Radio . . . and Me - 28

On the right side of the radio dial (past all the big rock stations), Halifax boasts a different kind of radio station. Some people are calling it: ‘The Little Station That CAN.’
Here’s how it came to be:
About 20 years ago a radio announcer-wannabe named Wayne Harnett started a radio station in his home in Eastern Passage.

He called it ‘Seaside FM.’
It ran a number of ‘special’ programs around the Christmas season and local summer festival time, at various spots up and down the dial, depending on which frequency the CRTC deemed available on that date. Nothing big; just a few veteran radio announcers playing seasonal / easy listening music.
As time went by, the little station became popular enough to apply for and win a community radio license from the CRTC, officially branded CKPE-FM, at 105.9.
Because ‘Seaside FM’ is a not-for-profit radio station, it is staffed by volunteers, except for TWO paid members.
According to its website flash page, “The Seaside broadcast crew boasts both those from the professional broadcast industry and members from within our community. We feature a wonderful selection of easy listening favourites from yesterday and today, as well as, an enviable collection of music from some of Atlantic Canada’s existing and rising musical stars.”
It was able to gather even more veteran radio folks, so that it presented easy listening music around-the-clock, from a volunteer fire department communication tower, pushing out about 3,000 watts. (By comparison, most of the powerhouse commercial stations and CBC radio, all around it, are pushing out 100,000 watts!)
It covers Halifax and Dartmouth areas, but because of varied typography and distance, it loses signal strength in Bedford, for example.
The website contains this short heading: ‘Support Our CRTC Application.’
‘Seaside FM’ applied some months ago to relocate their transmitter from Eastern Passage to the CBC Tower site in Halifax.
“This transmitter relocation, if approved, will give the majority of Seaside-FM listeners a much better radio signal and will be much more cost effective than developing a new transmitter site,” the request stated.
The existing radio stations (and of course, any private citizen) are invited to comment. Normally, these requests are almost automatic and are granted within a few weeks.
This time, Newcap Broadcasting, the radio conglomerate based in Halifax which operates two stations on the FM band, has raised strenuous objections. They claim that ‘Seaside FM’ has been getting all the breaks, and will have a negative impact on their bottom line.
Rant alert. Rant alert. C’mon, Newcap, get real!
Your ‘dog-in-a-manger’ attitude is way off the mark: both of your FM stations broadcast to the younger 18-34 commercial audience, and you wouldn’t know how to serve the older Seaside audience in a million years!
Let us hope that the CRTC can see through Newcap’s slimy attitude, which shouldn't hold water, and allow ‘Seaside FM’ to serve its own audience.