New Hampshire’s WCNH: a small station filling a big role

The other day I wrote that I found no applicants for new noncommercial classical stations in last fall’s application window, other than the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Well, I did find another one, under the inconspicuous name of Highland Community Broadcasting. And Highland is no newcomer to classical radio — in fact, it now operates the only classical station in the state of New Hampshire.

That station is WCNH, a 45-watt low-power FM station that serves the Concord area from a hillside overlooking the city’s downtown. Soon, WCNH will expand to a full-power station, now that Highland has received the required FCC permit. But Harry Kozlowski, WCNH’s founder, is quick to point out that “full power” is a relative term. The new WCNH will broadcast at just 100 watts, which Kozlowski hopes will increase its coverage area and reduce the interference caused by a nearby FM station with an extra-high-powered signal.

Kozlowski, a longtime radio broadcaster, told me that he was inspired to start WCNH in 2000 when New Hampshire Public Radio, the state’s dominant public radio network, dropped classical music to go all-news. His daughter’s piano teacher asked what it would take to start a new radio station to fill the void, and Kozlowski happened to know that the FCC was about to accept applications for the newly created class of low-power stations. He put in an application and got a license. WCNH launched on Feb. 29, 2004, a Leap Day.

Most of the station’s programming is provided by the Beethoven Satellite Network, a service of Chicago’s WFMT. Rather than receive the service via satellite, as most stations do, Kozlowski had a computer installed at WFMT that captures hours of BSN programming and transmits it to WCNH’s computers via Internet.

WFMT offers BSN to the Concord station at a rate lower than what full-power stations pay. Public radio’s other around-the-clock classical services turned Kozlowski down, he says, saying they wouldn’t do business with low-power FMs. But WFMT “saw it as an opportunity to reach a community of 40,000 people with their programming, and they did everything in their power to help us achieve that,” he says. “They didn’t have to do that. I appreciate it to this day.”

So does WCNH’s small but devoted audience. The station has about 200 members who support the station with contributions. “I feel like I practically know them all,” Kozlowski says. Many fans turned out on Feb. 29 of this year for a celebration marking the station’s “first” birthday.

WCNH diverges from the model followed by most low-power FM stations, or LPFMs. FCC rules dictate that LPFMs must be run by nonprofit entities and can’t exceed 100 watts in power, limiting their coverage to a radius of just a few miles. WCNH is the country’s only all-classical LFPM, as far as Kozlowski knows. It’s a difficult format for LPFMs to program — for one, he says, “you can’t just run out to Wal-Mart” to start a classical record library, which is why a syndicated service such as BSN was a more feasible option for WCNH.

Furthermore, many LPFMs follow a community radio model, with eclectic programming provided by volunteer programmers. Though WCNH takes a different approach with its nationally syndicated feed, “we’re still being very local, because we’re serving a community of classical music lovers who wouldn’t otherwise be served,” Kozlowski says.

With his permit for a full-power station in hand, Kozlowski now looks forward to expanding that service, possibly by applying for translator stations if the FCC accepts applications for them someday. WCNH’s new signal, located six miles outside Concord, will cost $40,000 to launch, much of which will go toward a new antenna. To cut costs, Kozlowski expects to use much of his current equipment. He’ll raise funds from listeners and apply for a grant from the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program, a program administered by the Commerce Department, for a grant as well.

Best of luck to WCNH in its future endeavors! Like many LPFMs, it’s a true example of a real community service — meeting a need that no other broadcaster would step up to address, and fulfilling the real purpose of noncommercial radio.

You can learn more about WCNH and listen to it online at its website.