WBCQ’s Ampegon antenna at the Monticello transmitting site.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Benjamin, who shares the following news tip via Radio Insight:
Family Broadcasting Corporation is selling shortwave Christian “World Harvest Radio” WHRI Furman SC to Allan Weiner for $1.25 million. Weiner also owns shortwave Talk “The Planet” WBCQ Monticello ME as well as Talk/Rock 780 WXME/98.3 W252DW and Classic Country “Kixx 94.7” WBCQ-FM Monticello. The seller owns multiple Christian television stations as well as Christian AC “Pulse-FM” 103.1 WHME South Bend IN, 96.9 WHPZ Bremen IN, and 92.1 WHPD Dowagiac MI.
I wonder how the folk in Walterboro can still afford global airtime. Including stations in Europe. I hope WBCQ is not about to outgrow their income with buying WHRI. Use to be WBCQ had a lot of shows on, filling the evening time slots are the way up to and beyond midnight. I liked Tim Tron’s show, and Tasha Femkins, as well as the other music show broadcast. I guess that was another time and era, when they first came on the air. On WHRI I liked tuning into them. And I remember HCJB when they broadcast to North America, as well as the original WRNO and its show Rock Around the World.
I’ll really miss the very progressive Contemporary Christian music that WHRI was playing during the weeks before they left the air. A great personal loss for me.
I have 2 questions regarding shortwave I’d like to ask.
1. Is it possible that Allan might move all WBCQ programming to WHRI, and then shut down WBCQ? Or, might he move all Christian programming to WHRI?
2. I have a pop music radio program I’d like to put on shortwave. It is not Christian in nature. I was told a long time ago that WBCQ is the only US station accepting non-Christian programming. Is this still true?
To answer your second question, WRMI also airs secular programming and has a very good reach, I’d recommend contacting them.
No, you can place all sort of programming onto WWCR and WRMI. Neither are strictly Christian.
Without Brother Stair most of the stations that air his programming would be in serious financial difficulties
You can read the actual asset purchase agreement at FCCDATA.ORG by keying-in WHRI in the callsign search field then scrolling to the transactions at the bottom of the page. It’s interesting to note that the 500kw unit is referred to as “WBCW” in the official filing.
Hey! Hans Johnson cleared $37.5K in the sale as broker. Sure pays better than being a QSL manager!
https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101819423&formid=314&fac_num=26978
Our ubiquitous Brother Stair. Dial another frequency and he’s still there!
Probably holds records for air time.
Brother Stair and others like him have done more damage to shortwave radio than the Internet ever did.
Go to sleep listening to your favorite broadcast, wake up to our ubiquitous Brother Stair.
Are you insane? Brother Stair is AMAZING! I also like the screaming preacher, Pastor Peter J. Peters, and Barbie Bridges (Melissa Scott) Those people are what Shortwave radio is really all about! They make the world a better place!
I didn’t see in the news if WBCQ bought the Palau station, but I hope it will be back on the air soon.
Oh goody… Another place for Brother Stair to show up on tge bands and the political wing nuts to show up.
I’m not sure about the wing nuts, but Brother Stair is a frequency hog.
John, unfortunately.. they are what keeps shortwave stations afloat.. if it werent for them, WBCQ would be reduced to almost nothing, WRMI would be severely cutback too
Have to agree. Over the years I’ve produced quite a few different features on WRMI (ranging from 60 seconds to 30 minutes), have loved working with Jeff White, a super guy, and may be back soon. I love shortwave radio and Jeff is one reason why.
Having said that, although I’m an unapologetic Christian, Brother Stair is far from my cup of tea on several levels but he DOES have a right to buy airtime and his checks are a big reason WRMI is able to pay the bills. I may cringe whenever things I produce have been adjacent to his programming but have accepted it because without revenue from Brother Stair, I may have NO access to a worldwide radio audience. It’s part of the bargain.
US $1.25M is less than the median price for a home in San Francisco.
Very sad . I was the Ops Mgr fr WHR from 1992-2001 (employed by WHR from 1987-2001). The currents owners just gave it away. But honestly it is very much a cash eating operation.
Joe: you mean when WHRI was located in Noblesville, Indiana, correct? The station being discussed in this thread is the one located near Furman, SC. Does the original WHRI building in Noblesville still exist, or was it torn down?
If I recall correctly, the original WSHB station was built in 1988/89for approximately 20 million dollars….
Not only was the news of the sale a surprise but the fact that I found it on a website that normally focuses on AM and FM radio stations. Maybe it’s nostalgia talking but I still remember when this site was transmitting WSHB who was using it to broadcast the Christian science Monitor worldwide. Like a lot of the readers on this site I will definitely be very curious to see what the future brings.
The Christian Science Monitor built and owned the original WSHB shortwave radio station and originated 100% of it’s programming…..
I had to check that this was not an old April 1 post resurfacing…
The real story here may be who is financing this deal. Could it be the flat earthers? Another part of the story may be that WHRI was probably seen by its owners as a white elephant and could not wait to get if off their hands.
Or it could just be that Allan is tired of the cold of Northern Maine.
He has a place already in Florida. 😉
Dan the funder is likely the foreign biscuit magnate, the money man for World’s Last Dance. If the flat earth programming shows up on WHRI or whatever this station will henceforth be named, that will be your answer.
According to an open letter posted on WBCQ’s website, the FCC is the problem with the delay in selling/buying the station…..
got to be more flat earth financing to send their wierd religious gibberish somewhere else.