Let me start by apologizing to WHQR’s classical audience. Last week, 92.7 classical was knocked off the air for more than three days when workers on the broadcast tower crunched the transmission line. Then this week, a fader in our classical studio was accidentally pushed up, resulting in a normally unused feed bleeding into our classical broadcast, playing a repetitive holding tune. It took us a day to track that one down. We apologize for the inconvenience and interruption. Thanks to all the listeners who wrote and called to alert us to these problems.
We continue to receive comments on our new weekend daytime schedule. Brandon Shawn Priddy wrote asking “What happened to the Saturday 10 AM Ted Talk Hour?” Program Director Ken Campbell responded “As of Thanksgiving weekend, WHQR did a refresh of the weekend schedule, which included moving TED to Sunday at 10am.” Ken also sent a link to the new schedule on our website. If you’re wondering where a show you enjoyed moved to, please do check the schedule.
Of course, not everyone enjoys every show we air. One listener recently wrote to us about It’s Been a Minute, saying it’s “a total waste of air time and abuse of listener's intelligence ! The three hosts sounds like a trio of 13-year olds. You can do better than this.”
As for our local programs, Jim Downey writes “I listened to the program at lunch time on Friday and was very impressed with our news team. It was especially nice to hear how the young reporters are being inspired to do great things. I think Ben Schachtman is doing a great job mentoring this new generation of journalists. Keep up the good work.” Ben also received kudos for his reporting in the newsletter The Dive from a listener who wrote “Thanks for your recent "Dive" article about the bridge. It was spot on. You and your team are so effective at identifying key issues in the community. Communication is key and is where you and your team excel. Commuters may have a greater tolerance for impacts if they are kept informed through regularly scheduled updates.”
Cathy Schneider called with her appreciation of Bob Nary’s on-air music mixing skills on his Saturday night “On The Fly” program, saying “At about ten o’clock, you were playing a Paul Simon song and followed that with another song and the transition between the two, the way the drums went from one to the other was absolutely brilliant. That doesn’t happen by accident. I appreciate it very much.”
And finally, we bid farewell to listener and supporter Kathleen Sinclair, who wrote to tell us she’s moved from the area. “I have recently moved to Michigan and will be supporting WIAA public radio now. I have enjoyed 10 years of WHQR and wish you the best for the future. Thank you for your good programming and positive influence in the Cape Fear Region.” Thanks for letting us know, Kathleen, and good luck in your new home. I met the station manager of WIAA recently, and it sounds like a great station for news and classical music. And we’re all for supporting your local public radio station.
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