Sometimes 31 watts of power is enough oomph to cover a community. That’s the case with a low-power FM radio station serving a town smack path in the projected path of Hurricane Dorian.
This north-of-Daytona Beach town’s “sound of the surf” is gaining a new licensee, and it is our lead item of business in RBR+TVBR‘s TRANSACTIONS TODAY, which also includes a couple of STA requests and a closing announcement.
The little station serving Flagler Beach, Fla., is WQFB-LPFM 97.3 “The Surf,” and is managed and operated by Vern Shank from studios and offices on Flagler Beach Pier.
Until now, WQFB-LPFM has been owned by the Flagler Beach Historical Museum, a 501C3 not-for-profit entity. It plays a mix of rock hits from the 1980s through 2000s, such as Heart’s “Who Will You Run To” and Joe Walsh’s “In The City.”
Now, the museum is transferring WQFB’s license to Save The Surf, Inc., an entity led by Mr. Shank himself.
It’s a donation from the museum for taxation purposes, and ensures “The Surf” will survive.
Save The Surf tells the Commission it “wishes to educate the community on environmental issues such as saving the beaches, coastlines and protecting natural resources along with birds, animals and wildlife.”
Passing along educational tidbits about the beach community are also a part of Save The Surf’s mission.
STAs SOUGHT
A STA has been filed with the FCC by Genesis Communications of Tampa Bay on behalf of its WHBO-AM in Pinellas Park, Fla., serving the Tampa-St. Petersburg market. Why? It needs an emergency long-wire antenna via a temporary site as a combiner co-located with co-owned WWBA-AM cannot be stabilized. As such, finding a new site is on the task list.
Then, there is Truth Broadcasting Corp., licensee of WTSB-AM in Selma, N.C. It seeks a power reduction due to a transmitter failure.
Lastly, TRANSACTIONS TODAY notes the closing of Two Black Cadillacs‘ acquisition of WTRE-FM in Greensburg, Ind. from New Beginnings Movement. The purchase price: $60,000.
