that there should also be an outlet for ordinary people to have a voice, and to make a difference in their community. I don't know if any of the college stations down there allow community members to be volunteer DJs, but, perhaps if they would open their airwaves to non-students, the quality of programming they offer might be greatly improved. Just my two cents worth.

Jake
upstate NY
 
Hi Ray! WSYC was what a college station should be: a learning experience, reflecting the realities of broadcasting. Now, as you said, there are no more entry-level jobs, so students aren’t interested in radio as a career, and colleges are downplaying radio in favor of TV. Student DJs aren’t looking to do anything but have fun, so there’s no striving for a more polished sound. I hear a lot of “horsing around” with no direction or purpose. If you’re only gonna be on the air once or twice a week, why not make it worth doing?

Hello Jake! Glad you weighed-in on this. Community radio is a good thing, and unfortunately rare. Stations like that are open to people like you who are passionate about a particular style of music and who enjoy presenting it. They needn’t be polished or professional, they just need to know what they’re talking about. They're always prepared! There should be more of these stations, but unfortunately dial space is limited, what with all the professional non-profit broadcasters out there, and most people don’t know how to go about applying for one.

College radio does, as you said, expose new music. Always has. But why it is so often presented so badly? If a DJ is playing a new band, great, give me about 30 seconds of background and then play the damn song. No need to talk 3 minutes, interspersed with ums and uhs and giggling and repetition, about a 2 ½ minute song. It’s a lack of preparation, which faculty advisors should emphasize.

Some “advisors” don‘t do a very good job of it. A few months ago I heard a local college station run an “underwriting” announcement for a beer distributor. It amounted to a 60-second commercial, specials on kegs for your next party and the like. This particular school has had three student deaths within the last four years from alcohol poisoning, one in a freshman dorm less than a year ago, and one rape case that went to trial that was alcohol-related. And they’re airing commercials for a beer distributor? That goes beyond irresponsibility to the point of negligence. Where is the faculty oversight? Hmm…doesn’t seem to be any, and I think that’s the problem.

I don’t mean to sound like a crank about this. I don‘t expect college stations to sound professional. I just think they should be doing a lot better job of teaching their student DJs “Radio 101” if they’re going to take up valuable dial space.
 
Ray/Jake/John et al, student radio isn't what it was 20-30-40 years ago--but nothing is. Life moves on. But I'll submit that our memories get a little fuzzy, too. I'll wager that not every jock on WSYC decades ago was a polished pro, any more than 18-year old rookie jocks are today. College radio is where you get to make mistakes; you get to fumble; you get to learn the craft by doing it. Nobody's forcing anyone else to listen.

Penn State's student station, 90.7/WKPS--"The Lion"--is actually pretty good. This past year they had some kids who could step right into small-to-medium market commercial radio--and maybe they have, by now. WKPS is a Student Activity--a club, as such, and exists to give interested students the chance to have fun doing radio. But Penn State also has internet-only ComRadio involving several hundred students in more of an "experiential education" setting. Not just for fun, but more of a learning thing. BTW, Penn State's College of Communications is America's largest accredited communications college, with more than 3,000 students.

One more quick story along these lines. A young man came to work for one of our small-town stations a few years ago at age 16 and honed his on-air skills as a high school student. Upon entering college in Pittsburgh he was immediately hired by one of the major stations as a part-time jock and news anchor. He'll be a junior in the fall and already has several years of major league call-letters firmly on his resume.

So, this stuff still happens. Even here in Central PA.
 
epmark said:
....didn't Central Penn Business School have the license for 91.7 until they sold it to Temple U ?
Click to expand...

Yes... The calls were WUCP, with 250 watts at 10 meters BELOW average terrain, according to the 12th ed. of the FMAtlas in '89. The following year the calls changed to the current WJAZ, and by '92, the facilities had been upgraded to 140 watts at 210 meters HAAT.

I remember this time well--I was a student DJ on MU's WIXQ 91.7 at the time, and when 'JAZ upgraded their signal 'IXQ lost a lot of coverage in NW Lancaster Co, but didn't lose many listeners. Most of the listeners to my and my friends' shows lived on or really close to campus. At any rate, the lost coverage was well outside WIXQ's tiny 60 dBu contour around Millersville, so there wasn't anything MU could do about it. The co-channel interference btw these stations is still the same today as it was 16 yrs ago.

Other than what I've read on the FCC's website, I don't know any of the details about the sale of the Four Rivers' licenses to Penn, and Penn's sale of 88.1 to Four Rivers, or if another school would have wanted to try or did try to buy them. I doubt Central Penn or HACC could have afforded the price tag anyway. As a former HACC student in recent years at the main campus in HBG, I don't remember hearing anything on campus about the school pursuing or even wanting an FM license..
 
Geo: That Central Penn Business School station never went on the air, did it? They had a CP but never acted on it, as I recall, and sold the CP to Temple U. Am I remembering that correctly?

I've been listening to the the special preview programming U of Penn has been airing on 88.7. In my opinion, it's better than what WXPN airs on a regular basis. Too bad it's only temporary.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom