WCAI

Last updated

WCAI
Broadcast area
Frequency 90.1 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingCAI
Programming
Format Public radio; news/talk
Subchannels HD2: WCRB simulcast
Network National Public Radio
Ownership
Owner WGBH Educational Foundation
History
First air date
September 25, 2000 [1]
Call sign meaning
"Cape and Islands"
Technical information [2]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 8566
Class B1
ERP 12,500 watts
HAAT 73.5 meters (241 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
 41°26′16″N70°36′50″W / 41.43778°N 70.61389°W / 41.43778; -70.61389 (WCAI)
Repeater(s)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live
Website www.capeandislands.org

WCAI (90.1 FM) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, WNAN (91.1 FM) in Nantucket, and WZAI (94.3 FM) in Brewster, are NPR member radio stations serving the Cape Cod and Islands area of southeast Massachusetts. They broadcast primarily news and information programming and are owned by the WGBH Educational Foundation in Boston. WCAI's studios are located at the Captain Davis House at 3 Water Street in Woods Hole (a census-designated place in Falmouth) and its transmission facilities are located in Tisbury, Massachusetts. In October 2024, WGBH announced it was selling the Davis House as part of ongoing budget cuts. [3]

Contents

The station, which first went on the air in 2000, was founded by independent radio producer Jay Allison and his organization, Atlantic Public Media, with construction and operation duties assigned to WGBH. Atlantic Public Media has also produced local programming for the station. WNAN went on the air on March 15, 2000. In 2005 the third signal, WZAI, went on the air, to improve broadcast coverage for the Cape and Islands. An online stream of the station is also available.

In 2007, the station won the prestigious Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award, often called the Pulitzer Prize of broadcast journalism, for a 20-part series called "Two Cape Cods: Hidden Poverty on the Cape and Islands". The series was produced and reported by Sean Corcoran, and it highlighted numerous poverty issues in a region that often is thought of as playground for the rich. WCAI was the only radio station to win the award that year.

In 2020, the station rebranded as CAI, as part of a larger rebranding underwent by WGBH (which similarly dropped "W" from its branding organization-wide). [4]

Apart from being owned by WGBH, there is no connection between the Cape and Islands NPR stations and WNCK in Nantucket, which formerly simulcast WGBH's primary radio service and later WCRB, a classical music station owned by WGBH. WCAI itself carries WCRB's programming on its second HD Radio channel, which was added in late 2013 after WCAI boosted its power. [5]

WCAI logo used until August 2020. WCAI901.png
WCAI logo used until August 2020.

Simulcasts

Call sign Frequency City of license Facility ID ERP
W 		Height
m (ft)		 Class Transmitter coordinatesCall sign meaningFirst air date
WNAN91.1 FM Nantucket, Massachusetts 86002,30064 m (210 ft)A 41°17′6″N70°8′39″W / 41.28500°N 70.14417°W / 41.28500; -70.14417 (WNAN) NantucketMarch 15, 2000 [6]
WZAI94.3 FM Brewster, Massachusetts 1624584,700113.4 m (372 ft)A 41°46′31″N70°0′38″W / 41.77528°N 70.01056°W / 41.77528; -70.01056 (WZAI) variation of WCAIJune 7, 2005 [7]

References

  1. ↑ Fybush, Scott (October 2, 2000). "Spinning the Dial in Connecticut". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WCAI". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ↑ Aidan Ryan (October 31, 2024). "GBH is selling the longtime home of WCAI, its Cape and Islands radio station, to cut costs". The Boston Globe.
  4. ↑ "A New Name and a New Look". WCAI. September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  5. ↑ "WCAI Increases Transmitter Strength, Reaching more than 200k New Listeners". WCAI. January 28, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  6. ↑ Fybush, Scott (March 17, 2000). "Clear Channel Spins Again". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  7. ↑ Fybush, Scott (June 13, 2005). "A Great Day in Alpine, N.J." North East RadioWatch. Retrieved March 15, 2015.


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