We continue to get reports of interference from another station. As I explained in my last Friday Feedback, there’s nothing wrong with our signal or transmitter. It’s “tropospheric refraction,” a function of the change in weather from cool to warm where distant radio signals can be carried long distances. This week it seemed to be South Carolina Public Radio, broadcasting from Columbia South Carolina on the same 91.3 frequency that we use. I found it interesting that their signal is actually not as strong as ours, so clearly it doesn’t have to be a stronger signal to interfere. I will post a link to a technical article on our website in the Friday Feedback area for those of you who like to read about things like this. And again, if you’re experiencing this interference, you can always hear WHQR clear as a bell on your smart speaker, computer or the WHQR app on your phone.
Read more here.
Kelly Kenoyer got a thank you from a listener for her report on the possibility of a toll bridge replacing the existing bridge over the Cape Fear river between Leland and Wilmington. He added “the toll this will take on normal people who HAVE to transit the bridge daily is not minor. I work in New Hanover County and I live in Leland. If I had to pay 800-nearly 1000/yr JUST to drive to work- that would eat up every “cost of living” raise I’ve received in the past 3 years combined. This is simply a regressive tax on people who live here.”
But we also get complaints. Recently we got two listeners complaints about NPR shows we carry. The first listener said “In my opinion, "Wildcard with Rachel Martin" represents the worst of the "new" NPR programming options. What a precious and boring exploration of narcissism! Today we got to listen to Amy Grant sigh and speak in a broken and incoherent manner for a half hour.”
Another listener wrote “I continue to be horrified by the bias of your programming, specifically 1A and On Point . I would actually be a sponsor of the station if these biased programs were not on or better these programs actually presented both sides of an issue. Today's noon show was especially troubling since the moderator was obviously hostile to anything the guest said.” We at WHQR recognize that not every show is everyone’s cup of tea, so I thanked the first listener sincerely for letting us know how he felt. The accusation of bias is a separate issue, and one we take seriously as an outlet for journalism. In this case, I listened to both programs mentioned and followed up with the listener asking that they identify where the bias was that I was frankly not able to detect.
We always want to hear our listeners opinions on our programming, as we are always looking for ways to improve our service to the community. We’re planning a program survey for listeners later this year.
We love to hear from you. Please send us your questions, comments and criticisms. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. Or you can email us at feedback@whqr.org. Thanks for your feedback, and we look forward to hearing from you.