A new local commercial free radio station is in the works with hopes of provide the greater Mansfield area with a honest news source.
With a tentative name of WHKA 87.7 FM, the station is in early development, according to co-director Tom Stormfield. The station is currently awaiting approval of a construction permit, a type of temporary license, by the Federal Communications Commission. Stormfield expressed that windows to file for a new radio station only happen once every few years, so when the FCC announced this period over the summer, he and his colleagues jumped at the opportunity.
Although applications are not guaranteed approval, as according to the FCC website, it is a very competitive process, Stormfield is very hopeful that WHKA will be approved soon. Once granted a permit, the station will have three years to “construct facilities,” according to Stormfield, which will consist of getting on the air, raising funds and connecting with the community. If all goes well, the FCC will grant the station a license.
The station will reach the Connecticut towns of Mansfield, Chaplin and Willington and will be “ultra-focused on the world of community,” according to Stormfield. The station will feature news, weather and music that will be community-based.
“When you watch the TV or read the newspaper, they are probably talking about Hartford or New York City and not the exact local weather, so that coverage will be community-focused,” said Stormfield.
Stormfield expressed that the station hopes to emphasize being a commercial-free source of honest media. “We just want to share commercial-free media with the community. There’s a lot of all-profit commercial media out there, and we want to be for the opposite. We want to be an unfiltered, honest source of what’s happening that people can trust,” Stormfield said.
If successful, Stormfield and the radio station hope to work closely with the University of Connecticut community. The station welcomes the involvement of UConn students as they “drive what goes on in the community.”
Stormfield went on further to say that the station hopes to represent communities that are not highly represented in the media, such as students, people of color and the older generations.
Although WHKA is very early in its development, it is hopeful of its success and hopes to benefit the UConn community in the future. The station has sent a survey to the UConn community in hopes of getting a jumpstart on the project.
“We know it will be a while, but it is important that we start the process now,” said Stormfield.