independence - Support WHRO

INDEPENDENCE
THE CAPI TAL AND ENDOW MENT CAMPAIGN FOR W HRO PUBLIC MEDIA
ISSUE 1
NOVEMBER
2012
Radio Expansion Update
By John Heimerl, Vice President of Strategic Technologies
Pictured from left to right: Bert
Schmidt (WHRO President and
CEO), Wick Moorman (Capital
Campaign Committee Co
Co--Chair), and
Barry Pollara (Chairman of the Board
and Capital Campaign Co
Co--Chair).
Fundraising Update
by Virginia Thumm, Vice President of
Development
Thanks to the great leadership of
our campaign co-chairs, Wick
Moorman and Barry Pollara, and
the efforts of our campaign
committee, we are pleased to
report that we have reached 39%
of our overall campaign goal of $13
million for Independence, The
Capital and Endowment Campaign
for WHRO Public Media. To date,
we have received pledges and gifts
from 75 individuals, foundations
and corporations, representing all
the communities touched by the
campaign—the Eastern Shore,
Emporia, the Middle Peninsula
(including
Gloucester
and
Mathews,) the Peninsula, South
Hampton Roads and Williamsburg.
We have had nine events
throughout the expansion communities, and are planning four more
for the Fall and Winter of 2012.
Our immediate goal is to raise $10
million by early 2013, at which
point we will publicly announce the
campaign. In short, momentum for
the campaign continues to build.
We thank all our donors and volunteers who have brought us this far.
WHRO has made great strides in
expanding its reach in bringing
public radio to all parts of the
Eastern Shore of Virginia,
Emporia, the Middle Peninsula
and coastal Virginia.
gramming in an area of the state and HD Radio, featuring a main
where no public radio had been channel that simulcasts WHROavailable at all.
FM with Virginia’s favorite
In August of 2012, WHRX 90.1 classics, as well as Connoisseur
FM Nassawadox saw a boost in Classics and the 1920s Radio
its power by over 100 times to Network on HD 2 and 3.
Our engineers have recently
completed work on eight (8)
new stations that have increased
WHRO-FM/WHRV’s reach to
more than 340,000 potential
listeners.
46,000 watts and now reaches
all of the upper and middle
Eastern Shore, Chincoteague
and Wallops Island, as well as
parts of Maryland.
In early 2011, WHRO began to
realize the benefit of the efforts
begun in 2007, when WHRJ at
89.9, came on the air to serve
the Gloucester County area from
Gloucester Courthouse, simulcasting WHRO-FM classical music.
Then WHRG, Gloucester Point,
88.5, came on the air from the
WHRO tower in Mathews with a
9,6000 watt signal reaching from
the Northern Neck to the Yorktown area, simulcasting WHRV.
WHRV and WHRO boosters are
now operating in Virginia Beach,
with WHRV programming heard
on 101.7 FM and “The 1920s
Radio Network” broadcast on
WHRX also rebroadcasts WHRV 99.3 FM.
programming in both analog and In the next few months, WHRV is
HD Radio, offering residents - as looking forward to improving
well as travelers on Route 13 – coverage in the Williamsburg
NPR, local and regional program- area through a power increase
ming. On the HD tier, listeners and relocation of one of our
can hear HD2 SpeakEasy talk primary signals.
radio, with in-depth information
programming; and on HD3, Negotiations to make this
AltRadio featuring new and inde- possible are underway and we
pendent popular music.
are optimistic that in the near
WHRF, a brand new Belle Haven future, we’ll be announcing that
station on 98.3 FM, is bringing we have filed with the FCC for
classical music to the Eastern this crucial effort to improve
Shore for the first time. WHRF reception in the Williamsburg/
broadcasts from the same tower James City County area.
as WHRX, located at Nandua
The station at 88.5 was High School in Onley, Virginia.
particularly difficult to obtain, as
it’s higher power and extensive WHRF broadcasts in both analog
coverage potential had attracted
seven other qualified applicants,
and it took substantial legal maneuvering and expenses to win
this signal.
Both these stations operate in
digital as well as analog mode,
bringing six channels of unique
programming to anyone with an
HD Radio.
In late 2011, WHRL, Emporia,
was added, with a signal at 88.1,
which covers from just south of
Petersburg to Roanoke Rapids,
North
Carolina
and
rebroadcasts WHRV and NPR pro-
If you are interested in sampling WHRO’s
digital programming, HD Radios can be
obtained at NPR.org or Amazon.com by
simply doing an Internet search for “HD
Radio.”
INDEPENDENCE Radio Expansion Campaign Organizational Chart
E-MediaVA
By Bobbie Fisher
It’s not easy to distill the remarkable work As of mid-September, nearly 60,000
of WHRO’s Education Services into a few accounts have been established – moving
paragraphs.
closer to our goal of offering the service
free to every Virginia educator.
But most important to our owner school
divisions, is that the average annual return WHRO has recently responded to a number
on investment of our services is just over of Requests for Proposals: one from the
$14 to $1 for larger divisions like Virginia Virginia Department of Education for
Beach and Chesapeake, to just over $125 to content development and distribution, and
$1 for smaller divisions like Northampton another for the development of learning
County and Isle of Wight.
objects and courses for the post-secondary
community. Still another is a Ready to Learn
Although we think of summer as being a “Transmedia” proposal to extend the value
quiet time in education, WHRO’s of the RTL television programs currently
educational activities were anything but. being aired.
WHRO was recently awarded a $175,000
Corporation for Public Broadcasting grant to Other Summer activities included a
work with a number of organizations to use week-long “Tech Trek: The Next Generathe content found in eMediaVA to help tion” summer camp, serving 37 teachers
with dropout prevention.
from across the region, as well as a
SuperWHY Reading Camp at Children’s
eMediaVA’s recent update includes a Harbor in Ghent.
variety of improvements – the existing
20,000 learning objects are increased by At the 2012 Virginia Children’s Festival, the
roughly 500 additional assets each week.
WHRO tent once again featured
popular PBS singer/songwriter/educator
Mr. Steve, reprising his appearance of three
years ago where he played to more than
5,000 children and their parents.
Work on the American Graduate: Let’s
Make it Happen initiative continues: ten
Our Voices digital storytelling training sessions were conducted as part of the YMCA’s
Escape to the Arts and the Norfolk Parks
and Recreation’s Camp Inspire programs.
And that’s just a sampling of WHRO’s work
over the summer. Stay tuned for another
update in a couple of months, when we
hope to report on further eMediaVA advances and our work in expanding our online courses.
INDEPENDENCE
5200 Hampton Boulevard
Norfolk, Virginia 23508
Phone:757-889-9334
Email: [email protected]