WCPE
Broadcast areaRaleigh-Durham, North Carolina
Frequency89.7 MHz
BrandingThe Classical Station
Programming
FormatClassical
Ownership
OwnerEducational Information Corp.
History
First air date
1978
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID18831
ClassC
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT359 meters (1,178 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
35°56′25″N 78°28′45″W / 35.94028°N 78.47917°W / 35.94028; -78.47917 (WCPE)
Translator(s)See § Simulcasts and translators
Repeater(s)See § Simulcasts and translators
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Websitetheclassicalstation.org

WCPE (89.7 FM) in Raleigh, North Carolina, is a listener supported non-commercial, non-profit radio station, and the program contributor for The Classical Station, a classical music network. The station went on the air July 17, 1978, and switched to a 24-hour classical music format in 1984. Both are owned by the Educational Information Corporation, a nonprofit community organization.

WCPE's studios are located just outside Wake Forest, North Carolina. Its main signal extends from the South Carolina state line to the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia, and some parts of Charlotte, North Carolina, as well.

The station is known for being unusually conservative in its musical selections and content, refusing to air selections of modern classical music, and quietly discontinuing carriage of the weekly program 'Wavelengths that focused on contemporary classical music. It refused to air modern works from the Metropolitan Opera citing adult content and mature language. However, the modern works selected for exclusion were by BIPOC composers which had all received critical acclaim and acceptance in the operatic community at large. In the same breath, the station stated it was pleased to broadcast long-time favourite operatic repertoire including Carmen, Nabucco, Romeo and Juliet and Madame Butterfly as calm and relaxing programming for the whole family. However, these tried and tested operas contain themes that include prostitution, smuggling, murder, execution, bigotry, cultural appropriation, teen suicide, child brides, misogyny, teen pregnancy, wife abandonment, child abduction and suicide. The station's argument was that the excluded operatic works are in English and thereby understandable by a more general audience; indictating the included operas are in languages other than English (French, Italian, German et al.) that the listener would not comprehend the lyrics.

While the station did receive some support for this forced censorship, ultimately listener and public backlash had the station reverse their decision; and the station will broadcast the 2023-2024 Met Opera Broadcast Season in its entirety as outlined in the contrast between the station and the Met Opera.

Overview

WCPE operates three full-power satellite stations in the Outer Banks of eastern North Carolina, as well as a network of low-powered translators across the state. It can also be heard on cable television systems, on free-to-air (open format) "small dish" home satellite systems via the AMC-1 satellites, and around the world via six streaming audio formats on the Internet, including mp3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, QuickTime, RealAudio, iTunes, and WMA. The station also streams via IPv6. The station's call letters were randomly assigned.

It also distributes its classical music format to affiliate stations in 10 states as a service entitled Great Classical Music.

In September 2023, WCPE sent out a survey regarding its intention not to broadcast several contemporary operas in the Metropolitan Opera's 2023-24 Saturday broadcasts for alleged improper content and not being in line with the station's music policies. After much national criticism and accusations of censorship, the station announced that it would broadcast the operas.[2]

Helms-Leahy Small Webcaster Settlement Act of 2002

In November 2002, WCPE and its founder and General Manager, Deborah Proctor was recognized by Senator Jesse Helms for her contribution in the Helms-Leahy Small Webcaster Settlement Act of 2002.[3] This act helped settle a dispute regarding the amount of royalties webcasters must pay in order to perform sound recordings over the Internet bringing stability to the then-emerging webcasting industry.

The North Carolina Award

On Saturday, November 6, 2019, founder and General Manager, Deborah Proctor was recognized by Governor Roy Cooper with North Carolina's highest civilian honor, the North Carolina Award.[4][5] Proctor was recognized for her efforts to promote and help small, independent and public broadcasters remain viable in the era of online broadcasting.

Simulcasts and translators

Call sign Frequency City of license State Facility ID Class ERP
(W)		 Height
(m (ft))		 Transmitter coordinates
WZPE90.1 FMBathNorth Carolina93744 A4,50039 m (128 ft)35°28′32.0″N 76°48′44.0″W / 35.475556°N 76.812222°W / 35.475556; -76.812222 (WZPE)
WURI90.9 FMManteoNorth Carolina91803 A5,20057 m (187 ft)35°54′28.0″N 75°40′26.0″W / 35.907778°N 75.673889°W / 35.907778; -75.673889 (WURI)

WZPE is owned by the Educational Information Corporation, while WURI is owned by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and leased to WCPE.

Broadcast translators of WCPE
Call sign Frequency
(MHz)		 City of license State Facility ID Class ERP
(W)		 Height
(m (ft))
W202BQ88.3AberdeenNorth Carolina93560 D10157 m (515 ft)
W219DW91.7BuxtonNorth Carolina89947 D1209.8 m (32 ft)
W237CM95.3FayettevilleNorth Carolina145202 D10190 m (620 ft)
W205CA88.9FoxfireNorth Carolina93559 D2744 m (144 ft)
W247BG97.3Frog LevelNorth Carolina145839 D10146 m (479 ft)
W210BS89.9New BernNorth Carolina106585 D12037 m (121 ft)
W292DF106.3Bassett ForksVirginia145951 D10221 m (725 ft)
W275AW102.9DanvilleVirginia145882 D3852 m (171 ft)

In 2016, WCPE's programming in Buxton moved from high-power WBUX (90.5 FM) to W216BE (now W219DW). Both facilities are owned by WUNC, which WBUX now retransmits.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WCPE". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ Abrams, Jonathan; Hernández, Javier C. (October 5, 2023). "North Carolina Radio Station Won't Ban Met Opera Broadcasts After All". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Congressional Record Senate Articles | Congress.gov | Library of Congress".
  4. ↑ "Six to Receive 2019 North Carolina Award, State's Highest Honor | NC DNCR".
  5. ↑ "Six, including Wake Forest woman, receive state's highest honor | Wake Weekly". Archived from the original on August 5, 2020.

https://operawire.com/the-classical-station-wcpe-censors-met-operas-six-new-works-due-to-offensive-content/

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