Rewind back to October 2013, it was just a normal day at the office for Cindy Antinossi when a man named Robert Irvine approached her about starting a radio station in Ellwood City.
Antinossi, the owner of Healthy, Wealthy, & Wise and pastor at Dayspring Harvest Ministries, didn’t know the first thing about radio at the time, but luckily for her she had an experienced mentor.
Irvine, a former Pittsburgh and Youngstown radio and television broadcaster, helped Antinossi apply for her FCC license just weeks after the initial radio proposal. He also applied for a license of his own to create a local radio station in New Castle.
Both Antinossi and Irvine were officially granted their licenses in January. Ellwood City will broadcast from WXED 107.3 FM and New Castle from WLDJ 107.5 FM.
“Just getting the permit to build is huge,” Antinossi said.
In order to get on air, Antinossi and the station are looking for donations of all sorts. Anything along the lines of radio hosts, writers, receptionists, reporters, web designers, computers, radio equipment, lights, lumber and of course, money, help.
Contributions such as a radio tower and the volunteer engineer work of Jim Pollock, of New Jersey, concerning the technical aspect of radio transmitting has already kindly been accepted.
The studio will be in the upstairs of Dayspring Harvest Ministries, located at 316 Sixth Street.
Antinossi plans for the project to become a community radio station with “wholesome, clean broadcasting”. She hopes to broadcast news, weather, local musicians, interviews, sports, talk shows, church messages and more.
“We’re open to any suggestions and ideas,” Antinossi said. “We have already had great people coming forward to help.”
Antinossi hopes to perform her first test run on WXED 107.3 in March 2015. She must be ready to steadily be on the radio by July 31, 2015.
The station is only currently mandated to broadcast for five hours a day. After it is up and running, however, they would like to broadcast 24/7.
Antinossi would like to bring unity, dialogue and information to the residents of Ellwood City by hosting this radio station.
“This is an open opportunity to bring the community together and to learn from one another,” Antinossi said.
If you’re interested in donating, checks can be made out to Dayspring Harvest Ministries, P.O. Box 656, Ellwood City PA 16117. The memo line should be labeled RADIO.
There are also opportunities to donate on the station’s website, www.wxed107fm.com.
An informational meeting regarding the radio station will be held following the Ellwood City Council meeting on Monday, Aug. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Building. Antinossi and Irvine will be presents to answer all of your lingering questions.
If you can’t make it to the meeting, please feel free to call 412-436-9370 or email info@wxed107fm.com to find out more.
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