NC Radio: Non-Com WUNC To Acquire WFSS 91.9 FM

Fayetteville State University is selling WFSS 91.9 FM to WUNC Public Radio LLC for $1.75 million.

The FSU board of trustees approved the sale Wednesday morning by a vote of 8-0 in a special called meeting, with five board members absent, according to fayobserver.com.

The station, which has featured jazz as the core format since its inception in the late 1970s, began simulcasting N/T WUNC's public radio programming at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The change kicked off with a newscast originating from the WUNC studios on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before going into "The Diane Rehm Show."

Fayetteville State Chancellor James Anderson said the radio station sale was long overdue.

"It's difficult to underwrite an entity that is private because we cannot use state funds," he said.
Since the 2009 college budget, state appropriations and traditional revenue have been reduced from $82.6 million to $67.2 million, a reduction of 19 percent, according to Dr. Jon Young, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs. During the same period, the number of FSU faculty positions has declined 34 percent, from 437 to 287.

"As we've experienced dramatic budget cuts," Young told board members, "WFSS has been operating on a deficit of $60,000 to $100,000 a year. All of our efforts to increase public support have fallen short. Given the emphasis that we must place on instruction, the continued operation of WFSS is no longer financially sustainable."

WUNC Public Radio will pay $1.35 million in cash from its independently funded revenues to Fayetteville State for the rights to broadcast on the WFSS 91.9 FM frequency, a news release said.

"It's preserving public radio for the region," Walker said.

WFSS 91.9 FM (100 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area

The pending transaction, which must be approved by the Federal Communications Commission, gives WUNC a stronger radio presence further south, to the Interstate 95 corridor.