WBFO, the public radio station operated from UB, hopes to gain new listeners with an expanded broadcast area, made possible through a grant to the station.
The Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, a private philanthropic organization based out of Western New York, donated $300,000 to the station - the largest gift it has ever received. The donation will supliment an additional $275,000 in other gifts and funds.
The foundation chose to support WBFO's outstanding news and music programming with the grant after the station applied for a donation, according to an official statement.
"[We] apply to grants and foundations and donors and ask them for help with special projects. This just happened to be an especially outstanding gift," said David Benders, assistant general manager and program director of WBFO.
The money will be put towards the construction of the station's new radio tower and antenna. The old tower was replaced after over 20 years of service. WBFO is moving into the future with the new antenna, utilizing the latest FM broadcast technology.
"The antenna is a fairly new invention called a panel antenna," Benders said.
The station has made modifications over the past year in order to broadcast to listeners in high-definition (HD). However, this digital format requires an HD radio, which is new to the industry.
The new tower is already completed, but is undergoing minor work to improve the signal.
"There's still some fine-tuning being done," Benders said. "We're doing small repairs and modifications."
On Wednesday, a beacon was replaced at the top of the tower after it was damaged in an electrical storm last month. WBFO is looking into fencing in the tower and doing additional groundwork.
The new antenna and tower will bring several benefits to the area, including a widened broadcast area that will make 88.7 FM available to more residents.
The new tower will improve quality and strength of the signal to listeners in Western New York, the Southern Tier and Southern Ontario.
"It's also going to improve the city-grade signal," Benders said.
In addition to the better quality of the signal to downtown Buffalo and UB residents, the station will be able to cover more of the eight counties it already reaches. The stronger signal expands the listener area to 1.2 million people.
The station, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2009, is looking to allow use of the tower to other clients.
"This tower is also going to be able to have other tenants in addition to WBFO," Benders said.
The use of the tower by others will provide a service to the Buffalo area. Possible tenants include NYS Emergency Service and the Erie County Sherriff's Department.
WBFO offers contemporary music in addition to NPR programming.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
