WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
The history of Bloomington’s community radio station; a continuing series.
Every radio station needs a frequency. That is, a lane on the electromagnetic spectrum where its signal — the stuff you’ll actually hear on your radio — can travel. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) acts as a traffic cop, directing each radio and TV station to an assigned lane, its own frequency. This way, signals from different stations don’t crash into each other, making an awful sound. Jeffrey Morris learned early on he’d have to look for a lane, on his own, for the Bloomington station he and Mark Hood dreamed of starting.
It wasn’t easy. In the mid-1970s, there were no internet, no home computer, no database at the click of a mouse button showing which stations used what lanes. The FCC put out an annual Broadcasting Yearbook but — who knows? — maybe another station nearby had been approved or an existing nearby station was allowed to boost its power since the last edition came out.
Morris learned non-commercial station frequencies were relegated to the left end of the FM radio broadcast spectrum, from 88.1-91.9. That’s where he searched for an available frequency, using the Yearbook at the Indiana University library. He found one; it sat safely in the non-commercial range. The folks who were part of the Community Radio Project were excited; their station would soon be on the air.
Not so fast. The FCC traffic cop allowed Channel 6 TV stations to use the frequency 87.75, the lane right next to the non-commercial radio range, to broadcast its audio signal. A big Ch. 6 station nearby would have priority; the FCC would protect its signal within a 50-mile range. It so happened WRTV Ch. 6 in Indianapolis was 48 miles away from Bloomington. The non-commercial radio station range sat too close to Ch. 6’s audio lane. There’d likely be a collision, causing unwanted noise in locales like Martinsville.
Morris was stymied. Would Bloomington’s community radio station ever find its own lane? It’d be only the first of many obstacles to overcome.
NEXT POST: AN EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER
Come back for more tales from the WFHB genesis story in this space. We’ll be posting each week as WFHB celebrates its 31st year as Bloomington’s home of community radio.