WFCR

Amherst, Massachusetts United States
Broadcast area	Pioneer Valley includingSpringfield, Massachusetts
Frequency	88.5MHz (HD Radio)
Branding	New England Public Media
Programming
Format	Public radio
Subchannels	HD2:Classical music
Ownership
Owner	University of Massachusetts Amherst (University of Massachusetts)
Operator	New England Public Media (under program service agreement)
Sister stations	TV:WGBY-TV
History
First air date	May 6, 1961 (63 years ago) (1961-05-06)
Call sign meaning	"Five College Radio"
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	69304
Class	B
ERP	13,000 watts
HAAT	295 meters (968 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	42°21′50″N72°25′23″W / 42.364°N 72.423°W /42.364; -72.423
Translator(s)	See § Translators
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	www.nepm.org

WFCR (88.5FM) is a non-commercial radio stationlicensed toAmherst, Massachusetts. It serves as theNational Public Radio (NPR) member station forWestern Massachusetts, includingSpringfield. The station operates at 13,000 wattsERP from atransmitter onMount Lincoln inPelham, Massachusetts, 968 feet (295 meters) above average terrain. TheUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst holds the license. The station airs NPR news programs during the morning and afternoon drive times and in the early evening. Middays and overnights are devoted toclassical music andjazz is heard during the later evening hours.

WFCR's broadcasting range extends to Western and Central Massachusetts, NorthernConnecticut (includingHartford) as well as parts of SouthernVermont and SouthernNew Hampshire. WFCR's studios for most of its history were located at Hampshire House on the UMass campus. However, in 2013, the station moved most of its operations to the Fuller Building in downtown Springfield.^[2]

The station signed on May 6, 1961, as asimulcast ofWGBH-FM inBoston. By 1962, it had severed the electronic umbilical cord with WGBH-FM, and by 1964 it had expanded its local programming to 17 hours per day. Thecall letters originally represented "Four College Radio", becoming "Five College Radio" in 1966. It is a charter member of NPR, and was one of the stations that carried the initial broadcast of NPR'sAll Things Considered.^[3]

While UMass has held the license since 1967, when it was acquired from theWGBH Educational Foundation,^[4] WFCR has always received funding from theFive Colleges (UMass Amherst,Smith College,Mount Holyoke College,Amherst College andHampshire College) as well as from fund drives conducted periodically over the air. Since 2011, WFCR andsister station 640AM WNNZ have called themselvesNew England Public Radio.^[5]

WFCR claims the distinction of being the first radio station in Western Massachusetts to transmit a signal usingiBiquity'sHD Radio system.^[6] It airs two digital streams. The first is a simulcast of the analog signal, the second is a 24-hour classical music station.^[7]

On April 11, 2019, WFCR announced that it would consolidate operations with WGBH-ownedPBS stationWGBY-TV (channel 57) under theNew England Public Media banner, effective in July. UMass will retain the WFCR license, and the New England Public Radio Foundation will retain the licenses to WNNZ and its satellites; NEPM will operate the stations under program service operating agreements.^[8][9]

In addition to the main FM station, WFCR is relayed by five translators (FM), to increase its broadcast area.

WFCR provides a full-time NPR news and information service on theNEPR News Network, which consists of four radio stations in Western Massachusetts owned by its nonprofit fundraising arm, the New England Public Radio Foundation, along with two additional stations owned by area colleges. The network carries programming from NPR,Public Radio Exchange, theBBC andCBC Radio. Programs includeMorning Edition,All Things Considered,Fresh Air,The Takeaway,Here and Now,Q andBBC World Service.

Theflagship station of the NEPR News Network is WNNZ, 640kHzAM, licensed toWestfield, Massachusetts, which was once owned by Clear Channel Communications (nowiHeartMedia). WNNZ's power output is 50,000 watts in the daytime, the maximum permitted for AM stations by theFederal Communications Commission. But because 640 kHz is aclear channel frequency forCBN inSt. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, WNNZ must reduce power to 1,000 watts at night. The antenna is a three-tower array, using differingdirectional patterns day and night. During the day, it provides at least secondary coverage to all of western Massachusetts, as well as New York'sCapital District and the Hartford area. At night, the signal is cut back to concentrate the signal northward around the Springfield and Hartford areas.

Until 2010, WFCR provided WNNZ's programming, while Clear Channel sold underwriting advertisements.^[10][11] However, in July 2010, WFCR purchased WNNZ from Clear Channel for $525,000. The sale does not include the transmission towers, but rather has a lease clause in the sale agreement in which Clear Channel will own them and lease them to WFCR.^[12]WFCR purchased the license from Clear Channel under the name of "WFCR Foundation Inc." The FCC approved the sale August 25, 2010.^[13][14]Prior to 2007, the programming heard on WNNZ was heard onWPNI, 1430 kHz, in Amherst, which was owned byPamal Broadcasting.

WFCR, again, under the licensee name of "WFCR Foundation Inc.", acquired the license ofWGAJ 91.7 MHz in Deerfield, Massachusetts fromDeerfield Academy. The license transfer was granted on August 19, 2010.^[15] WFCR paid Deerfield Academy $10,000 for the signal.^[16][17] The call letters of the station were changed to WNNZ-FM as of September 1, 2010.^[18]

WFCR won the allocation of 98.9 inAdams, Massachusetts, in FCC Auction #91 (under the applicant name, WFCR Foundation Inc.).^[19] WFCR won it for $189,750. WFCR filed the application for a new station with the FCC, to transmit the new signal from the top of West Summit, inNorth Adams, Massachusetts, where the currentWUPE-FM transmitter site is located. WFCR already has a translator, W266AW, located there.^[20]

WNNU was launched in 2013; it broadcasts on 89.5 and serves the southern portion of Berkshire County and part ofColumbia County in neighboring New York state.^[21]

In addition to WNNZ-AM-FM, WNNI, and WNNU, the NEPR News Network is heard on 89.3WAMH Amherst, servingHampshire County, and 91.9WAIC Springfield, servingHampden County. WAIC joined the network on July 1, 2016, after switching its programming source fromConnecticut Public Radio. It is owned byAmerican International College in Springfield, but programmed by WFCR.^[22] WAMH simulcasts WNNZ from 2 a.m. to 4 p.m. with studentfree form programming the other hours of the day (when Amherst College is in session).

• Campus radio
• List of college radio stations in the United States
• WAIC
• WAMH

• Official website
• Facility details for Facility ID 69304 (WFCR) in theFCC Licensing and Management System
• WFCR inNielsen Audio's FM station database

Associated stations

• HD Radio stations
• 1961 establishments in Massachusetts
• Amherst College
• Hampshire College
• Mass media in Hampshire County, Massachusetts
• Mass media in Springfield, Massachusetts
• Mount Holyoke College
• NPR member stations
• Radio stations established in 1961
• Radio stations in Massachusetts
• Smith College
• University of Massachusetts Amherst

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