HD Radio

[Dale H. Cook]

At 11:27 PM 8/17/2007, Dan Billings wrote:

>Doesn't only a small percentage of listeners actually pledge?

True, but those pledges can total a substantial amount. Here in SW VA 
my local public station, WVTF, gets well over 50% of its funding from 
pledges. The station holds two fund drives each year, and each lasts 
about a week before meeting its goal. The bulk of the non-pledge 
financing comes from the state, as the station is licensed to the 
Virginia Tech Foundation.

Listener financial support extends beyond operating expenses. For 
several years the station has encouraged listeners to funnel part of 
their pledges into an endowment in order to further reduce dependence 
on state and federal financing.

WVTF is an expensive station to maintain. In addition to the studios, 
there are six transmitter sites, a number of repeaters, and three 
microwave relay sites. The entire operation is of the highest 
quality. I grew up listening to WGBH, then listened to WFCR for 
nearly 15 years. I later spent some years listening to North Carolina 
Public Radio, and have listened to many public radio stations along 
the eastern US during my travels. In content, presentation and 
technical quality WVTF compares favorably with, or surpasses, public 
radio stations in much larger markets.

Dale H. Cook, Chief Engineer, Centennial Broadcasting, 
Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA - WZZI / WZZU / WLNI / WLEQ
http://members.cox.net/dalehcook/starcity.shtml