D-C Radio: WOOK-LPFM Wants To Compete With Radio One

William Tucker

Not far from where broadcasting behemoth Radio One has its headquarters in Silver Spring, MD, William Tucker is readying a studio for WOOK 103.1 FM. According to Washington.com, Tucker plans to play neo-soul, funk, and R&B, appealing to listeners of Radio One’s WKYS and WMMJ—if Radio One doesn’t stop him.

With 54 stations in Washington and 16 other cities as far away as Dallas, Radio One has gone to great lengths to stop WOOK, whose signal won’t reach the White House.

In August, WOOK became the area’s first recipient of a Low Power FM (LPFM) license under an FCC program that promotes stations broadcasting at 100 watts or less—enough to be heard within a 3½-mile radius. Most LPFM applicants have been community groups targeting a neighborhood. Tucker’s station is a bigger project: an attempt to revive the spirit of WOOK 1340 AM, one of the first stations in the US geared to a black audience.

WOOK 103.1-LP 60dBu Coverage Area

But Radio One is still trying to bar WOOK, claiming in an April 2014 petition that the station “will compete with Radio One’s stations for listeners.” An FCC official says competition isn’t grounds to deny an application. If the petition is denied, WOOK—already broadcasting online at wookradio.org—could be cleared to set up its transmitter by spring.

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