Since taking the job as general manager of WRNI (1290AM), the state’s National Public Radio station, Joe O’Connor has pushed for signal expansion and local ownership of the station.
On Feb. 1, he held a summit with senior managers of the Boston University-owned WBUR (90.9FM), Boston’s NPR station – which also owns WRNI – and the former Foundation for Ocean State Public Radio, now called Rhode Island Public Radio.
O’Connor said he started the summit with a benediction. He congratulated both entities for their roles in “creating an NPR station that according to my latest ratings, 44,000 Rhode Islanders enjoy on a regular basis.”
Then they discussed what could be done to ensure the station’s future.
“That’s where I was absolutely pleased but also astonished at how both parties came together quickly,” O’Connor said.
WBUR announced March 22 it would sell WRNI to Rhode Island Public Radio – a nonprofit led by public radio advocate Gene Mihaly – for $2 million, to be paid over 10 years. The Boston station will continue to provide WRNI with sports services, programming, engineering and support for $55,000 per year for five years.
“For listeners, programming won’t change,” O’Connor said.
Rhode Island Public Radio also announced it will purchase WAKX (102.7FM) in Narragansett, thus expanding the NPR station’s coverage throughout most of southern Rhode Island.
“We have traditionally been without South County,” O’Connor said. “This allows for us to finally reach Narragansett … for the very first time and consistently get to Jamestown, Newport, Little Compton … it’s a 25-percent increase in population alone.”
He added: “We’re going to get a good 70 to 75 percent of the state – but my public service mission is to cover every acre, so we still have some challenges.”
The purchase of WAKX was made possible by a $2.65 million loan from the Rhode Island Foundation, which has consistently supported the state’s NPR station since its creation in 1998. The loan is to be repaid over 15 years.
With the purchase of WAKX, the station will sell its existing sister station, WXNI (1230AM) in Westerly, as it will no longer be needed. The proceeds from that sale will help repay the loan.
“Thanks to the foundation’s leadership … in one fell swoop we’re solving both the signal problems for the station and we’re getting the station into local ownership, where it belongs,” O’Connor said.
