Future of WTBR-FM Remains Uncertain
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The future of WTBR-FM is still uncertain.
The radio station "Brave FM," stationed at Taconic High School, was once under threat of being silenced because of budget and interest. It is now facing the challenge of the new high school project's impacts on the tower location.
In 2014, the idea of ending operations because of shrinking interest was floated but community members overwhelmingly voiced support and it stayed on the air.
Now, with the construction of a new Taconic High School, Superintendent Jason McCandless is trying to find a solution as to where to put the tower.
"We could be looking at $125,000 to $150,000 expenditure to build a new tower for broadcast," McCandless said.
The district is now looking at the possibility of moving the tower and McCandless said he isn't sure if it needs to be affixed to the top of a building or not. There are also models of broadcasting from cell phone towers being looked at. But, in order to keep it going, there will be a cost to it.
"At some point it is hard to conceive a way this happens without some cost to somebody being involved," McCandless said.
The station operates on an education license from the Federal Communications Commission and that expires in 2022. The tower also is also used by United Cerebral Palsy to broadcast the Berkshire Talking Chronicle. McCandless said there is little interest from both staff and students to continue operating the station and it has come under scrutiny for broadcasting an array of shows that are adult-oriented.
Further, McCandless questions how it fits into the educational programming and mission of the school.
But, the community did strongly urge to keep the station as a community resource and not fall into the hands of private station. McCandless said the license wouldn't fetch much for money if auctioned.
"Right now we have this really nice communication tool that we could use and others could use and it would be a shame to go from a public station to a private one," McCandless said. "It seems to be very important in this community that it remains a community-based radio station."
The station runs on a budget of about $6,000 for equipment, fees and other expenses, and is really managed by two individuals - Brad Lorenz and Beverly Gans. It also carries some level of legal liability.
The station will remain on the air for at least the next two years, but the district is trying to come up with partnerships or models to keep the station going after that. The station first went on the air in 1973 and had its ups and downs. Participation from students dropped and operating budgets kept getting slashed.
In 2006, radio veteran Larry Kratka took over as an adviser and with that a new interest sprouted. Kratka headed efforts to refurbish equipment and student participation jumped. The station started broadcasting the Pittsfield Suns games and performed live broadcasts from community events as well as a number of student and adult radio programs.
In 2014, Kratka retired and since then, the participation has dropped again.
Tags: radio, Taconic High,
