Madison’s newest radio station is pumping out a 24 hour-per-day stream of rock music onto Madison’s airwaves, with the goal of getting more young people to think about Jesus. The station is heard at 97.1 FM and is licensed to Lake City Church, 4909 E. Buckeye Rd.
"The idea is to carve out some kind of niche to encourage kids who are believers and also to get the attention of someone scanning across the dial who’s open to hearing about Jesus in a different way, through music that appeals to them," said WIXL’s engineer and chief volunteer, Tom Weeden.
WIXL went on the air on August 12th, just barely beating a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) deadline and helping Weeden meet a goal he first sought 20 years ago.
The station is a low power station (75 watts), which means it can be heard across Madison, but not too far beyond. It comes in loud and clear on the University of Wisconsin campus, where the largest potential audience exists for its contemporary Christian music format, which includes bands such as Reliant K, Switchfoot, Kutless, Skillet and Barlow Girl. The target audience is teens and young adults, ages 13-30.
WIXL has no live announcers, at least not yet. "We don’t have live capability now because the studio-to-transmitter link is not reliable," Weeden said.
All station breaks, weather reports and station announcements are pre-recorded by Weeden and fellow volunteer David Batz. Then they are uploaded to the same computer that plays the music. The computer and transmitter are located at the tower site on Madison’s east side, about a mile from the church.
Once Weeden has established a stable connection between the church and the tower, WIXL’s programming will expand to include live broadcasts of Lake City Church’s Sunday services. Live coverage of football and basketball games at Abundant Life Christian School (ALCS), another Lake City Church ministry, is also planned.
"It gives us a presence in the community that we didn’t have before," said Lake City Church interim senior pastor John Ruck. "I’m not in the target audience, but I listen periodically."
Ruck said the Lake City congregation has reacted positively to the station, contributing pledges of $20,000 for station operation. "I think everybody is pretty happy with it; I know I am."
"Support from Lake City Church is awesome," Weeden said. He expected complaints from older church members about the music style but has been getting compliments instead, even from those who are not fans of the music.
Down the road Weeden and Ruck expect there will be opportunities for young volunteers from ALCS and from Lake City’s youth ministry programs to get involved in programming. But for now the station primarily broadcasts music. Weeden said that there are about 1,000 songs loaded into the computer, and scheduled to play according to the format rotation that he has established.
The station is also streaming on the internet at http://97x.fm/ On the internet almost anyone can start up a new radio station. Weeden actually began experimenting with an internet version of WIXL in 2001.
Starting an over-the-air radio station is much more difficult though. It takes a lot of persistence and a little bit of luck, or providence.
Twenty years ago, in 1987, Weeden first applied to the FCC for an open frequency at 105.5. He lost out to another applicant, and the station went on the air as WMMM-FM.
In 2001 the FCC opened up low power FM (LPFM) opportunities for non-profit educational institutions with a community presence and no other broadcast interests. Weeden got a green light from then Lake City Church pastor Warren Heckman and began the detailed application process once again.
In August 2004 the FCC issued two competitive construction permits for 97.1 FM. One went to Lake City Church and one to the Wisconsin Polka Appreciation Society of Dane. The permits were contingent on finding a tower site and raising money for the necessary equipment. The polka society’s plans fizzled. But Weeden located a broadcasting tower that met the criteria, bought or begged the necessary equipment, and WIXL made it on the air just two weeks before the FCC permit expired on August 25th.
Since filing the second FCC application and beginning his internet experiment in 2001 Weeden estimates that he’s invested about $80 per month in the station. He’s collected 2500 songs, and tweaked the format numerous times. "It morphed over time to what it currently is," he said.
He enjoys getting feedback from pleased listeners, and has collected five pages of complimentary emails. On the internet it’s easy to see how many people are listening and where they’re located. "It blows my mind that somebody may be listening right now in Lithuania," he said.
The 8-10 hours per week Weeden spends on WIXL is in addition to his full-time job as Operations Director for NBC15 television, and his part-time engineering duties for WNWC radio, which broadcasts Christian programming at 102.5 FM and 1190 AM.
Now that his 20-year effort aimed at providing Madison with a new Christian radio station has been achieved, what challenge is next?
"I have no idea," he said.